Thursday, October 30, 2014

My 3rd Voxel People Set

John B. Marine | 11:47 PM | | | Be the first to comment!
My third set of voxel people with MagicaVoxel will be featured. This all features characters based on the second variation model I shown you previously. I continue to enjoy making these models mostly for fun. They are just models to you, but they have personalities outside of their blocky appearance. That's why I do these posts on these character sets. So if you don't mind me talking about my models, welcome to another post here on "John's Creative Space"- the blogging space showcasing my creative works.





--- My 3rd Character Set ---

Here are three views of my latest voxel people creations in one picture:

3rd set MagicaVoxel voxel people
^ This third set builds upon the second set's model.

Let me talk about the characters you've noticed in this post.


Creating the Characters.

This set of characters is no different from the 2nd set I introduced you all. I did try to diversify the range of characters and the different clothing and hair styles. There is a bit more personality to this set. I previously had trouble trying to properly root the short dress model in the platform pumps, and I forgot to paint the back of one of my characters who was wearing a jacket. I have since corrected those and properly introduced this set.


Purpose of the Characters.

The characters all are to populate a number of scenes which I hope to create in the future. Each character I created is just a standard set of voxel assets I created for which to be used in a variety of media projects. None of these characters have any specific names. In fact, I named them according to the order I created them. That same order explains which character appears before another from left to right. So with this said, you can see I created the Goth male first followed by the rest of the characters in this set.

Even though this set of characters is based on the second variation model (the faceless heads), the main model which all of these characters is based on is not included in this set.


Explaining the Characters.

Now that you've read everything about the creation of these characters, it is now time for me to introduce you to this new set of characters. Each description with each bullet will be a basic introduction of each character I created. The order of each featured character is from left to right. Here is an introduction to each character.

• 1.) Goth Guy
The first model was my attempt to try to diversify my model types. This one features a Goth-type male who has red highlights in his hair up front. He's probably in the range of 18-25 years of age.

• 2.) Sexy Tough
Nothing says sexy like a short dress. This girl around 21-25 compliments this short dress with a cropped motorcycle jacket and some chic booties.

• 3.) Man in Pink
This male is looking classy wearing a button-down light pink shirt and wearing a rather dark pink vest. He also wears some beige slacks and black dress shoes. He is at least 40 years old.

• 4.) Urban Girl
Here is an urban girl wearing headphones around her neck. The first black female character I've created, she wears a sports bra, a cropped denim jean vest, some pale blue pants, and some high-heel red pumps.

• 5.) Kilted Male
This bloke proudly wears his kilt along with some socks and some shoes. This was my first attempt at making a tartan design. I gave the kilt a tartan design to make it more interesting looking. Otherwise, this would have been just a plain Navy Blue kilt.

• 6.) Sexy in the City
Not only is this my first Asian character, it is also the first experiment in making a character with platform shoes. The skin-tone platform pumps she wears compliments her short clubwear dress. Yes- this female between the ages of 18-25 is nightclub-bound. She boasts some long hair on the sides and even some bold bangs. I actually had a tough time trying to make a unique long hairstyle for her.

• 7.) Class Act
This male is at least 21 years old. He is a handsomely-dressed Black male in a sport coat, a light blue button-down shirt, beige pants, and black dress shoes.

• 8.) Sporty Girl
Immaculate in her sports bra and running shorts, this Latina between the ages of 18-30 is a sporty girl. To make her workouts and runs fun, she sports a pair of neon pink sneakers. Her hair is tied in a sporty ponytail.

• 9.) Game Time
This Black male between the ages of 14-25 is dressed for playing football or basketball. This person is a star athlete ready to go on game day.


And that explains each of my characters in this new set. In case you want a complete collection of characters I've created so far, I created this picture:





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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Creativity With Gaming

John B. Marine | 6:53 PM | | Be the first to comment!
Gaming is much different today compared to times past. It used to be that you had to work for a major company and have all kinds of programming knowledge to make games. That clearly isn't the case today. It is almost like anyone can make a game these days. Some have the resources and skills to make games; some others don't. Even I had my own gaming concepts. I have no work to share here. Instead, I just want to discuss creativity in regards to gaming. Feel free to offer your thoughts if you want to.


