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Question by sSaltyDog · Oct 17, 2017 at 04:33 PM · texture2d animationnormalmapart

3D model to 2D sprite with normal map for '3D' directional lighting in 2D game

I'm making a top-down 2D space adventure. The game is getting to that point where I need to thing seriously about the process of creating art and I'm a little unsure.

My current plan for the art workflow is:

  1. Create 3D model in Blender (e.g. space ship)

  2. Capture top-down 2D image of 3D space ship model

  3. Create corresponding 2D normal map using 3D model

  4. Combine 2D image and normal map, using Unity's lighting to create the illusion of a 3D model.

My brother is learning Blender at the moment so he isn't an expert yet. Searching for information on creating 2D normal maps from 3D models, I haven't really found anything solid.

  • Are the steps above possible?

  • Could 2D textures with normal maps create the effect of 3D models when combined with directional lighting in Unity?

  • Is this a reasonable approach? Do you know of a better one?

The game that inspired this one is from the 90s. It uses separate sprites to animate ship rotation, with a unique sprite for each angle that the ship can turn. Each sprite is captured separately from a 3D image with directional lighting. I'm hoping to use find a more dynamic approach to creating the illusion of 3D lighting in a 2D game but perhaps I should just use that method?

Thanks in advance!

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Answer by sSaltyDog · Oct 20, 2017 at 06:47 AM

After some more digging, this certainly seems possible. I've found a few useful resources for anyone wanting to dynamically light 2D sprites in Unity.

Baking a normal map from a 3d shape

Similar Question with a great answer

2d dynamic lighting tutorial for Unity

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