How to make 3D look 2D? Don't overthink it!

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Animation by David Oneacre
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I am available for freelance and other opportunities! Please contact me via email for recent examples of my work.
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Producer: Sean Aitchison (via Jellybox)

[@frag2]

that ending line is so real

[@OmniSync]

widescreen tvs that curve at a 360 degree angle: 💀

[@xxxautito9877]

​@@OmniSyncstill 2d

[@OmniSync]

@@xxxautito9877 god damn it

[@warmination7891]

@@OmniSyncjust a 2d image displayed and stretched onto screen

[@Notdukc]

Magic

[@epikoof]

"3D art is just a way of creating 2D images" goes hard,, screens will be 2D no matter what, i love this quote

[@oktayyildirim2911]

Screens will be 2D no matter what, except when they aren't (see Nintendo 3DS)

[@HiHi-oc3gh]

@@oktayyildirim2911I think that’s still technically 2D. The screen doesn’t have 3 dimensions, it just looks like it is. The screen is showing you two 2D images which your brain interprets it as 3D

[@oktayyildirim2911]

@@HiHi-oc3gh Bro, 3D displays "only looking" like they're 3D is their entire point.

[@HiHi-oc3gh]

@@oktayyildirim2911 I know. I’m just saying it still technically counts as 2d.

[@oktayyildirim2911]

@@HiHi-oc3gh No offense, but that's just semantics. Yes, the frame shown to each eye is a 2D image, but those images must be constructed from a 3D space in order to not confuse your brain, and in the end, the viewer perceives the image as 3D.

[@pixelzwithaz]

For all my blenderers out there, White emission shader with grease pencil line art modifier.

[@Brimations]

Wait… you watch doodley too?!

[@beanoptodon]

​@@Brimationsor they do it themselves

[@Infinite-Omega]

Backgrounds still look too flat with just 2 colors, what are the solutions?

[@sgunky]

thank u 😭🙏

[@J03_M4m4]

I'm boutta blend all over my computer now

[@travelsizedhispasian]

Man, I forget how beautiful Arcane looks sometimes

[@xboxpenguin8705]

Arcane is an absolute TREASURE of animation

[@kwk111]

I often think about the scrapped sequel to Treasure Planet that was in pre-production but got cancelled, that would look so cool in the Arcane art style if they made it now

[@VEE0034]

They wasted that talent on league of legends of all things.

[@leaf1673]

@@VEE0034nah cuz ever just be like “wow (character/literally anything ab arcane) is so cool i love it so much” and than it hits u that u just supported a league of legends related project

[@ralek592]

​@@leaf1673worst part is that you know these characters ain't gonna die.

[@Just_a_commenter]

Love the acknowledgement that something doesn't have to be super complex or confusing to be good. Basic shapes, simple tactics, and well thought out art direction goes a long way in creating quality stuff. Very nice c:

[@quadpad_music]

Basically, "work smarter, not harder".

[@katabooz]

what the hell is that profile picture dawg

[@Just_a_commenter]

@@katabooz Is a round Latias, obviously. o:

[@katabooz]

@@Just_a_commenter good thing i like inflation or this would be really weird

[@Just_a_commenter]

@@katabooz Technically it's the 4 letter V word, but if you like the alternative then that's cool too!

[@retelefe]

I'm glad you showed Guilty Gear Strive, because I always knew this as "Arc System artstyle", they've been puting out "2d" games that are actually 3d for a while now

[@fedweezy4976]

Me too! My only complaint is that it isn't a good example of using "simple" techniques and tools since the character models are incredibly complex in how they animate in order to look like they were hand-drawn animation.

[@PlayerZeroStart]

I do wish he showed Xrd or FighterZ instead though, since those games go much harder into the "fake 2D" look while Strive doesn't go as hard into it.

[@dionysus913]

@@PlayerZeroStartMaybe that was the point? Showing off subtle little moments that aren’t as obvious? Because they trick your brain into the “2D mode” just as well. You don’t “need” to go as hard into the fake-2D effect to get the same result, I think was the point.