About the Label: "Gaming"

One such creative category is in the realm of gaming. Video games, computer games, and mobile games are what this label entails. This involves various insights and perspectives in regards to expressing creativity in gaming.





--- Creativity With Gaming ---

While I don't have any knowledge or experience in creating games, I certainly am attentive to and mindful of gaming. Any game should be as engaging as a good book or a good movie. What makes gaming fun and engaging is the ability to have the audience engaged in a story or an environment where one's actions dictate the pace. In other words... gaming creativity lies entirely in having the individual engaged and active in trying to engage in a story. You are letting others experience a story rather than being told a story. This lends itself to the joy and fun of gaming.


--- Programs for Gaming ---

There are many different programs these days that allow for inexperienced people to create their own games. In the past, you had only so limited resources to make your own content. Most of that created content was never really as good as what even material by lesser game developers would create. Some games even allowed players to customize content in helping make their own games. Certain game engines help make this possible.


Unity 3D.

Unless you have the money to fully pay for this program in its entirety (some $1.5K US Dollars worth!), you're likely better off getting a subscription or paying for some lesser version of this program. Unity 3D is one of the best game development software going today. You can make 2D games with Unity 3D, so don't let the "3D" in Unity 3D mislead you. Unity involves a lot of different elements to build games with. Even an amateur can create a simple game using Unity and its many different resources. More proper companies and more professional types can make games that could even rival Triple-A game companies and franchises.


GameMaker.

More casual gaming types can enjoy what GameMaker provides. YoYo Games is the creator of the GameMaker program. You can make both 2D and 3D games with GameMaker.


Those are only two of the more popular game-building software you can download or purchase.



--- Creativity With Gaming: Why Bother? ---

If you think about it, there is a reason why games have their appeal. Games tell stories in which the game player is directly involved. Games operate differently from literature in the sense that a game offers a level of immersion and influence that reading literature doesn't really provide. When you play a game (or even reading some kind of literature), you become part of the realm provided by the creator. You become part of a realm outside of our own and must try to exist within this alternate realm. Most games, unlike most forms of literature, give you the control to adversely affect the outcome of whatever story is being told. Many games have an ultimate goal (or sometimes multiple goals) for which the participating player will eventually reach. Some of these goals can come in the form of alternate endings or even bad endings. A gamer obviously wants to be involved in good endings because that is where all the hard work goes towards.

Why did I say "most games" in my description of gaming? The reason why is because not all games have specific goals or elaborate storylines, and not every game has an overall goal to accomplish. Not every game has that definitive final level or that final battle. Some games seem to have an end level or some sort of difficult level, but then loops back to the very first level as you already have a super high score. So not every game has a true "final level" or "final boss."


Creativity With Gaming: Design.

A lot of the games from some of the top gaming companies and developers offer the insight and the passion that fuels our creativity and gets us to play them. After seeing a lot of what a lot of independent (or "indie," because I tend to think of India for some reason when I hear "indie" sometimes) game makers are designing, indie game companies and developers offer more unique experiences with the sort of character and personality most big budget companies are devoid of. A lot of indie developers are progressive thinkers and take on different gaming avenues against the usual standards set by the more mainstream companies. There are cases even where indie games are just as popular- if not more so- than most mainstream titles! Part of the reason is because a lot of indie games are designed with a sort of unique style which seems fairly casual in nature while still making sure to focus on great gameplay. In fact, some may argue indie games are designed with more personality and focus a lot more on gameplay than a lot of other mainstream titles.



--- Creativity With Gaming: Final Thoughts ---

No matter what kind of gamer you are or what you find paramount to gaming, everyone has a certain level of creativity based on many design elements. There is no right way or any proper guidelines on how games should be designed. Everyone designs games based on what they want to offer to players. Only the better developers are able to capture an experience that will be revered and loved by many for a long while.



