2D and 3D icons design - what is the difference?
Speaking about 3d Icons we should point out that the source of light plays an extremely important role for creating authentic three-dimensional images. Certainly the using several light sources in web design nowadays is preferable but remember that they should follow basic laws of physics and be truthful. So if you need to make 3D web icons look softer and more realistic - use several lights.
Both 2D and 3D icons represent the volume found in the three-dimensional world but use various methods of creating this illusion. Certainly the volume can be displayed by 3D Icons to much more extent than 2D Icons. One of the minuses of 2D Icons are flat images that show just one perspective. To this disadvantage you can also add one more - detailed highlights and imperceptible soft shadows are missing. Also the shades usage is really limited.
3D icons have got all these features instead. Nevertheless don't forget that 3D is nothing but mathematical replication of the data that however limits its usage. In some case 3D objects like 3D Icons may be successfully replaced by 2D ones or by the videos with the sounds. The sounds give some extra dimensionality to the videos that actually use 2D images.3D dimension can be achieved with the software used for 3D modeling. Bear in mind that 3D icons should be depicted in correlation with the other objects and the environment they're placed into.
