Phi2 Studios is:

J. Fichera ("Phoenix Alpha")
- Lead designer
- Lead writer (mostly)
- Inking / Coloring (usually Test Colors)
- Editor / Co-writer (on some projects)

Phill Berry
- Co-lead designer (sometimes Lead Designer, always Co-Designer)
- Lead artist
- Inking / Coloring (sometimes)
- Co-writer / Creative Consultant
- Lead Writer (some future productions)

Contributors

Sharon Hundley
Joel Deeter
- Original Character Designs
- Creative Consultants

The story behind the "Studios"

"Phi2 Studios" is a tentative name I coined back in 2004 for an artistic collaboration between myself (J. Fichera, alias Phoenix Alpha) and Phill Berry. I met Phill once in elementary school, where we instantly bonded over one thing - Sonic the Hedgehog. Say what you will about the modern games... back in 1993-1994, everyone loved him. Except the Nintendites. But I digress...

We were (and are) amazingly similar in numerous ways, despite many differences of opinion. But as quickly as our friendship had developed, it disintegrated as Phill transferred away to some other school. I've never asked him where, but I bet it was the public schools in his hometown. Regardless, it was eight or nine years later that we met again as almost-adults. I give him all the credit for bringing us together - he was the one that recognized me. All I did was cast a sideways "Do I recognize you?" glance at his parents as they walked away. Smooth, J. Way to acquire a business partner. (I just hope I didn't offend him by drawing a complete blank at first...)

Anyway, it seemed that our love of Sonic had taken us in different directions as children. He drew the characters, and became more interested in art. Meanwhile, I wrote stories involving the Sonic characters. Even casting Sonic aside, Phill had become more disciplined in art than I was, while I had nurtured my writing ability more than he had.

Upon our meeting and continued social interaction, we discovered that we both had similar goals. Phill drew characters and conceptualized stories with them. I conceptualized character designs and wrote stories with them. Both of us had a major project with a definite main character that we wanted to turn into a manga or anime in the future.

Then, while reading my notes one day, I just scrapped all of my main supporting characters. They had all been based on some aspect of myself that was not reflected in my main character, and that led to the most major case of writer's block I've ever had in my life. I simply was not satisfied with the characters. There was no chemistry, no team dynamic. Nothing.

I thought back on what made my older projects so much better. When I dug out some old notes from my former major project, I realized that the team dynamic came from having character designs that I had worked on with close friends of mine. The reason that project had been scrapped in the first place was that I no longer had contact with any of them - I was still inspired by them, but I didn't want to use characters they co-created without their permission or approval.

So, inspired by my old project, I came up with a list of people I wanted to ask to help me find the team I needed. This time, I was determined to compose a team that would last. Phill and his character immediately came to mind. Thinking it was a long shot, I eventually brought it up. Next thing I knew, his world and mine had become linked, and our characters were now starring together in my - well, our new series. He and I still both have designs for each of our characters to go it solo at some point, but our team effort was born that day.

To this day, Phill and I continue to collaborate on this and other projects (though, at the time I'm writing this, we haven't really directly collaborated as much - he's pretty busy with school and I haven't been harrassing him as much as I usually do). As a team, Phill and I tend to mix and match duties. He does most of the art stuff, and I do most of the writing. But my interest in character design and his interest in storylines keeps us both involved in anything we collaborate on. I tend to try acting the part of coordinator as well, making sure that I don't take more credit than is due, or cut Phill and our fellow character designers out of the creative process. And I fully expect them to knock me upside the head with a brick if I ever get too much of an ego.

About our Contributors

The first person that came on to the project after Phill was Sharon Hundley. She and I had been friends for a while, and Phill had also gotten to know her by the time I brought up the new project. At the time, I hadn't even realized she would be interested. But when I mentioned that I still needed some people with character ideas, her eyes literally brightened. And she gave me a character that fit perfectly into a role as a main character, as well as some related guest characters. So they were added to the mix.

Our final contributor took some coercing, and one instant of very good timing. Joel Deeter, my brother-in-law, wan't exactly unwilling. He just said he didn't have any character ideas we could use. Eventually, I stopped trying to convince him to create one... at one point, I thought I'd have to settle for three characters, or give up on the idea of having my friends contribute at all. Then, one day, I'm over at his house, and he suddenly starts sketching something. Next thing I know, he tells me he's got a character design for me. When he gave me the details, I approved his design, and all related characters, on the spot.

Phi2 Studios' Work

Phi2 Studios' first official posted work was a Red vs. Blue fan art titled "Behind the Helmets", posted on their forums in November 2004 (re-posted from October, but that topic is no longer available). Phill drew it originally; I scanned it, publicized it, and eventually colored it. Later, I became an active part of the creative process with the continuation of the project. Early that same year, we had also done a Sonic fan art series (started by a joke in the Sega.com forums), but we initially did that under a different name. Even during that time, we were constantly working on our own original "Phoenix Alliance" characters, also featuring our contributors' work. The reason I had't posted any of those anywhere is because I'm crazy-anal about protecting my intellectual property. Then it occurred to me that it'd be a good thing to get exposure. Nothing like already having a fanbase before you release anything. I chose deviantART because they're as serious about their users' intellectual property as I am about keeping mine (and my friends'), and none of the rights they claim to any work posted would infringe on our ownership.

So, in closing, I hope you enjoy our work, everyone. And don't forget to drop by Phill's deviantART page and see what he's been doing without me. "Devious Information" posted below applies to me... Phill's is on his own page (though it may be a bit out of date). Thanks for dropping by.

-Phoenix Alpha (J.F.)