--- Creativity With Gaming: Indie Game Examples (BONUS SECTION!) ---

I am devoting this entire section to a variety of indie games. You can click on the links below to check out some of various games in case you're interested. I am providing this section to further extend the point about creativity with making games. So take a look and get involved with these titles if they interest you. Each featured game is met with a description. Read the description below each link to get a general idea of what each game is about.

NOTE: Be warned that some of these featured titles may or may no longer be in development. Some games may still just be in Alpha or Beta stages. Some games still in development may NEVER be released. So in other words... I am only providing these links for educational purposes.


Stonehearth
Stonehearth is a city-building game. Gather resources with your crew and also battle monsters that dare threaten your city and your people.

Build and Shoot
After "Ace of Spades" was sold off to Jagex, dedicated fans made their own re-imagining of "Ace of Spades." "Build and Shoot" is a voxel first-person shooter built in just about the same vein as the former Ace of Spades.

Voxatron
Voxatron is third-person shooting game. It is styled somewhat by games like Smash TV. Players can take part in any number of the different levels and challenges offered. Also, players can make their own levels and characters.

King Voxel
Mostly in the likeness of the very first The Legend of Zelda, King Voxel is an action RPG that will seriously appeal to Zelda fans.

Blocky Roads
This is a driving game where you must rebuild your farm after a hurricane destroyed everything. You'll have to venture out into the world and rebuild your farm piece-by-piece. The goal is to traverse around the terrain while collecting coins to purchase material. Later with progress in the game, you will be able to make your own machines. You can change skins as well as upgrade vehicles and buy new ones.

Trove
An action RPG with a Minecraft style to it in survival and in crafting items. Collect resources and build and maintain a city. Loads of monsters roam the colorful world of Trove. So make sure you're equipped to take on these challenges... or die trying!

Fist Puncher
A beat-em-up in the vein of games like "River City Ransom" and "Double Dragon," with RPG-style customization and upgrading elements.

Drift Stage
An independent racing game with a style that screams '90s arcade racer. It is purely arcade.

Space Qube
This is a shoot-em-up styled like the After Burner series but in space.

Spark Rising
Build and customize ships and take part in battle with this futuristic action game.

DISCOVERIE
Here is a game where you go through a dungeon and try to survive against the many monsters that inhabit the dungeon.

Continue?9876543210
As a failed game character, you are part of a world trying to learn about life before you eventually die. It is a 3D voxel game.

Crisential
This game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. You are trying to survive against a handful of evil people, creatures, and machinery.

The Kindred
This game is allows you to explore and build cities. There are also elements of exploration and survival as you go about creating your cities and living within this realm. (SPECIAL NOTE: I included this title in respect to one of the people behind this project- Nellie.)


I just wanted to make a notion to these games to help push the point across about creativity through gaming. I'm sure if you are reading this blog and this blog post, and if you represent any of the games I mentioned; then I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving you a shout-out here, right?


A Quick Note...

One thing to note... a lot of the 3D games I made mention to were constructed using Qubicle Constructor. If you want to read my blog post on Qubicle Constructor, visit this post: "Qubicle Constructor" (John's Creative Space).





I hope to expand upon creativity with gaming involved. This post is just a start. Thank you for reading!

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Friday, October 24, 2014

My 2nd Voxel People Set

John B. Marine | 12:52 AM | | | Be the first to comment!
After making one set of voxel people in MagicaVoxel, I made another set. I figured I'd share with you wonderful people more of my work. What is different about this set is that I made a bunch of characters with no facial features and with a set palette. I started to create characters using an edited palette to have better color options, especially with skin color. So you will get to see this new set and be introduced to each new character I created within this blog post.





--- My 2nd Character Set ---

Here are three views of my latest voxel people creations:

2nd set MagicaVoxel voxel people
^ This new set features the same body as the previous set of characters. However, unlike the previous set of characters, this set features a new head devoid of facial features.

