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"My head would have exploded!" How a Sonic mega fan became an official artist
Gotta go chase your dreams!
- Cole Luke
Published: Wednesday, 24 June 2026 at 5:32 pm
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To celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s 35th anniversary, we sat down to talk with artist, animator and Sonic mega fan Mark Hughes about his decade-spanning love for the blue hedgehog, and how his passion ended up landing him a job as an official Sonic the Hedgehog artist for Sega.
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As well as chatting about all things Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog, Radio Times Gaming Content Creator Cole Luke got to see Mark’s incredible collection for himself in Newcastle, which certainly brought back some distant memories.
If you’d like to watch the interview in full, you can do so above, or via the YouTube video below:
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Going all the way back to the beginning, Hughes, who goes by The Sketch Sector, tells us his family was always a Sega household, and that “Sonic was in the house before I was”, as his older brother got Sonic the Hedgehog 1 for the Sega Mega Drive the day it came out. He added that he “couldn’t really tell you when I would have experienced it, but it just sort of took hold and then I ended up becoming the bigger Sonic fan than him".
Of course, being the younger brother, Mark was always relegated to playing as Tails…
It was a different era, Mark tells us, and because the Mega Drive was either in the living room or in his brother's bedroom, it took on an almost “mythical” quality, which only added to Sonic’s draw. Fortunately for Mark, his mum would let him have a sneaky shot on the Mega Drive when his brother was out playing football on Saturdays.
There are many, many items in Mark Hughes' collection Mark Hughes
With such a huge number of Sonic titles, we thought it would be an impossible ask for Mark to pick a favourite, but he reckons Sonic 3 & Knuckles clears everything before and since, adding that it was the “peak of 2D platforming” – before Sonic Mania, that is.
Beyond gaming, Mark adores the comics from IDW, something he himself would later go on to contribute to. More on that in a bit!
For Mark, the IDW Sonic comics persisted when the games, merchandise, TV shows, and even the British Sonic the Hedgehog comic did not.
Even in the heyday of classic Sonic, as Mark’s access to the Mega Drive was limited, he could always crack open a comic and find himself immersed in the world he loves, brought to life by Richard Elson.
In the great annals of Sonic literature are two joke books, with the more modern rendition featuring one of Mark’s favourite Sonic jokes:
What do you call a hedgehog with no spines?
Pointless.
The pride and joy of Mark Hughes collection. Mark Hughes, Sega
Among Mark’s sprawling collection is one item that he cherishes above all: a signed drawing of Sonic from creator Naoto Ohshima himself, which was inked during Gamescom 2023, with Sega staff bringing it back and posting it up to Newcastle.
It’s framed and displayed above Mark’s desk, where he now draws his own renditions of Sonic under the Sega guise.
It wasn’t always a professional job, however.
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During school, Mark’s brother became friends with someone who he describes as “a nuclear physicist by day, and a rabid Sonic the Hedgehog fan by night”. Mark was introduced to them, and they became fast friends.
Some years later, Mark was asked to create artwork for banners for a fan-led convention in 2016 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, which he based on the original Sonic the Hedgehog 1 artwork.
Mark Hughes started off as a fan and went on to become an official Sonic artist. Mark Hughes, Webwex, Sega
This caught the eye of Sega employees, who were impressed by Mark’s ability to capture the essence of the original, '90s airbrushed look, and so began Mark’s tenure as a professional Sonic artist, opening the door to a world he never expected to find himself in.
Since then, Mark has gone on to produce artwork for social media, merchandise, covers for the IDW comics, but his proudest achievement to date is the multiple reverse covers for Sonic Origins Plus, for which he produced the character artwork and graphic design.
“A collection of all my favourite games with my artwork on it is such a wonderful and humbling experience.”
You can check out much of Mark's work on his website.
Mark Hughes' proudest achievement. Mark Hughes, Sega
Speaking with Mark, it was wonderful and inspiring to see someone’s passion carry them all the way to achieving what was beyond even their wildest dreams.
As it says on the Japanese box art of Sonic the Hedgehog 2: “Don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live a life without regrets.”
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Authors
Cole LukeFreelance Writer
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to Radio Times Gaming. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
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