For years, I have contemplated what to do with my voxel model characters. I felt it wouldn't really be enough just to have voxels in the raw. So for this blog post, I will discuss my plans with my voxel models. You have an idea of what it is by the blog post name, but you don't know about my full plans until you take a look at this full post. Read on to find out about my plans!
Voxel Character Evo Project
About as far back as 2014, I developed a series of voxel model characters. I spent the better part of about a month to develop five different sets of voxel characters. I made a total of 43 characters including a handful of extra characters. I therefore made about 50-60 characters total. The base 43 characters, though, are what I am primarily focused on in trying to breathe new life into my voxel model collection.
Wait- what "new life?" Well, I have a bunch of static voxels. You can only do so much with a set of static models. I decided to re-do my voxel models through a combination of Magicavoxel and Blender. What I intend to do is take my voxel models and break them up for animation. This will allow for people to either rig the models themselves or look to a service like Mixamo for animation.
It is that simple, right? Well, no. I feel my voxel characters will have to be extensively modified and enhanced to make them better for animation. That is where the "Evo" part comes in for my models. "Evo" is short for "evolution." Whereas most people will immediately think of Minecraft or something for pixel-perfect or blocky voxel models, I need to make these voxel characters different but still retain a small semblance of voxel roots while not being hyper-realistic.
Project Inspiration.
A YouTube channel that has made animations of voxel-type characters has been one of my influences to work on my old voxel models. Even better, I saw a YouTube video that gave me some ideas on how to model voxels made in Magicavoxel. The channel in question with all the different 3D animated films is Zaminmation. Zamination is famous for their 3D animations based on "Minecraft" and the "Five Nights at Freddy's" series videos among others.
The Evolution Process.
A key in the evolution process of re-working these voxel models is in understanding the newer possibilities working with models in a unique way. Part of that involves considering things like how to enhance the models. I want to make the voxel models to be sort of textured. The way I seen my exports from Magicavoxel in PLY format, I could take the individual faces and maybe replace them with some textures I could make in a different program. Maybe I could re-do these voxels and take them beyond their voxel form without going overboard. Basically, I want these voxel models to be much more than voxel models.
Let me sort of explain the process in Magicavoxel...
• separate the feet, lower legs, upper legs, torso (including neck, just moving it), upper arm, lower arm, hands, and head
• separate accessories and certain long hair pieces
• add some extra voxels to the lower legs, the upper legs, the lower legs, and some of the torso
• move all parts of the body backwards except for the lower legs and the feet
• move the neck, head, upper arms, and lower arms forward
• clean up any painting errors
At best, this process can take about 10-15 minutes for each voxel model in Magicavoxel. It can take hours to do the whole process with about 43 of my voxel models. The point of the Magicavoxel work is to prep the modified model to be modified further in Blender for refinement and animation.
Once I start making certain things available, I will share my process and maybe some sample animation tests from Blender. So stay tuned for that! For now, though, here is a picture preview of what I am doing with my voxel character models:
^ Here is a preview of what I am working on towards enhancing my voxel character models.
If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
I returned to voxel modeling to try out MagicaVoxel 099.6. This newer version 099.6 ushers in a new level of development as it has enhanced facilities for modeling and rendering. Most notably, voxel models in MagicaVoxel can now go up to 256³, rather than being resticted to 126³ in dimensions. So more complicated models in one piece can be developed or viewed. This is great mostly for massive models or complex worlds. With these things in mind, I want to share with you two models I created and what I may intend using these for. Check these out...
^ from: (JohnMarineDesigns) - My model of a vintage church house modeled and rendered in MagicaVoxel.
^ from: (JohnMarineDesigns) - This is a vintage school house I modeled and rendered in MagicaVoxel.
What do I intend on making these models for? Well, I have had ideas of using them for possible game assets or some media projects. I was kind of thinking of making a classic-style SimCity deal where you build a city from the ground up with the voxel building models I am trying to create. Also, I was considering the voxels being used for voxel-style 3D RPGs. The problem with that is that I am mostly fixated on more modern style structures. Therefore, I am not as adept designing Medieval-type structures or worlds. The two models I created will still get things rolling as far as designing voxel buildings. I also want to make this easy by having consistent dimensions to piece together spaces in equal grid amounts. I may also decide to just let everything be set up freestyle, letting the developer add the voxel models as he/she/they see fit in their voxel worlds.
I'm glad you got a chance to view my creative works blog! This is my first blog post since the new changes Blgoger/Blogspot blog posts are made. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
"Project Rhiannon" is my Godot Game Engine racing/driving project. I figured for this blog post, I will update you on how I have been doing with Project Rhiannon. I do not have any pictures to share right now of my work. However, I will tell you of certain elements of my project so far.