2nd set MagicaVoxel voxel people front
^ Here are all of the characters in this new set from the front in a group picture. The base model used in creating these characters is the one on the far left.

2nd set MagicaVoxel voxel people rear
^ This is a group view of this character set from the rear. The base model used in creating these characters is the one on the far right.

Let me talk about the characters you've noticed in this post.


Creating the Characters.

The new set of characters I created was part of an experiment of having faceless characters. It was kind of the intent to make generic people for various media projects. As an interesting twist, I designed the models to where if they were to talk, you could actually see their mouths open. This is made possible by erasing two different voxels on the lower part of the heads. In addition to these heads not having facial features, this new head design has more realistic heads than the more cartoon-like heads of the previous set of models. There is a bit more realism here. Though there is realism, it is certainly possible one could take the new heads and put them onto the previous set of models for a more realistic head on the previous models.

This new set was actually created as a prototype character I modeled after creating my own Minecraft-style character. I took the resulting character after loads of editing and then practiced making the more realistic heads. I then applied that head to my original model human. This would be the birth of another alternate model.


Purpose of the Characters.

The characters all are to populate a number of scenes which I hope to create in the future. Each character I created is just a standard set of voxel assets I created for which to be used in a variety of media projects. None of these characters have any specific names. In fact, I named them according to the order I created them. That same order explains which character appears before another from left to right. So with this said, you can see I created the woman with the sweater blouse and skirt after I made the girl with the pink scarf.

I tried a number of different style touches to the characters. If the previous set seemed more generic, there is a little more personality to most of the characters I created in this second set of voxel people.


Explaining the Characters.

Now that you've read everything about the creation of these characters, it is now time for me to introduce you to this new set of characters. Each description with each bullet will be a basic introduction of each character I created. The order of each featured character is from left to right. Here is an introduction to each character.

• 1.) Base Model
Nothing special about this character except for the new head. This character has the same outfit as the base model for the first set of characters.

• 2.) Older Woman
Here is an older woman, preferably 40 or older. She wears a baseball T-shirt, cuffed capri jeans, and silvery metallic sandals. This is a blonde-haired woman who wears her hair with a ponytail at the back.

• 3.) Night Out
Here is a character perhaps between the ages of 18-35. She wears a stylish, Cobalt Blue, high-low/mullet dress. Her hair is styled nicely as well.

• 4.) Classy Male
This male character wears a fine suit. He wears a stylish suit jacket along with a stylish button-down shirt. Also worn by him is a classy pair of pants along with some dress shoes. This person is incredibly handsome with his style.

• 5.) Childish Adolescent
This young (at least 18 years old) girl dresses childishly. Her hair has some highlights of light blue and neon pink. She wears a short-sleeve baseball T-shirt, a black tulle skirt with black polka dots, and a tall pair of neon pink sneaker boots. This outfit was designed to be girly and childish.

• 6.) Groovy
This is a Black male wearing a sleeveless shirt and some dark jeans. He has somewhat of an afro as well as a chunky gold necklace with a medallion. He was basically designed to be one cool dude.

• 7.) Preppy Pretty
This girl is perhaps in the age range of 18-25. This is a blonde with short hair and wears a hot pink shrug over a basic white T-shirt. She wears a pair of cuffed, cropped jeans as her bottoms, and they are topped off with a pair of tan boat shoes. It is a cute outfit that is quite comfy.

• 8.) Androgynous Dancer
This unique male is at least 21 years old and wears an outfit that a girl would look appealing in. However, this male with an incredibly feminine body is wearing this unique outfit. He wears a crimson cropped vest over a light blue cropped shirt. His bell bottom white jeans are complimented with a neon pink sash belt. On his wrists are a pair of neon green wrist ties. A pair of honey brown shoes complete the look. This fellow is proud of his looks and his deliciously sweet body that he decided to show it off in this way and wearing an elaborate outfit.

