hi! i’ve been working on improving my ui/ux skills, especially around in-game icons. lately i’ve been learning to make icons, but they just don’t feel right because of the lighting and the shapes being off.
there are tons of tutorials out there on making material-style icons and general gfx/game icons, but not much when it comes to creating stylized 3d icons, the only resources i could find are timelapses and a few tutorials on very basic icons (gems, coins, etc).
by 3d icons, i mean something like the ones you see in pet simulator 99 or certain mobile games, not realistic, but with clean, cartoony shadows and depth. they’re not flat, but not hyper-realistic, it seems like the perfect in-between. (example below)
1 Like
I’ve seen 3D models painted in this style to be used as icons (it seems like Pet Simulator 99 uses 3D models as some of their icons), but most of these icons you attached appear to be drawn and edited in something like Illustrator or Photoshop.
I think it’d be important to look at a lot of references in this style when drawing them and maybe practicing some digital art fundamentals. Pinterest has a lot of icons in this style when you look up game icons! It might be helpful to try sculpting something in Blender (or other 3D modeling software) as a reference so that your dimensions are realistic.
Hi there! 
It’s cool that you’re looking forward to improving your skills in UI/UX Design!
Making icons for games can be challenging, but it will depend on the game’s vision and art style. The examples you listed in your post come from casual mobile games, where the icons are often stylized and well-designed.
If you are trying to achieve this type of style, there are two methods you can choose: 1) Use 3D models that have stylized shapes, which are NPR (non-photorealistic) and adapted to other artistic styles. Once they’re done, you can use Adobe Photoshop to color and render them; 2) Draw a simple sketch through Adobe Photoshop. As you’re done with the drawing, use some tools that the software provides, specifically, the Lasso tool, shapes, and standard brushes. There’s a Russian video that shows how the artist made it and, from my perspective, it’ll help you understand how they made it and how you can reproduce as well.
Furthermore, as @shibajuice said, you should also use references whenever thinking about creating icons and their visuals. Pinterest is a good option, but if you want to find more, try out ArtStation! 
2 Likes
