Don’t paint me as a giant Sonic fan. This came of nostalgia for the original games played on the Sega Genesis with my brother.
It was an opportunity to explore a bunch of different techniques, not least of which was geometry nodes, which were used for instancing a lot of the ground foliage via vertex painting. Additional foliage was laid on top for more precise art direction.
Rendered in Eevee, but on my 1080, about at the limit and hardly real-time.
More on my Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/18vZDG
…up until now 
You made me happy again with your gorgeous render! 