• 9.) Classy Sexy
This woman is based on an actual character I created. Only this character is a generic version of her. The woman is at least 30 years old in age. She wears a fedora hat. Also, she wears a red blouse with a rather deep neckline, a pair of white flared pants, and some dark brown shoes. On her right wrist is a stylish watch.


And that explains each of my characters in this new set. In case you want a complete collection of characters I've created so far, I created this picture:

MagicaVoxel voxel people both sets
^ Both sets of characters in one picture. The latest set is on the bottom in this picture.

You can spot the differences among the characters. Since the characters have the same body model, I could easily work on changing up the first set of people with the heads of the second set. MAYBE I'll do that. Then again, I may just keep everything as is.





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Monday, October 20, 2014

My Voxel People Set

John B. Marine | 12:23 AM | | | Be the first to comment!
Making voxel people in MagicaVoxel has been quite fun. I have felt the desire to make these models to start making art and animations. I decided to share my work with my global audience. So what you will see here is a look at the nine characters I created. You will also gain some insight as to the creation process and how I created these characters. I hope you get to enjoy this blog post as I share some more of my works with you all.





--- My Character Set ---

Let me provide for you three views of my voxel character creations:

MagicaVoxel voxel people
^ I created all of these human characters in MagicaVoxel. All of them stem from one base model, which is the person on the far left. Sing along, everybody! "We are the world..." :)

MagicaVoxel voxel people front
^ Here are all of the characters from the front in a group picture. The base model used in creating these characters is the one on the far left.

MagicaVoxel voxel people rear
^ This is a group view of this character set from the rear. The base model used in creating these characters is the one on the far right.

Let me talk about the characters you've noticed in this post.


Creating the Characters.

All of these voxel characters were designed by me through MagicaVoxel. The character models I created were primarily meant for easy editing and the most detail for small-scale scenes and animations. I drew inspiration from a number of different popular games with voxel models. Two inspirations of my voxel characters are from two of the most popular independent/indie games today- Minecraft and Ace of Spades ("Build and Shoot" nowadays). I adopted the sort of square head of Minecraft models, and I adopted the bent legs of the Deuce characters from Ace of Spades. The hand designs, however, are my own creation. I wanted the characters to have a realistic set of hands. You can somewhat say that I adopted the hand designs from stuff like LEGO characters or from certain Roblox characters.

Though I am proud of my creations, there are a number of disadvantages. Having the characters in equal proportions by powers of two makes the characters simple to create. It is possible to cleanly be able to cut the model in half for easier editing overall. However, such a combination isn't very good especially for feminine models. I think about things like properly modeling certain proportions of female human characters. Because certain clothing items or physical features aren't possible or as well-executed with such even models (and details are a huge part of my creation of things), I feel I can't properly re-create certain features with the sort of accuracy and the sort of freedom as I could with more evenly-proportioned models. The goal for me is to create models and such that are as detailed and can be well modified as possible.

"Simply detailed" is what I aimed for with these created voxel models. It can be a bit tough trying to model flyaway items like coats or skirts/dresses, so for the one in the skirt and the one in the dress, the front of the skirt/dress is modeled onto the front of the legs.

Each of the characters were modeled with dimensions that are somewhat inspired by old RPGs. The dimensions of some characters in some old RPGs mostly are either 16 x 16 or 16 x 24 in dimensions. I had to add a little more height to my base character model once I tested it against some other voxel models I created. I wanted the proportions and dimensions to be realistic and useful with various props I created in addition to my characters.

This gives you insight on creating these characters.


Purpose of the Characters.

The characters all are to populate a number of scenes which I hope to create in the future. Each character I created is just a standard set of voxel assets I created for which to be used in a variety of media projects. None of these characters have any specific names. In fact, I named them according to the order I created them. That same order explains which character appears before another from left to right. So with this said, you can see I created the woman with the sweater blouse and skirt after I made the girl with the pink scarf.


Plans on Using the Characters.

