# Introduction to 2D

> Understand the available features of 2D projects in Unity.

You can use Unity to create 2D projects. This page introduces the gameplay, graphics, and physics specific to 2D Unity projects.

## Gameplay in 2D

The familiar functions of the Unity Editor when you use 3D mode are still available but with helpful additions to simplify 2D development.


**Scene viewed in 2D mode:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.6/media/images/Overview2D.jpg)

The most noticeable feature is the **2D** view mode button in the toolbar of the Scene view. When you enable 2D mode, Unity will set an orthographic (perspective-free) view. This view means that the camera looks along the z-axis with the y-axis increasing upwards, which enables you to visualize the scene and easily place 2D objects.

For a full list of 2D components, how to change between 2D and 3D mode, and the different 2D and 3D mode settings, refer to [2D or 3D Projects](/engine/6000.6/manual/get-started/first-time-user/2dor3d.md).

## 2D graphics

Graphic objects in 2D are known as **Sprites**. Sprites are standard textures, with special techniques for combining and managing sprite textures for efficiency and convenience during development. Unity provides a built-in [Sprite Editor](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/sprite/use-editor.md) to let you extract sprite graphics from a larger image. This enables you to edit many component images within a single texture in your image editor. You can use this, for example, to keep the arms, legs, and body of a character as separate elements within one image.

Sprites are rendered with a [Sprite Renderer](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/sprite/sprite-renderer-reference.md) component rather than the [Mesh Renderer](/engine/6000.6/manual/assets-and-media/asset-types/mesh/components-reference/class-mesh-renderer.md) used with 3D objects. You can add this to a GameObject via the Components menu (**Component** > **Rendering** > Editor) or you can create a GameObject directly with a Sprite Renderer already attached (menu: Editor > Editor > **Sprites**, then select a shape).

You can also use a [Sprite Creator](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/sprite/placeholder.md) tool to make placeholder 2D images.

## 2D physics

Unity has a separate physics system to handle 2D physics so you can make use of optimizations only available with 2D. The components correspond to the standard 3D physics components such as [Rigidbody](/engine/6000.6/manual/physics-section/physics-overview/rigidbody/class-rigidbody.md), [Box Collider](/engine/6000.6/manual/physics-section/physics-overview/collision-section/collider-shapes/primitive-colliders/class-box-collider.md), and [Hinge Joint](/engine/6000.6/manual/physics-section/physics-overview/joints-section/class-hinge-joint.md), but with `2D` appended to the name. Therefore, you can equip sprites with [Rigidbody 2D](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/2d-physics/rigidbody-2d/introduction-to-rigidbody-2d.md), [Box Collider 2D](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/2d-physics/collider-2d/box-collider-2d-reference.md), and [Hinge Joint 2D](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/2d-physics/2d-joints/hinge-joint-2d/reference.md). Most 2D physics components are flattened versions of the 3D equivalents (for example, [**Box Collider 2D**](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity2d/2d-physics/collider-2d/box-collider-2d-reference.md) is a square while [**Box Collider**](/engine/6000.6/manual/physics-section/physics-overview/collision-section/collider-shapes/primitive-colliders/class-box-collider.md) is a cube) but there are a few exceptions.

For the full list of 2D physics components, refer to [2D or 3D Projects](/engine/6000.6/manual/get-started/first-time-user/2dor3d.md). For further information about 2D physics concepts and components, refer to the [Physics](/engine/6000.6/manual/physics-section.md) section of the manual. To specify 2D physics settings, refer to the [Physics 2D](/engine/6000.6/manual/unity-editor/editor-settings-reference/comp-manager-group/class-physics2dsettings.md) window.