[@umjamer]

whenever i show people ggst and tell them its 3D they dont believe me because its so well done it looks like 2D anime drawings

[@HeisenbergFam]

"3D Doodley doesnt exist, he cant hurt you" 3D Doodley:

[@alxedu125]

he always did

[@wolfieolfie]

⁠@@alxedu125”Doodley is 3D?” “Always has been.”

[@GLUBSCHI]

Oh of course he's here too

[@aweebtaku429]

​@@wolfieolfiebeat me to it

[@Flint_Lockwood_Real]

What's up bro ✌

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

"Don't overthink it" - the math teacher after explaining the most complicated equation in man kind

[@Not_Kaitlyn]

Lmao

[@niblet8308]

Just want to mention that the short clip from Promare you used is one of my favourite clips of animation of all time, it goes so fucking cold

[@doodley3d]

that shot goes so unbelievably hard

[@saffronnie3969]

Paired with the awesome music too. That’s why I love Promare so much!

[@Webmage101]

Promare is amazing.

[@beanoptodon]

Promare is amazing. I love how lighthearted and easy to digest it is Eye candy ❤

[@StarlitWitchy]

Promare

[@elimanic7925]

"And Arcane has a really simple trick to make their characters look like they were painted by hand!" "We Paint 😊"

[@matthewhenderson1765]

I've learned that with blender the last couple weeks in class, you can make things look really nice without going crazy with the polygons. Keeping it simple makes it easier to edit later also 😂

[@user-id3fc8qs7y]

Banban is an excellent example of it. Wasting entire SM64 polygons count on 1 square and 2 cyllinders with no textures is really cringe. That's the example of why you shouldn't allow money grabbers into game industry - they'll give no f about quality, but will make everything to make more money

[@NickiRusin]

We need more Promare enjoyers out there, one of the best of Trigger's lineup

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

Awful writing, amazing animation.

[@saffronnie3969]

@@tvsonicserbia5140isn’t trigger always awful writing and amazing animation?

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

@@saffronnie3969 Absolutely not, Kazuki Nakashima is one of the best writers working in anime. It's loud and brash but structurally very sound. Promare blows Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill out of the water with animation because it's a movie, but they have more memorable characters, themes and drama.

[@saffronnie3969]

@@tvsonicserbia5140 I agree there. Promare is very good. I always call it "Fire force done right" XD But in general, the Studio Trigger animes I have seen have sloppy writing, obvious plot twists, but great animation! And Little Witch Academia is one of my fave animes! So!

[@lazlysun]

im heartbroken that i never got to see promare in theaters.it's a must watch for ppl who watch anime for the animation. And this is coming from someone who honestly has a hard time getting into other trigger series bc of the writing... I must've watched Promare at least five times now

[@JNSStudios2]

I wish more things had the “project outline” ability. I was making a 2D-styled VRChat avatar and the method of expanding and inverting the mesh to create the outline effect was a pretty big performance loss for the avatar. Thankfully it’s not game-crashing, but still. My poor little laptop has a harder time using that avatar because of it :(

[@groekanne7765]

It is possible to achieve this via shader math and im certain thats rather how its done in games, duplicating the meshes is something you can afford only in low poly applications. If youre curious about it, google glsl outline shader.

[@CandiedC]

I just realised someone could make something so resource intensive for the meta quest specifically that it crashes those devices only LMAO

[@YonkaLmao]

in blender the line-art grease pencil modifier (pretty much project outline) doesn't run much faster :(

[@Marsi-P]

@@CandiedCWhen uploading an avatar for the quest if it has too many bones or polygons it just won’t let you upload it at all. Of course people have gotten around this but it’s not easy lol

[@chicken]

Arcane's art style is truly a work of art, simple yet beautiful in its execution. It's amazing how a few basic shapes can create such stunning visuals.