I have created these characters primarily to feature in possible artwork and even for animations. I am going to have a real problem using these characters, however, because unless I edit the models to be properly used for animations, the models are going to be deformed once I rig the models with armatures in Blender. MagicaVoxel currently does not allow for voxel models to have separate limbs and such with just one model.

Let me give you an example of using these characters in an animation or a slide to an animation:

animation dialogue mock-up sample
^ from (my Facebook profile) - This picture is a mock-up of a sample dialogue that I may implement in making videos.

This is among a number of different ways I plan on using these characters.


Explaining the Characters.

Allow me to describe the nine characters. Each description with each bullet will be a basic introduction of each character I created. The order of each featured character is from left to right. Here is an introduction to each character.

• 1.) Base Model
The first model is the base model that was extensively developed by me to design each of the characters in this set. A number of touches were made to make editing this model easy. This is a male model wearing a tank top undershirt, a basic pair of jeans, and black shoes. Since this is a base model that could be outfitted in any number of ways with editing, this character basically has no personality. He does boast SOME toughness with the tank top he wears. Other than that, he'll take on any personality based on how you outfit him.

• 2.) Fashionista
This character is a fashionable young female, preferably in the age range of 18-25. She has big hair, wears red lipstick. Her black top has the shoulders cut out for a chic touch. The jeans she wears are dark rinse skinny jeans tucked into knee-high brown boots. As the whole outfit is primarily dark-colored, she adds a bold pop of color with her neon pink scarf. She wears a fashion leather watch on her right wrist and has several bangles on her left wrist.

• 3.) Secretary
This character was primarily designed as a modest woman preferably age 35 or older. This woman is willing to help others and is genuinely sweet. She will be willing to help others and teach others as long as you remain respectful to her. Her hair is done up modestly. Her outfit consists of a sweater worn over a blouse. That sweater and blouse combination is paired with a mid-length skirt and black pumps.

• 4.) War Veteran
At somewhere 45 or older, this man has served in war and lives his life to educate others. He is a proud American and will passionately tell you what it is like serving on the front lines in battle. This man also praises and preaches hard work. He wears a button-down T-shirt that is open, and underneath the button-down is a simple white T-shirt. He wears faded blue denim jeans tucked into a pair of cowboy boots. His outfit is topped off with a straw hat.

• 5.) Daisy
Somewhere between the ages of 18-25 is this fashionable adolescent. She wears a yellow sundress that is a bit higher than the Secretary's skirt. She wears red lipstick to go with her outfit. Her hair has a bold set of bangs as well as two long bits of her hair that accent either side of her face up front. She wears a pair of neon pink pumps on her feet.

• 6.) City Boy
Dressed casually in the city, this is a male character somewhere between 18-30 years old. He wears a football jersey, dark jeans, and a pair of work boots. This male is basically the quintessential urban male.

• 7.) Worker
A hard-working male at least 30 years in age is this Worker character. He wears a basic T-shirt, overalls, some work boots, a baseball cap, and a pair of leather gloves. The personality of this person is basically that of one not afraid of hard work. While he wouldn't mind spending his Sundays watching sports and working on his car, he lives to work.

• 8.) Student
This 18-25 year old male is more like the popular fellow at school. He is either a popular High School student or a college Freshman. This fellow is probably what would be defined as a "cool kid." With his flowing short hair, he also wears a T-shirt, a varsity jacket, dark rinse jeans, and some black shoes.

• 9.) Sporty Girl
A girl like this is probably in the range of 15-25 years old. This character has blonde hair and green eyes- two qualities none of the other characters have. Her hair is secured with a hot pink bow, and the back of her is done in a ponytail. She wears lipstick in a bubblegum pink color. The outfit she wears is what a number of females in her age range would consider cute or comfy (or both). Her outfit consists of a tank top, gray/grey yoga pants with a neon pink waistline, and her pants are tucked into a pair of cozy sheepskin boots (commonly called UGGs, even though UGG Australia isn't the only designer of such boots). On her right wrist is a sporty watch. This young lady will probably tell you that she loves her yoga pants and her sheepskin boots even if you dislike this fashion combination. She's dressed for comfort and doesn't exactly care what others think about her, including any social stereotypes about those who dress the way she does.


