We’ve all shared so many memories over the last three years of the Summer of Sonic convention! Some of the best ones are contained in the fanart that we see every year – the sheer creativity and artistic talent of the community continues to bowl us over without fail. In 2009′s Truman Brewery convention, staff collected most of the discarded fanart drawn at the venue, in an attempt to preserve the great stuff we saw on the day.

It’s taken us a while to find time to scan them all (like a year and a bit!?) but today I’m proud to present a collection of artwork from the 2009 Summer of Sonic event. This post serves to give back said artwork to those who wanted to archive it on their DeviantArt account or elsewhere, and to detail just how much effort and fun is put into these works by fans. Ultimately the Summer of Sonic is more than just the work of myself and the staff who host the event – it’s about your dedication to the Sonic franchise and your expression of that dedication.

I leave you with the gallery below, along with details of the artist, if it was available on the original copy (and their age at the time). Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to have your name listed, changed or your piece removed from this page at dreadknux@gmail.com.

The new Summer of Sonic 2011 site will be arriving soon – along with the beginning of the lead-up to Sonic’s 20th Anniversary! We’re always listening to your suggestions and comments, and now there are several places for you to make your voice heard – on the Summer of Sonic forum on The Sonic Stadium, the SoS Facebook page, or on our DeviantArt group (thanks to SyamingLi for its creation).

It’s not enough that Sonic turns into his Darkspine form in Sonic and the Secret Rings, for our fellow fan Page. No, here we see Tails and Knuckles assume the purple, enigmatic look too, to become a team that is rather appropriately named Darkspine Heroes. We wonder what subdued abilities Darkspine Tails and Darkspine Knuckles would have, or if they even have to battle a disgruntled genie to obtain these forms…

You can visit Page’s DeviantArt gallery by clicking here.

There are some truly talented artists in the Sonic fan community, and f-sonic’s colourful piece here just illustrates that fact (see what we did there?). Showing the heroic hedgehog at his best, this pastel effort really captures that essence of speed that Sega’s mascot is known for. And he even has time to pose, look. What a flashy hedgehog he is.

Visit f-sonic’s DeviantArt page by clicking here.

What birthday is complete without a cake to celebrate? Chef Amy has taken the time to bake a delicious treat for Sonic’s 19th Anniversary, and you can tell by the look on the hedgehog’s face that he’s very excited to have a slice! Not as much as Chip though, who has fallen in love with the chocolatey goodness! Excellent work, Alexandra!

This awesome sketch drawing of Sonic wielding Caliburn from Sonic and the Black Knight comes straight from the pencils of avid Sonic fan Frida Danmo. We’re not sure if the Medieval Wii adventure is Frida’s favourite Sonic title, but it’s certainly a game that provides lots of inspiration for artwork! If the Knights of the Round Table were here, they would surely commend you… after a round of swordplay, of course.

Woah! Amy Rose is checking out a book and looks totally engrossed in its contents. Perhaps she’s seen another news story about Sonic saving the world? Could Dr. Eggman have hijacked the printing press and used it as his own propaganda vehicle for the Eggman Empire? Or maybe it’s an advert for Shadow-branded deodorant (yes, after Sonic The Hedgehog he’s been busy with other jobs)?

Who knows, but we do know that this is a great picture, drawn by HelenBaby and posted here for you to enjoy. Check out HelenBaby’s DeviantArt page here.

KirbyLinkFan submitted not one, not two, but three lovely drawings of the Triple Threat – Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Sonic looks ready for action with Chaos Emerald in hand, Tails seems quite proud of himself (maybe he’s built some super-gadget that we can’t see), while Knuckles is quite content being his solitary, moody self. That echidna doesn’t chuckle, don’t you know. Great work!

Our first piece of artwork added to the Spotlight, and what a corker! Coming from the winner of the art competition in last year’s Summer of Sonic convention, syaming-li has created a fantastic group piece celebrating Sonic’s 19th birthday. If that’s how much fun everyone has at the blur blur’s nineteenth, we can’t wait to see what will happen at the hero’s big 2-0 next year…

Take a look at this picture on syaming-li’s own Deviantart page, here.