Gina Creative And Media: The Summer Of Sonic 09

I attended the Summer Of Sonic 09 convention on the 29th of August! It was amazing! It was so great to see all these Sonic fans bunched together, it made me realise that I'm NOT the only one who likes Sonic (Because it seems that way at school...)

The reason I'm posting this here is because it was to do with art and textiles. I entered the fanar contest (art) and the cosplay contest (textiles).

It started at 11 but I got there at 2. First thing I did was get my pass and my hand stamped with "SEGA" across it I brought along my "Through The Fire" pic for the fanart contest so after I had come in, I went and posted it as a fanart submission.

By this time, the Sonic Archie comic people were doing a Q&A but I didn't bother to listen since only just started reading the Archie comics and well, I haven't even read a full one yet. So I looked around.

There was a ton of stuff, a cabinet with all this priceless stuff in it, rare Sonic figures, signed games and limited edition art books and there was also the same huge Sonic statue that I saw in the game shop in Whales! I'm not too sure but it might have actually been smaller here but never mind, it was still epic! They had a huge row at the back with Wii, PS3 and XBox consoles where you could play Sonic games! They were showcasing the upcoming game, "SEGA Allstars Racing" Along with SEGA Superstars Tennis, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Genesis Collection and Sonic Heroes. I only got round to playing Sonic and the Black Knight and I was very rusty! It was on the second King Arthur boss battle and I kept failing! But after me, a man tried playing it and he hadn't a clue what he was doing! So I helped him by telling him the controls and what to do. They also had a fanart wall with pics from the "Sonic and the Black Knight" contest, I think the people who entered were either at the convention, had given their permission or they were just all the UK ones.

I also changed into my Shahra costume for the later on cosplay contest. It was so cool, the male toilets had "Hedgehogs" written on them with a pic of Sonic and the female toilets had "Hedgehog-ettes" written on it with a pic of Amy next to them!

So once I was changed, I went and sad near the fanart corner where there was a huge table full of pens, pencils, paper, ect. and I doodled a Team Sonic pic as a warm-up sketch. There was this huge 'Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood' cutout and then I started sketching that out.

Whilst I was doing that, one of the best parts of the con happened, Bentley Jones appeared on stage! Everyone rushed over with cameras whilst he introduced himself. He had done an earlier performance but I wasn't there to see that one so this was the first time I saw him. He had previously been selling his latest album but I didn't get it because I'm kinda low on cash at the moment. Anyway, he came on, introduced himself and his guitarist and then sung "Dreams Of An Absolution"! I felt like singing along He also sung his version of "City Escape", "Final Night" from the new Nights game and 1 more song which I can't remember the name of. Anyway, I attempted to get him to sign my Sonic 06 booklet but he rushed off too fast. Ah well, at least I got to see him perform, it was a real honor!

Anyway, after he had left, I continued with my Sonic Chronicles pic and I must say, it was going extremely well! A few minutes later, we were shown a preview of Sonic Shorts 6! They were hilarious! I also felt honored to be one of the first to see it and it was totally worth it! Can't wait for the full thing.

So after that I spent more time on my Sonic Chronicles pic, much longer this time and then they showed us a special of The Sonic Show, Red Hedgehog and the creators were there! Ah it was also hilarious, I loved the "What would the next Storybook Sonic game be?"

I went back to drawing after that and then a person dressed in a Sonic costume came around! I immediately ran to have a photo taken and I also got to shake his hand afterwards!

Then I spent a lot more time on my Sonic Chronicles pic and ended up adding Amy and Tails in and then inked it! That inking pen was so smooth, I want one! But when it was done I was really pleased and entered it into the fanart contest as well as my "Through The Fire" one. I just made the "Under 16's" category but next year, I think I'll be in the over 16's! It will be even harder to win now!

So then it was time for "The Sonic Hour" which was running late so we didn't do the full hour. But they did the cosplay contest! I felt kinda nervous going up to the front but there were I think 5 other people entering too so it was alright. I went up first in my Shahra costume and people cheered for me! It wasn't as loud as some other cosplayers but it felt good to be cheered. Anyway, there was me as Shahra, 2 Eggman's, a Silver, 2 Sonic's, a Purge (from Space Channel 5) and a Rouge. The finals were the 2 Eggman's and Rouge and Rouge won 1st place! I'm not suprised, her costume was epic! She got an XBox 360! The other prizes were epic too, prepared by SEGA their selves! Then they announced the fanart results. I didn't win but I'm still glad I entered, I was really pleased with my efforts and the winning entries were brilliant so I'm glad they won! They got some epic SEGA prizes too. Then they cut the Master Emerald Shrine cake and I hurried to get my slice! Lastly, they asked some special guests and staff a maths question and the winner received a hand drawn sketch from SEGA!

After that, it was all finished! I went to collect my fanart back, changed into my normal clothes and then went out. It was just such an epic experience, I can't wait for the SOS 10!

At the end of The Sonic Hour, we all turned to the Live Feed camera and shouted "We want Crush 40 at SOS 10!" I hope they come next year! They do know about SOS so I really have a good feeling that they might!

Well, there was my super awesome epic day! I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to attending SOS 10 next year!

The cosplay contest with me in as Shahra (Beginning):