And there you go. You can go to the next section or skip it entirely.



--- A Special Question... (BONUS SECTION!) ---

Let me ask my loyal readers something. Would you mind if I created these voxel models... and offered these assets online for you to download? Would you perhaps even pay for such assets of mine? I could try to create 3D material for people to offer online on reputable sites like TurboSquid.

If you think I could get more attention and offer quality material elsewhere online, let me know. It may be something I want to do to push my content further and make it all more viable to my loyal and respectful audience. Let me know if you think I should create material to submit to certain websites or maybe offer material for a price.

I've made human characters already. If possible, I want to try to make other voxel models like animals, automobiles, structures, maps, and more.





The main point of this blog post was to showcase some of my voxel art with you all. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and I also hope you enjoyed your visit to my creative works blog. Make sure you Subscribe and Follow my work online to keep up with the latest material. Thank you for reading!

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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

My First MagicaVoxel Scene

John B. Marine | 6:00 PM | | | | | Be the first to comment!
Using MagicaVoxel, I made my first scene of any kind last night. I designed a scene with two models I created in MagicaVoxel. The important thing in all of this is learning how to use the Pattern brush. Through this blog post, I will share what I learned so you can design your own scenes using MagicaVoxel. I intended on making this blog post mostly as a tutorial for MagicaVoxel as well as to simply share my latest work through MagicaVoxel.

If you are new here, welcome to my creative works blog- "John's Creative Space!"





--- Making MagicaVoxel Scenes ---

Take a look at this scene I created:

MagicaVoxel scene
Here is the first scene attempt I made using MagicaVoxel. Just for fun, what do you think these guys are talking about in this scene? CAPTION THIS! :)

Once you learn to use the Pattern brush, it is possible to create scenes or even larger models. I used only two models I created to compile this scene. All I did was change up the color of one of the guys by making his shirt black. Other than that, I used only two models. The other model I used is a single vertical arcade unit. If you want to set up your own scenes in MagicaVoxel, let me share with you some tips.


Making Scenes in MagicaVoxel.

You could use a program like Blender to make scenes and to properly animate scenes. However, if you just want to make a scene through MagicaVoxel, let me explain how I got to learn making scenes in MagicaVoxel.


• Setting Up the Scene
First, you are going to need to set up a large-enough scene for whatever scene you are coming up with. Just set up the dimensions to be as large as you want them to be to fill in the space. If you are unsure as to what is an acceptable size for your scene, you may want to use some of the larger default models in MagicaVoxel (such as "nature" or "room"), make a new model based on the dimensions, and click on "Zero" from the Edit - Tool menu. Make sure to save your scene under a special name if you want to save your work. A helpful hint would be to turn on the Frame feature from the "Line" menu. Turning on the Frame feature (the "F" in the Line section) will allow you to see the ground arranged in a grid layout. Pay special attention to two menus: "Shape" and "Pattern."


• Find the Pattern Brush in the "Shape" Section
In the column with the Brush menu is the "Shape" feature. Click on the Shape section and click on "Pattern." The Pattern brush will allow you to import MagicaVoxel models into your scene. The models can then be rotated and such to your liking as you place them into the scene.


• Find the "Pattern" Section; Using the Pattern Brush
Below the Model menu featuring all of the models, there is a menu called "Pattern." Click on "Pattern" to view all of the models. The Pattern menu allows you to add models into your scene for when you use the Pattern brush from the Shape Menu. Find a MagicaVoxel model you want to use and click on it. Using the Shape - Pattern feature, you will be able to add your voxel models into the scene. You can rotate the pattern models you put in by pressing the "-" and "+" keys (not the ones on the keypad). You can move pattern models up and down (respectively) using the Page Up and Page Down keys. You can reset all parameters of an imported pattern model by pressing the "0" key (the number pad; not the keypad). Models placed are rooted to the ground. You can stack imported pattern models on top of each other if you choose.


