{"id":502441,"date":"2026-06-30T08:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/502441\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:55:12","slug":"how-i-blend-3d-and-3d-effects-to-create-video-game-key-art-art-using-blender-and-photoshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/502441\/","title":{"rendered":"How I blend 3D and 3D effects to create video game key art art using Blender and Photoshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a piece of key art I created back in early 2025 for the game Veil of Ashes by Greifenmaer Games Studio. Veil of Ashes is a real-time tactics game set in a dark steampunk universe, focused on tanks and infantry skirmishes.<\/p>\n

I was excited when they reached out to me as I enjoy blending history with fictional battlefields. Creating an epic piece of key art that reflects the nature of the game was both a rewarding and challenging task. The team had a general vision and fully trusted my skills and design sense to craft a striking image.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Below, I’ll explain how I approached the task. If you need the tools for your own digital art, see our guides to the best digital art software<\/a> and the best drawing tablets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Layering and composition <\/p>\n

\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

I started in 3D since I was provided with some 3D hero assets for the main tanks and aircraft. The team at Greifenmaer also sent their initial in-game layouts to help kick off the creative brief. <\/p>\n

I quickly moved on to blocking out the full scene in Blender, building the environment and placing basic rigged soldiers. <\/p>\n

Translating 2D knowledge into 3D<\/p>\n

\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

I had to plan all VFX effects and post-production from the start. Blender\u2019s Compositor lets me control and tweak colour balance, exposure, lens effects, etc. <\/p>\n

For most of the additional VFX, I used 2D image planes either with emission (explosions) or alpha planes (dust, particles). This saved a lot of resources. <\/p>\n

Final steps<\/p>\n

\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

I could then render high-resolution passes in Blender and polish the image in Photoshop. I was given the creative freedom to introduce some 2D touches, like brushstrokes along the edges and subtle painterly effects to soften parts of the \u2018fake\u2019 3D look.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

Creative Bloq is now easier to access than ever before with our on-the-go app, which brings you all the content you know and love from our website, but in a super-streamlined design.
Download the Creative Bloq app for iOS<\/a>
Download the Creative Bloq app for Android<\/a><\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

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Inspired to work on your own digital art? See below for deals on recommended drawing tablets that we’ve reviewed.<\/p>\n

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Sign up to Creative Bloq’s daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is a piece of key art I created back in early 2025 for the game Veil of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-502441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}