Achieving comics inspired 2D-look for a 3D game character with cel-shading aesthetics

The goal of this thesis was to discover and examine the techniques used to make real-time 3D game characters resemble 2D art inspired by comics and cartoons. The research was conducted by studying the history of games with 2D-stylized 3D art, as well as by reviewing literature, articles, and videos regarding the subject matter. The techniques found during the research were then used to create a character model in 2D-stylized 3D art to be used in a real-time game engine, providing a further practical look into the difficulties that may arise in the creation of a 2D-stylized 3D character model. The key result of the research was the existence of various common techniques used in the creation of 2D-stylized 3D art, such as celshading, manual normal editing, and different texturing styles. For some aspects of development, multiple methods and solutions were found. The results indicate there exist various contradictory ways to achieve the goal of 2D-stylized 3D game art, and which methods should be used depends on the artist’s resources and the desired art style. Further research on more techniques, as well as the effect of animations, would help provide a more comprehensive look at the possibilities of 2D-stylized 3D game art