• Building the Scene Itself.
Once you start to practice putting multiple models into one scene, you begin to grow confident in building scenes, maps, and even creating larger models by piecing together multiple smaller models. So the Pattern feature can be very useful and beneficial for scenes and larger models. Take advantage of this feature like I did to create amazing scenes.


• Photography
All that basically remains is you taking pictures of your scene.

Use a combination of the mouse wheel to zoom in and out as well as clicking and holding the right mouse button to rotate around the scene. Once you find the angle or angles you wish to use you are free to take snapshots.

From the Edit - Export section, look for the "Snap" tool. There are a few things you must take note of before snapping pictures of your scene. First of all, if you click on Snap (or press F6 or CTRL+F6), everything enabled in the main window will be saved into a PNG format picture. So turn off certain features if you want a clean-looking view of your scene. You can collapse some of the extra menus to get a wider shot of your scene if you wish to make wider snapshots. Click on "Snap" from the Export section or press F6 or CTRL+F6 to save screenshots. All exported screenshots can be found in the "Export" folder of your MagicaVoxel folder.


I hope this is helpful for you in making scenes with MagicaVoxel. You can still use programs like Blender to animate your models and make all sorts of other effects, but I wanted to simply mention making scenes and importing multiple models into one scene in MagicaVoxel. In the future, I may create some extra material just to demonstrate making different kinds of scenes or even showing that it is possible to make larger models by simply making good use of the Pattern brush. Enjoy what I've created for now for you, though.





Being able to make a scene in MagicaVoxel has given me some new confidence in possibly making animations and other material. If I do create something interesting, I will be sure to share my work with all of you. Thank all of you for reading my blog post here on "John's Creative Space." I hope you continue to stay with me to see more of my work. Maybe I can inspire you to create your own material if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading!

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Monday, October 13, 2014

Making Templates

John B. Marine | 8:38 PM | | | Be the first to comment!
To make work easier, making templates can help you create assets better by sticking to a more one-size-fits-all approach. Nothing fuels the fire of a creative person than to have a solid base for which to work with. Especially more novice types can enjoy starting with a base template before having the courage and experience to create more advanced material. If you are the one who spends money on creative work, certain templates can even save you and/or your group money.

To show you what I mean in regards to making something to serve as a base, let me show you this picture below:

Making Templates
^ Made with MagicaVoxel, this is a voxel model of a secretary. I took the same model and (with modifications) created a separate model. IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED: My blog post on MagicaVoxel- "MagicaVoxel" (John's Creative Space).

I probably could have created one model and quickly decide to make one more model from scratch. However, I took an existing model, made a duplicate, and edited the duplicate. The differences between the two models shouldn't be hard at all to sort out. The left model wears a sweater underneath a blouse, a mid-length skirt, and some black pumps. The right model wears a short yellow dress with pink pumps. Both have the same body, only that I erased a few voxels on the body of the yellow dress model to create a nicer effect for it. It is possible I could have even taken the same model and made several more models. All I know is that starting with a solid base can lead to developing many more models. So consider something like bases and templates to effectively and efficiently make the most of your time developing assets for media projects.


Limitations of Template Use.

Some designers of creative works will allow you to use their works if you want to. However, it is important you credit the original creator if you do so. Another thing to be wary of is that you want to try not to rely too much on certain templates. When too many of your works seem to be based on one little template, it does get a bit stale, and you do need to maybe create something a bit different just to remain fresh.


It's up to you and how you want to do things. It's just that if you want to make more efficient use of making models, it is best to start with a template and use that template as a basis for your creative work.





Remember that I am using "John's Creative Space" as a platform for my own creative work as well as to offer my own thoughts on certain aspects of developing creative work. So if you enjoy my work, make sure you're Subscribed and Followed to this blog and my others. Thank you for reading!

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