In this tutorial I will show you how to model, rig, and animate a wooden chest for games or other projects in Blender and how to make a sprite sheet for a 2D game or other project.
Modeling (Crate)
I will be using the default cube for the chest
In edit mode, I add a horizontal edge loop to separate the top and bottom parts of the chest
I select the five faces of the bottom part of the chest and the face for the lid
I tap the I-key twice so I can inset the faces individually
I then inset the faces
I then use ALT + E to scale the faces inward toward the center of the cube
Under the overlays menu, I turn on face orientation to make sure the faces are all facing the correct way (they should all be blue – if any are red, select the face and use ALT + N to flip the normal)
I then use the P-key to separate these inset faces
In edit mode, I add edges to each of the sides – these will become planks
I select every-other face and use the Y-key to separate them
I select all of the faces and add a solidify modifier with even thickness
I then add a bevel modifier and increase the segments
In object mode, I add the same bevel to the outer part of the crate
I select each object, right-click and choose “shade auto smooth”
I select the planks on the top and use the P-key to separate them
In object mode, I select the base of the crate
In edit mode, I select the lid and separate it using the P-key
In object mode, I apply the modifiers
I select the separated planks and base, and join them together using CTRL + J
I select the other planks and the lid and join them together using CTRL + J
I select the lid and to into edit mode
I select the bottom edge and use the E + S keys to scale it inwards to the edge of the planks
I then extrude it upward along the Z-Axis to fill in the gap
I repeat this process for the base of the crate
I then add a small bevel to the bottom edge loop of the lid to separate it from the rest of the crate
Modeling (Hinges)
I will now be adding the hinges
I add a cube and scale it down to a proper size for a hinge
I place this hinge on one side of the back of the lid
I right-click and set the origin to the 3D cursor
I then add a mirror modifier and apply it
I duplicate these hinges and move them down onto the base of the crate – scaling them as needed
UVs & Textures
Under the overlays menu, I activate “face orientation” to make sure all of the faces are the correct way – everything should be blue [make sure to check the interior]
I will be using a free palette from Imphenzia for my materials
I change to the viewport shading option so I can see the materials after they are applied
I split the viewport and open the UV editor and shader editor
I select the base and add a material
I drag in the palette and connect it to the base color of the principled shader
I also open the palette in the UV editor
In edit mode, I select the base of the crate
I use the U-key to access the UV mapping menu and select “project from view”
I can now select the UVs, scale them, and move them onto the color of the palette I choose
I select the lid and use the drop-down menu to add the material
In edit mode, I use the U-key to access the UV mapping menu and select “project from view”
I can now select the UVs, scale them, and move them onto the color of the palette I choose
I repeat this process for the hinges
I also go to File > External Data > Pack Resources – this means that the palette is now available in this Blender file, even if I move or delete the original file I downloaded
Parenting & Rigging
I will now select the lid hinges and SHIFT-select the lid
Using CTRL + P, I choose “object” and parent the hinges to the lid
I repeat this process for the base hinges and base of the crate
The rig is going to be extremely simple since the animation will only include the lid opening and closing
I first use SHIFT + Right-click to move the 3D cursor to the bottom-center of the back of the lid
I add a single bone and rotate it around the X-Axis 90-degrees
I also scale the bone down
I use CTRL + A and apply the rotation and scale
I select the lid and then the bone
I use CTRL + P to parent the lid to the bone and use “with automatic weights”
I can now select the bone and go to pose mode
I can now use the bone to rotate the lid around the X-Axis
Animation
I split the viewport and open the timeline
Under the output properties I make sure my frame rate is 30fps and change the end frame to 30
In pose mode, on frame 1, I use the I-key to inset a keyframe for location and rotation
I copy and paste these keyframes onto frame 30
On frame 15, I open the lid by rotating the bone around the X-Axis
I use the I-key to inset a keyframe for location and rotation
Export for 3D
For Godot, I would recommend using the glTF format for export
For Unreal and Unity, exporting an FBX is recommended
Export for 2D
If I want to export this animation to be used for 2D sprites, I need to set up the camera first
If I use the N-key, I can open the properties menu
Under the view tab, I make sure lock camera to view is activated – this will make it easier when I set up the camera
If I wanted to use this for a top-down game, I will set the X-Axis to 30-degrees and move the crate so I can see it
Under the output properties, I change the resolution to 32×32 – this will depend on how large you want the sprites
I move the crate so the front-bottom edge is on the bottom edge of the camera view and it is centered
Under the render properties, I make sure I have “transparent” activated under the film panel because I want a transparent background for the sprites
Under the output properties tab, I choose where I want to save the images
For the file format I will use PNG and RGBA for the color so I can export transparent background PNG images
I make sure I am in the render preview and set up my lights – this will depend on your project
Under the render menu, I render the animation
2D Sprite Sheet
I will be using Photoshop but you can use GIMP, Affinity, Krita, etc. – whatever you have access to and feel comfortable using
I will be making a sprite sheet that is 6 x 5
This means that if I use a 32 x 32 sprite, I need to have an image 192px wide by 160px high – with a transparent background
I will use guides to help me place the sprites [View > Guides > Guide Layout]
I change the number of columns to 6 and the number of rows to 5
I also change the gutter to zero
I can now drag in the PNG images – making sure they snap to the bottom of the guides
Once all of the sprites are in place, I can export a PNG image with a transparent background to be used as a sprite sheet