Hi, I'm Bo, and I'm an artist on our team! In this post, I explain how we optimized our pipeline, the challenges we encountered and the decisions we made to overcome them. For game Uncanny Inscriptions

Preparation and thoughts

We decided that the game will be in 3D, however creating characters in 3D takes much time. For instance, my model of a duck includes: sculpting, retopology, UV-layout, texturing, rigging, and finally animation. But I needed to figure out how to create several characters within a short timeframe. I decided to create 2.5D characters, which simplified my work. You'll understand why as we progress.

Creating Character in ZBrush

I'm skilled in 3D rather than drawing, starting with _ZBrush where I can rapidly refine the shape of my characters and add cost-effective details. I created a model for 2D rendering, so the most important part is the front. I don't focus on the other sides. Also, I used Polypaint(vertex paint) for texturing characters—an easy but effective method. I didn't need retopology and UVs, which are often the most frustrating parts of 3D work

Render and export the sprites in Unity

For rendering, I used _Marmoset Toolbag 4. I separated the model into several layers in ZBrush and exported it to Marmoset. Then, I set up the scene, adjusted the camera angle, and lighting. Additionally, I added an extra render pass for the Normal map. Furthermore, I used this scene for other characters. I organized and refine the render layers in Photoshop and then exported the PSB file to Unity. The "2D PSD Importer" automatically separated my layers into sprites

What's the issue, my friend?

Before this moment, I hadn't tried working with 2.5D. I realized that sprites don't interact well with a 3D environment and lights. This confused me, but our programmer figured out how to fix it and wrote the shader. Sprites began to behave as I wanted; I was able to use the Normal map, and the sprites responded to light.

Rig and Animation

I rigged the characters using the standard _'2D Animator' and 'IK Components' in Unity. During animation, I focused on my favorite principle of animation: 'Follow through and overlapping action'. We realized that we didn't need triggers for animation, as the animation starts automatically when we call the prefab. The programmer prepared prefabs before for characters that we planned, and I began to fill them with other characters.

I hope you found this post useful and interesting. It's my first time writing something like this. I've always wanted to share about my work on the Jam. Thank you for reading, and _don't forget to play and rate our game Uncanny Inscriptions