[@Nickmane193]

Wowie zowie

[@mak993]

3D artists search way to make 3D look like 2D 3D artists search way to make 2D look like 3D The tables have turned

[@Luluskuy]

*2D

[@TheEggGuy64]

Ah yes 3Doodley

[@illitero]

People being surprised this character is 3D is surprising to me since it's so evident in the movement and interaction/overlap. Not at all implying anything negative, it's just what's visible given the artistic choice 😊

[@the_real_fiz2zy]

I think the realisation that 3D art always produces a 2D result is a real "a-ha" moment for a lot of artists. It opens up a whole new world, where breaking the rules of the 3D environment doesn't matter anymore because the only thing that matters is how it looks from the camera's point of view.

[@anthonyslaptheknee9344]

something I always think about is when arc sys came out and basically tell people how to achieve wizardry and its still impressing people. I love magic

[@baconlord69]

BRIDGET!!!!!!!!

[@IAmTanker]

That loop is perfect. Thank you.

[@MadameQuackers]

I love that you mentioned Okami. That game goes an amazing job replicating old Japanese artwork via this style

[@LampManIsCool]

I have been playing Okami a lot lately. It’s so nostalgic to me.

[@AhmedMalaki]

I wanna play that game But I heard that it's an ok zelda clone it was an unpopular opinion I will still play it but zelda games are kinda hard to perfectly replicate them I get insane amount of joy from opening worlds with items and abilities mini shoot adventures managed to replicate that joy pretty well while still being original I will still play okami but an ok zelda game might as will as be a boring zelda game

[@LampManIsCool]

@@AhmedMalaki it’s not that much like Zelda.

[@Samsgm]

Him mentioning jet set radio feels like a dream

[@The16-Bitdude]

same, after all its the first game to ever introduce cartoony types of 3d models.

[@Samsgm]

Yeah lol.@@The16-Bitdude

[@Maxler5795]

Guilty gear strive mentioned i can die happy now

[@Ren_Amamiya_headspace]

Brisket

[@TheRealKotone-Shiomi]

@@Ren_Amamiya_headspaceBrisket!!!!

[@Ren_Amamiya_headspace]

@@TheRealKotone-Shiomi JOKER PERSONA 5 SUPER SMASH BROS!

[@TheRealKotone-Shiomi]

@@Ren_Amamiya_headspace YU NARUMUKI PERSONA 4 ARENA ULTIMAX!

[@Ren_Amamiya_headspace]

@@TheRealKotone-Shiomi THE UNIVERSES ARE COLLIDING

[@Shadowlikahuebr]

Omg promare, my Favorite film

[@hexagonalchaos]

BRIDGET!

[@corndotjpeg7655]

BRIDGET!

[@Ren_Amamiya_headspace]

BRISKET

[@Bananaseeds101]

BRIDGET!!!

[@coomcharger6105]

She's BALLIN

[@Omniscient_AI]

BUDGET!!

[@atmosstreams]

From the way Doodley moved I’m surprised people didn’t realize he was 3d sooner

[@theguythatplaysuniversesan9869]

When you don’t put in shadows, it just looks flat

[@Whimsykit]

That’s the point

[@butiful_fishie]

we just saw how the cube of death was made

[@Yaxxin23IsCool]

Same engines call that outline effect “highlight” just in case anyone struggled to find it

[@Frog_Drip]

Doodley: 3d art is just a way of creating 2d images. Me: 🤯

[@Saturno0o-y4c]

Gimberly gigachad

[@thatcowguy1308]

JET SET RADIOOOO

[@The16-Bitdude]

my fav of all time!

[@soysource3218]

So glad you mentioned Arcane and it’s brilliant usage of hand painted textures! ❤

[@vickykitty9492]

YAAS THE PROMARE CLIP!!!! Gosh I love that sequence soo much!! Thanks so much for putting a spotlight on some of Trigger’s stunning work!!

[@Bealzabub]

I really think so many people when they try to jump from 2D to 3D forget that you're still just making pictures

[@titanic_monarch796]

I'v argue that the sketch outlines method you use is more true to what you see in 2d art since in JSR, removing the outine just gives you the character minus the outline, whereas if you were to do that with drawn art the character looks weird and disproportionate, since the outline goes inward.

