Refine in 3D (adjust proportions/design, establish lighting, render base)
Use a 3D blockout to fix design and proportions, lock in lighting, and render a clean base that supports your 2D painting.
What it is
You start from a rough 3D blockout that matches your 2D thumbnail, then adjust proportions, spacing, and silhouette until the big shapes read as intentional from the final camera angle. Nudge walls, scale props, bend or tilt objects, and refine forms until the scene supports the story in your sketch.
Once design and proportions are solid, establish lighting: choose the main light's direction, strength, and color, add secondary lights if needed, and dial in basic bounce and fill. Test options from the fixed camera until the light supports the focal point and reads clearly on the forms. You're not chasing a perfect render — just a lighting setup you can paint over later.
With design and lighting set, render a clean base: flat or simple-shaded materials, clear values, and enough detail to support perspective and form. Export what you need for painting — often a beauty pass plus extra passes like ambient occlusion or a separate shadow layer — without wasting time on materials you'll repaint anyway. The result is a base to build on, not a finished piece.
Why it matters
Skip this stage and your 3D support becomes a liability: perspective may be right but proportions feel off, focal points drift, and lighting doesn't match your intent once you start painting. You end up fighting the render — warping forms in 2D, repainting areas because the light is confusing, or abandoning the base entirely. Refine in 3D first and the render locks in structure and light, so your painting time goes into design and mood, not fixes.
You can check it when
- ✓You can put your 3D base next to the original thumbnail and see matching composition, scale, and silhouette intent.
- ✓You can adjust 3D lighting until the main forms read clearly in grayscale from the final camera, with a clear light direction and focal area.
- ✓Your render passes give you clean values, simple materials, and shadows — without baked-in effects that are hard to fix in paint-over.
- ✓You rarely have to do heavy perspective surgery in 2D; most structural fixes are handled while still in 3D.