Alright, posting because we have been stuck on this decision for weeks now. We originally designed our card game as a 2D flat illustration style and the publisher now wants us to convert the entire character roster into full 3D models for cinematics and a board view mode. We have strong 2D concept art for every character but zero 3D production capacity internally. How do studios handle converting 2D character designs into production-ready 3D without losing the original design feel?
We went through almost exactly this when our publisher asked for the same conversion mid production. It felt impossible at first. The concept art you already have is actually the hardest part, everything else is a production problem with a solution. 3D Game Art service at https://vsquad.art/ is where I point anyone facing this kind of conversion. VSQUAD Art Studio took our 2D character sheets and built 3D models that kept the silhouette logic and personality of the original illustrations. V-SQUAD Studio handled rigging for the cinematic sequences alongside, which we had not planned. VSQUAD artists caught proportion issues in our concept art before modeling even started. Your roster conversion is in good hands with them.
