LogInWhat if pixel art was treated like a full PBR pipeline?
Michael Vicente
You may know Michael Vicente as the creator of Orb brushes for ZBrush, but what you might not know is that he also experiments with pixel art. Rather than sticking with the usual 2.5D approach, where lighting is fixed, and shadows lack depth, he started thinking: what if pixel art followed the same PBR principles that drive realism in today's 3D graphics?
What if we could apply albedo, normal maps, roughness, and even metalness to define how pixel art surfaces respond to light? Imagine seeing subtle surface details come to life through dynamic lighting. Picture lights that can rotate freely, shadows that fall exactly where a character's feet meet the ground, or environments that shift seamlessly between day and night, all while preserving a pixel-perfect aesthetic.
Well, it looks like it's possible, and Michael compiled a collection of experiments where he tried to bridge the gap between old-school pixel art with his 3D background in AAA games:
Michael Vicente
Michael Vicente
Michael Vicente
Michael Vicente
"This approach required painting pixel art normal maps by hand and designing hidden geometry for shadow interaction and receiving sprites, which is quite a heavier load than traditional 2D. Animation added even more complexity since traditional rigging tools don't apply. It required a completely new system, something a friend of mine handled on his own entirely, using many ideas, like converting my sprite sheet into a 3D mesh with Houdini since we had 8 directions created.
Again, the goal was that everything, including characters, should 'look' 2D. After a lot of trial and error, I honestly love the result. We're only scratching the surface, but I'm excited to apply these learnings to a game of my own, maybe someday."
Michael Vicente
Michael Vicente
Learn more on the project's page here and visit Michael Vicente's ArtStation for more. Also, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.