My 3D to 2D Environment Process (Patreon)
Content
When I first started animating, I just draw my environments directly in Flash. It was the early 2000s so quality control wasn't much of an issue back then. The fact that there were cartoons on the internet at all was good enough. Now the entertainment market is pretty saturated with content.
After a while, I would start drawing my backgrounds in Photoshop to give the animations a more "professional" feel.
Eventually, I just started modeling environments in 3D. Then I'd photoshop them using an "Oil Paint" type filter, which honestly just made everything look all smeared. Especially in the first WHOOKOS 1 Remake from 2014 (damn that feels long ago).
These days are different! I do basic 3D environments with some simple lighting so I have an idea of how I'll shade everything. Once that's done, I draw over the 3D image in Adobe Animate.
I used to have trouble in the past when I tried to merge the 3D backgrounds with the 2D flash characters. They used to clash really hard and I don't want any distractions like that in the reboot.