# 2D game art style reference

> Explore the different art styles available to 2D games.

Decide what art style you want your game to have. The following table describes the main types of 2D art style:

| **Art style / technique** | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Minimalist                | Flat colors, clean lines and high readability, for example a mobile puzzle game.                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Pixel art                 | Pixelated graphics, for example a retro gaming art style.                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Illustrative              | A cartoon, stylized or realistic art style.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| Pre-rendered 3D           | Use this technique to create 2D art with 3D tools. You create art that is rendered as Sprites or Sprite sequences. You can use this technique when you need multiple angles of an asset, for example for the 8- or 4-direction Sprite characters used in retro art. |

Most sections of this guide are relevant for games with any art style. However, this guide does not cover working with pre-rendered 3D assets; to learn more about this see [2D or 3D projects: 2D gameplay with 3D graphics](/engine/6000.7/manual/get-started/first-time-user/2dor3d.md).

## Examples


**Mini Metro, a 2D game made with Unity with a minimalist art style:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.7/media/images/quickstart-mini-metro-minimalist.png)

See the [Mini Metro](https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/) site.


**Phased, a 2D game made with Unity with a pixel art style:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.7/media/images/quickstart-pixel-art-2d.png)

See the [Phased](https://unity.com/case-study/phased) Unity case study.


**Flipping Death, a 2D game made with Unity with an illustrative art style:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.7/media/images/quickstart-illustrative-2d.png)

See the [Flipping Death](https://unity.com/case-study/flipping-death) Unity case study.


**Rise of Kingdoms, a game made with Unity with the pre-rendered 3D technique:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.7/media/images/quickstart-pre-rendered-2d.png)

See the [Rise of Kingdoms](https://roc.lilithgames.com/en) site.