[@doodley3d]

Yeah I agree! The inverted hull method is good for games as it's very efficient, but I would only use it for very thin lines anywhere else. The downside of the sketch outline is that it's quite power hungry.

[@drwilby3195]

BRISKET :333

[@unclean_soooty]

Basketball ❤❤❤

[@schabmielony]

Ultimate spider man is have the best outlines on whole game history

[@TheBloxFruitTeacher]

As Bob from Roblox Slap Battles, i can officially say that the cube he showed was in fact the infamous *cube of death*

[@thecatacombhimself]

THAT SMOOTH ENDING TRANSITION THOUGH

[@NickNamesNil]

this is cool stuff how much does the animation software cost?

[@doodley3d]

I would start with Blender, which is free and can do pretty much everything this video mentions! The program mentioned here, Maya, costs $300/yr for Maya Indie.

[@giggiba9771]

I'm not even interested in 3D but I watch the videos just because I think his character is cute

[@Rayodoodle]

FINALLY. SOMEONE ELSE WHO KNOWS OKAMI HD.

[@effmereality]

guilty gear was last expected thing in this video

[@squidge18]

Brisket appearance 🤩

[@AziDoesQuestionableThings]

Bucket Guilty Gear

[@NickiRusin]

Buffy

[@Darting536]

"Don't overthink it" My dumbass: *WHOS GONNA STOP ME*

[@rozelia_the_octo06]

I got hype over jet set radio for no reason lmao but good video very informal

[@mpcgod6987]

brisket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ducksinmyhead6320]

Briget

[@Dalek_Scientist]

Bucket!

[@TerabyteAIX]

when I make materials in Blender, I basically use the technique of "bash random nodes together until it looks cool"

[@JeromeShark]

Plot Twist: Doodley was always 2D, he’s just trapped in the 3D world, & is too thin for us to see

[@ExaltedWaffle]

Guilty Gear shown, you're now even more based

[@keygenlain]

Brisket 💜

[@THEDR0NEZ0NE]

Male

[@Vai_se_fuder_games]

Does doodley like Noodles?

[@SomeoneMaybe05]

As in the food or the Noodle, the KZbinr.

[@ioele1000]

I read somewhere that most modern anime is made this way, with exceptions of course, and when you see scenes that go from 2d to 3D they are just switching shaders. Idk how true it is, but sounds legit.

[@doodley3d]

I wouldn't say most. A handful are a mix of 2D and 3D (Dorohedoro, Beastars, etc. which might be what you're describing) and many rotoscope 3D models for more complex shots, but it's still a largely 2D animated industry.

[@LocalBookHead]

The cube of death (i heard it kills) HE SUMMONED IT

[@williamswonderland3636]

You didn't fool me for a second. I knew it was 3d the whole time. Animators can tell these things apart very easily

[@Persvicx]

Jet set radio>>>

[@PrinceFlumph]

Cell shading is such an underrated art style I find.

[@TheWorstAlex]

THE TOWN INSIDE ME‼️‼️

[@HatEnthusiast]

When Ōkami was mentioned it felt like a jumpscare straight out of my childhood.

[@Impactor-it1pl]

The Invert outline effect is also seen on the Rb battles swords and the battle beam fun fact

[@I_Drink_Pepsi_Wrong]

I cant (and never will) wrap my head around 3D outlines

[@BehrIstired]

Well I overthink and I tried my best not to overthink yet I still do.

[@theotherjared9824]

There is also the Mr. Game & Watch approach of literally flattening the 3D model until it's basically 2D. I'm surprised that hasn't been used more. Have a "2D" animation with nearly impossible camera angles and sweeping shot without breaking the illusion.

[@CloverOfMisfortune]

“Yeah, i am.” *bends face*

[@JeremyBX]

I like this trend of YT Short makers seamlessly looping their shorts

[@GremlinSciences]

That's a really common thing in anime as well. Many anime fans _hate_ 3dcg, but what they don't realize (and what I'm constantly pointing out) is that a _lot_ of anime is entirely 3dcg. If you know what indicators to look for, it usually just jumps right out at you. Whenever you're watching an anime and think " wow, that looks really good," and it's not pre-2000's, it's probably using 3dcg

[@derandi2324]

honestly okami is easily one my most favorite games of its genre hands down.

