Voxel-Inspired Modeling

As a veteran of voxel modeling, I felt I have tried to find way to make models out of 3D pixels. It was recently I adopted a newer strategy of 3D modeling. I basically have given up on trying to be highly realistic models and instead will focus on low polygon modeling. Part of that appeal goes with modeling using a simple cube followed by lots of extrusions (and maybe some duplications). So for this blog post, I figured I will focus primarily on this approach to modeling and what I could accomplish with this method. Come along, and let's get modeling!

Before I Begin...

The methods I express here are with my experiences using Blender 2.79b. You will need to adjust my methods for any other 3D modeling program you may use besides Blender if you plan on following my lead.

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Voxel-Inspired Modeling

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Voxels are essentially 3D pixels. Whereas a simple pixel has x and y dimension, a voxel adds z dimension. Porting over raw voxel information often results in a 3D mesh you can manipulate if your heart desires. The blocky nature of these models is often apparent in games such as Minecraft.

Discovery and Analysis.

I discovered through editing in Magicavoxel about the size of a single cube when I saved a model in PLY format and imported it into Blender. I noticed a single voxel is 0.1 in Blender Units. You could say it is 0.1 meters, since the Blender units are close to metric units. The size of 0.1 Blender Units seems just right without the model looking extremely large or extremely small.

In preparing this blog post, I tried a different size of a cube to make a more precise pixel-perfect size cube. A pixel-perfect cube is 0.0625 in Blender units. This is nearly 40% less of size of a cube at 0.1 Blender units. However, I found it harder to snap to the grid with equal size using 0.0625 as my size and increments. I probably could set up Blender to snap to these pixel-perfect measurements, but I found sticking to 0.1 Blender unit increments works much easier.

Because these models using this voxel-style method are essentially still cubes, it is possible to make them no longer "voxels." In fact, I could refine the models to basically enhance these rough drafts of 3D models. That was part of the plan as I was thinking about doing these voxel-type models from start-to-finish in Blender.

Some Voxel-Inspired Models of Mine.

Since I thought it would be too complex to share my workflow, I will instead share models I have created. So take a look:


^ I re-created one of my past voxel vehicles cube-by-cube.


^ This is a barbecue ham I modeled in Blender.


^ I modeled this blocky ham thigh in Blender.


^ Hungry for a slab of steak? I modeled one in Blender!


^ This is a re-creation of a model I intended to be a Minecraft mob. In a future blog post, I will share more renders and a story on this model. Stay tuned to John's Creative Space!


^ Three health kits were modeled by me here. Since these were intended to be game assets, I put in their healing values in the overlay. These could be offered for sale/download in the future.


So now you've seen some of the blocky modeling I have worked on of late. I will try to make as many of these models as I can while I still have this burst in creative energy.





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