How do I make 2d objects look like they’re in a 3d environment?
Kind of like the video game paper mario. I’m using photoshop and want a 2D object to look like it’s sitting apart from the background. Real cartoony like. If that kind of artwork even has a specific name, what is it?
Basically, light, shadow, perspective, layering.
You can add some depth (and set the scene so your viewer is ready to be ‘fooled’) to the background by using Photoshop layers. Use perspective and lighting - things farther away will be less sharp, smaller in scale, and not as brightly lit as things in the foreground.
If you just want to have your 2d character move between other objects, the simplest way is to create 3 or more layers. have a background of objects, and a foreground of objects, with your character sandwiched in between.
You can help the viewer ’see’ extra depth by adding more layers, or by exposing the side of some objects, and using appropriate shadow / lighting.
I don’t know what this technique (or techniques) would be called.
I love old woodcuts like M C Escher did - they give lots of perspective to fool the eye, and he did that without photoshop layers.