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How did Sumerian pictographs change into wedge-shaped cuneiform signs?

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Sumerian cuneiform tablet — cuneiform An account of barley distribution, probably from Uruk, Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900 bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

The transition from Sumerian pictographs to wedge-shaped cuneiform signs was a gradual process driven by the practicalities of writing on clay.

Initially, the Sumerians used pictographic tablets to record commodities, drawing objects with a pointed stylus or stick. As the 3rd millennium BCE progressed, the writing became increasingly cursive and conventionalized, moving away from detailed illustrations toward linear drawings.21

The iconic wedge-shaped appearance emerged because scribes began using a stylus with a slanted edge to press into the soft clay rather than drawing lines with a point. This shift offered several advantages:21
* Efficiency: It eliminated the need for complex, curving lines, which were difficult to execute in clay.2
* Standardization: The symbols became more abstract and conventionalized as the blunt stylus replaced the pointed one.1
* Orientation: To accommodate the new method, the signs were eventually rotated 90 degrees, and the standard direction of writing was fixed from left to right.2

The term cuneiform itself is derived from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge," reflecting this distinctive physical transformation.1