Project #1: 2D Block Sprite

This was a project aimed at getting us familiarized with the workings of Maya and Unreal. 

Maya wasn't really involved all that much, except to create a relatively high poly cube that would become our block cube (static mesh) that we would use to create the 2D Sprite. 

Downloaded from https://pokemondb.net

For the reference image itself, I wasn't originally gonna go for the Charizard (I didn't even think about it), but then I discovered that some websites offer free zip files of all the Pokémon creatures from every game, all the way from Red/Blue/Green generation to the Black/White generation. So this became rather an exercise in nostalgia, which, honestly, is a very good way to not just learn the process, but retain it.

Unfortunately, the original sprite size was 64X64 px, and when I tried resizing it to 32X32 px, the already quite pixelated image became almost unrecognizable as Charizard. So I kept it the way it was, which inevitably took a toll when it came to actually arranging those blocks. But when I saw the final product, I realized those two-and-a-half hours were well spent.

I especially like the shimmer of the silvery-grey background blocks. I didn't plan for it, and I'm not entire sure how it came about, honestly. Perhaps a combination of the sprite plane's emission, the rectangular light and the fog? I might create a gif with that shimmery effect one of these days and post it here.

I didn't quite get the lovely border glow from the sprite plane beneath the 2D blocks that Nick Zuccarello got with his Mario demonstration. That might be because of the sheer scale, which drowns out that effect. Maybe ramping up the emission of the plane might do the trick.

Thanks for checking this out. Let me know what you think.