# Thoughts on 3D vs 2D pixel art for Solo Development? **URL:** \ **Category:** Asset Creation\ **Tags:** unreal-engine\ **Created:** [January 9, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320 "2017-01-09T16:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/1 "2017-01-09T16:31:04Z")
On average is 2D pixel art considered to be slower to develop than 3D? It is for a platformer either like super Metroid or a Mario Platformer. Was wondering low poly vs pixel art I will be developing it myself everything myself and I do not want to go down a road where time will hamper me. I should mention I don’t know how to use blender but I am learning UE4 and will be learning Blender after. If MAYA is a better option I have no problem learning that either. ---
**Author:** ![Zireael07](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Zireael07](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Zireael07)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/2 "2017-01-09T16:34:14Z")
If you don’t know blender/maya, 2d pixel art will be much faster. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/3 "2017-01-09T16:56:31Z")
> [@Zireael07;648394](#): > > If you don’t know blender/maya, 2d pixel art will be much faster. How long would it take to learn either blender or maya? Lets say I wanted to create a Mario clone or a Metal Slug clone? I am sure 2D pixel art is faster but could you imagine creating a whole game with it? and then doing animations? everything has to have its own frame. What if I used blender or maya to do this? So in that sense I am wondering about the whole Maya or Blender thing. Lets assume I was going for a low poly look nothing fancy, would it then still take long to learn either application? ---
**Author:** ![Zireael07](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Zireael07](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Zireael07)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/4 "2017-01-09T16:58:33Z")
I’ve been trying to learn blender since the summer, I can’t make anything worth anything, it’s either a basic cube or a total mess (faces not connected, wrong normals etc.). ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/5 "2017-01-09T17:01:21Z")
> [@Zireael07;648409](#): > > I’ve been trying to learn blender since the summer, I can’t make anything worth anything, it’s either a basic cube or a total mess (faces not connected, wrong normals etc.). OOh i see well 3D is out of the question for me then it seems. I guess I should go ahead with the Pixel Art, though if I was to do pixel art, Unity would without a doubt be the obvious winner. It means I would be giving up UE4 hmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_30e0f287](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_30e0f287](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_30e0f287)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/6 "2017-01-09T18:10:03Z")
Why is Unity the winner, just use paper2d. ---
**Author:** ![HavocX](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@HavocX](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/HavocX)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/7 "2017-01-09T19:01:09Z")
Alas, paper2d is still very much lacking compared to 2D in Unity, and it is currently not being developed further. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/8 "2017-01-09T19:21:40Z")
> [@HavocX;648477](#): > > Alas, paper2d is still very much lacking compared to 2D in Unity, and it is currently not being developed further. and not only that but the size of the paper 2D UE4 game is going to be massive. People who download pixel art games are accustomed to 300mb and lower. In UE4 you are talking Gigabytes size. ---
**Author:** ![FrankieV](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@FrankieV](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/FrankieV)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/9 "2017-01-09T22:46:53Z")
> [@Spetsnaz\_;648406](#): > > How long would it take to learn either blender or maya? > > Lets say I wanted to create a Mario clone or a Metal Slug clone? I am sure 2D pixel art is faster but could you imagine creating a whole game with it? and then doing animations? everything has to have its own frame. What if I used blender or maya to do this? > > So in that sense I am wondering about the whole Maya or Blender thing. > > Lets assume I was going for a low poly look nothing fancy, would it then still take long to learn either application? Well it’s not about learning an application but about figuring out the process necessary to achieve the objective based on the need and in the case of paper 2d what is required to acquire the 2d sprite sheets where 3d can be used to produce the 2d art. For example > **[Creating a spritesheet using Daz Studio and The GIMP – GameFromScratch.com](https://gamefromscratch.com/creating-a-spritesheet-using-daz-studio-and-the-gimp/)** > >     I have been playing around a bit with Daz 3D Studio since it was recently made freely available. At first I struggled to find an actual use for the program, then I realized how exceptionally easy it made creating animated sprites. The... So you don’t have to “learn” Blender but the process similar to the process as the example where you don’t have to learn Daz Studio or Gimp to acquire what is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_169ce000](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_169ce000](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_169ce000)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:00am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/10 "2017-01-11T06:00:06Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![kraid](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@kraid](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/kraid)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:05am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/11 "2017-01-11T11:05:56Z")