[@artsintheam]

same! love your pfp, splatoon is great

[@miguelabro]

As a 2d animator, i could tell from the start that doodley is 3d.

[@sepiasmith5065]

god the Arcane art style is so gorgeous i hope all the staff are getting paid so well

[@dachannelbiz1136]

Ain’t no way I’m just finding u out after I failed my 3D Maya classes. I honestly lost passion in learning 3D bc of how terrible my professor is but I’m too stubborn about changing my focus yet so I’m retaking the class. You post pretty interesting stuffs and I think I’ll be more engaged with Maya this way :D

[@Spidey2099official]

Perfect video. I’m a big fan of your animations

[@imRadial]

honestly the best style of video ive seen

[@El_Manz]

The second I saw him move his arm forward I was so surprised :0

[@benm6893]

"inverted hull" is also called front face culling. The more you know.

[@RiotTrail]

Exactly right, reminds me of a saying, when you hear galloping, think horses, not zebras, the simplest idea is usually the right one

[@thatonetreeguy]

Idk how i can but i can definitely tell that Doodley is 3D

[@fedweezy4976]

Arc System Works DID use a fuckton of complicated shading techniques tho. They didn't just animate fewer frames, the models are incredibly complex and it was groundbreaking at the time of guilty gear Xrd.

[@RandomDude647]

Guilty gear strive doesnt "lower its frame rate". What the developers did actually takes a lot more work than that. They hand-craft each and every frame of animation, rather than using keyframes and motion tweens like other 3d animation studios. This lets it look more like 2d animation and also introduces little squash-and-stretch imperfections (aka the characters look off-model often) that further the 2d look

[@doodley3d]

I'm aware. I simplify descriptions as my videos aren't intended for other animators. You need to speak in layman's language as animating on 2s and 3s doesn't make sense to a majority of people, but a majority understand framerates.

[@sequoia5934]

I MISS OKAMIII

[@Gecko1993HogheadIncOfficial]

Cel-Shaded CGI rocks! Though sometimes the style doesn’t end up working out in the end. For example, Shantae was supposed to go 3D on the GameCube, but the cel-shading on her gave her what the devs refer to as “Flintstone Face”.

[@user-uf4bx6zh6z]

Your confidence is contagious.

[@doodley3d]

That's the hope!

[@user-jg6po4wc1j]

Amazing! Thanks!!

[@nelitaazucena2287]

That cube looks like the cube of death

[@TheApoke]

Great tutorial!!

[@SimplyTrulyNothing]

Animation is so cool and beautiful

[@IamDesperateForAChannelName]

Now I can’t unsee the doodley without shader 😭😭😭

[@loverogames]

WE ARE GOING TO SLAP BATTLES DEATH CUBE WITH THIS ONE

[@killerwlf9631]

DUDE THSI IS AMAZING!

[@Mothe_Bones]

To me it's like a treachery of images thing, where often times it's more important to represent the object in non literal ways then to faithfully recreate it

[@doodley3d]

Agreed.

[@BobLuckIsReal]

Blud just explained how they made the cube of death outline

[@formal_club]

great video!! :) ❤

[@yourlocalflightlessangel02833]

Bro, you really deserve so many more subscribers your animations are perfect

[@sauceoverlord6760]

Next term in collage im going to be 3d animating, i can already tell your videos are gonna help a whole lot

[@dyrmii_the_weirdo]

OMG FINALLY SOMEONE MENTIONS OKAMI, IM SO HAPPY

[@nef36]

This video made me realise there are probably people who don't know that Arcane's painted aesthetic is just detailed texture work and not black magic or something

[@AfelixMacapagal]

Wow this will help me while animating!😁

[@madgoat2125]

I’m a 2d artist but love 3d artists n art bc of the creativity and versatility, rock on :D

[@plague8163]

It takes skill to do photorealism in 3D software, but I'm always far more impressed by people who stylize their styles in 3D.