Usually i’d say 2D is faster to develop then 3D Art especially if you’re aiming for 8bit or 16bit style. For most ppl it’s also easier to learn 2D then 3D modelling, rigging and animation. Ofc. if you’re a 3D expert, you might be faster with 3D then with 2D. In the end, not everyone is able to master 3D and not everyone can do good Pixelart. So i’d recomend you to start with learning either 2D or 3D instead of jumping straight into UE4 without any custom content in your hands. If you’re good at drawing, 2D might be your best choice. But if you rather construct geometric shapes on Paper then to draw stuff from your imagination, 3D might be a thing for you. ---
**Author:** ![VictorBurgos](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/victorburgos/32/1008648_2.png) [@VictorBurgos](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/VictorBurgos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/12 "2017-01-11T18:27:46Z")
If we are strictly talking about UE4, which why wouldn’t we be…then sure Paper2D is severely crippled and lacking of features that other 2D engines have, Unity has a slightly better take on their 2D side, but really Game Maker Studio 2 is the king of 2D nowadays, and was probably the real king in GM:Studio days as well. 2D will be the fastest way to pump out assets and to reiterate. But obviously, if you are already decent at 3D, you may be able to crank out whatever assets you need, depending on the complexity and time you have. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/13 "2017-01-12T23:34:47Z")
Well guys I have ZERO experience in 3D I forgot to mention that I am learning some pixel art here and its certainly doable but boy is it hard to actually get something pretty looking and know how to do shadows etc ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_b49885e3](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_b49885e3](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_b49885e3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:32am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/15 "2017-01-13T08:32:16Z")
You will still have to do some 2d sprite creation if you do 3d anyways cuz models usually dont look good without good textures on them. Although you can make 3d models that have multiple textures on them and you can plug in some nice materials in ue4 to make models look pretty good without making textures for your uvs. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:41am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/16 "2017-01-13T08:41:37Z")
> [@Unholypimpin;650405](#): > > You will still have to do some 2d sprite creation if you do 3d anyways cuz models usually dont look good without good textures on them. Although you can make 3d models that have multiple textures on them and you can plug in some nice materials in ue4 to make models look pretty good without making textures for your uvs. So is 2D easier and faster than 3D if I never did either before? I bet learning blender would also be hard ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_87e39369](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_87e39369](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_87e39369)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/18 "2017-01-13T16:31:08Z")
I’m using 3d for my game I’ve been using blender for 2 years now. I like Blender better than Maya and a lot of people who teach blender courses prefer it too. There people who I spoke to who’ve been using blender for over a decade who are still not as great as they would like to be it really depends someone told me back when I was just using Blender for like a day that you never stop learning about it there so many updates and new techquines to learn sorry for my spelling I know typos are here. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_b49885e3](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_b49885e3](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_b49885e3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/19 "2017-01-13T17:17:57Z")
> [@Spetsnaz\_;650415](#): > > So is 2D easier and faster than 3D if I never did either before? I bet learning blender would also be hard That all depends on skill and quality. Anything in life that you want to be perfect and or good quality takes times and patience, so dont expect either or to be easier or faster if you want instant satisfaction. At the end of the day your art style depends on the game you want to make, if you want a more classic look and feel then Id say stick with 2d art however if you want a more modern look with clean animations then go with 3d models. I personally like 3d modeling because it does seem to be faster and animating in 3d seems easier to me then making hundreds of sprites for walking,jumping,fighting and dying animations. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_DreReid](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@I\_Am\_DreReid](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/I_Am_DreReid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/20 "2017-01-13T19:49:16Z")
I’m better at doing 3d art than 2d. I can draw good and apply the colors but when it comes to shading and lighting i’m stuckish. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_3cae4498](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_3cae4498)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/thoughts-on-3d-vs-2d-pixel-art-for-solo-development/82320/21 "2017-01-14T04:18:58Z")
^ SO I agree with both of you I just tried 2D pixel art and I SUCKED!!! massively!!! sucked in ways you could only imagine!! So now I know, 2D is noway in hell for me I cannot draw I cannot use shadows and lighting in a 2D drawing. Does that mean 3D is now perhaps my only hope hmmm. I want to create a 2.5D platformer like Super Metroid