Project Rhiannon: Update 1
If you want to know more about "Project Rhiannon," please read Project Rhiannon.
Updates (as of August 3, 2018).
Project Rhiannon is my very first 3D type project of any kind through Godot Game Engine. I have developed Project Rhiannon to take advantage of certain vehicle models I have created. I have taken inspiration from other racing games and projects to try to develop something I think will lead to me creating my first true game.
After going around online, I have learned how to properly set up my vehicles in Godot. I learned more importantly how to set up the camera for vehicles. I found a camera setting I really liked and will use it for my viewing of cars in action. You actually don't need to have any kind of vehicle set up for rigging to be programmed in Godot. All you need are definitions for the Vehicle Body (VehicleBody) and the Vehicle Wheels (VehicleWheel). You then need to set up Collisions and Camera (with script) so you can complete your vehicle.
I used a static body voxel model as my way of learning Godot's vehicle dynamics. The interesting thing is that as long as you set up the VehicleBody and VehicleWheel locations and settings, you can make almost any vehicle controllable. I am not going for any all-out realism in attempting my first racing game project. One such aspect of realism involves wheels that turn. So in my project, the wheels are static. The vehicle still turns, though. I may consider in the future to make my cars ready for animation and enhance the array of options I have towards animating cars.
To develop a driving model for my machine, I had to try to adapt my driving model from other Godot projects. I made a simple driving model based on a Godot 3D project called "Truck Town." Truck Town is a driving model that features this hilly location as you try to drive around it. It comes with three models you can drive- a basic mini van, a semi truck with a trailer, and a tow truck with a vehicle chained to it. The main point was to learn to script a vehicle for movement. Once I learned how to properly script a vehicle, what was next was to enhance this model to something I am more comfortable with and can use to make 3D racing games with. I actually had to use a combination of Truck Town and a certain vehicle project from one Godot programmer.
The driving model is nowhere near perfect. On top of that, I am not planning on making some hardcore driving sim. A lot of the issues were mostly ironed out. The car tends to get jittery when stopping. Also, there are times when the vehicle model would do hard braking when I let go of the throttle. It also would have the tendency to spin out 180° when I let go of the throttle or
The scene I set up for Project Rhiannon is a simple plane that the car drives around on. While I have a basic plane for a driving surface, I also have a voxel model that I used as a tile for a race track. I don't think I have properly set up that voxel model tile, so the car runs through it when the car should be trying to either hit or drive onto it. I feel I will have a lot more special plans for my work once I successfully develop a race track. I want to make sure there is actual gravity involved.
A New Voxel Vehicle Plan?
I had initially planned to offer my voxel vehicles made in MagicaVoxel available for download and/or sale. However, as I became intrigued by setting up my static model voxel vehicles through Godot, I figured this could be an opportunity to create a full-fledged game. So what I might do is take my voxel vehicle creations and give them plenty of life by coming up with a variety of options. What has to happen is that I give each vehicle its own sort of identity and performance characteristics. In other words, I want my compact cars to perform differently from my trucks. What I will have to do is look up a variety of car specifications to develop material telling of their performance.
To get an idea of my voxel vehicle model creations, take a look at this post:
Future Goals of "Project Rhiannon."
Here are various other plans I hope to accomplish as part of Project Rhiannon. They all represent a number of issues I want to correct or want to start:
• correct issues with handling model
• develop a race track
• set up waypoints/checkpoints for the race track
• set up a race system
• create racing AI (artificial intelligence)
These are among many goals to accomplish. Actually, I begun working on trying to make some kind of track, but not too much progress has been made on that front. I am still testing out options and trying to find something I can work with. I do think I am getting better here. Just still a long way from something really complete.
I will keep you all posted on any updates. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
My voxel characters made in MagicaVoxel are now offered as a Starter Pack! This one features nine of my first voxel characters. All of them are static models in their raw VOX format. I decided to offer this package online to give people some voxel characters to use for games and other projects. I also want to showcase my voxel art talent to the world by offering this package.
Here is a look at the characters:
^ from: (my Facebook Fan Page) - The original nine characters I made with my first character pack are now available for download. Get it now!
* base model - wears a white tank top, blue jeans, and black shoes.
* a teenage girl with a bright scarf, black top, and indigo jeans tucked into brown boots.
* a middle-aged woman in a sweater over a blouse, skirt, and pumps.
* a man in an open shirt with a T-shirt underneath and jeans tucked into dark brown boots.
* a young adult lady in a yellow dress and hot pink pumps.
* a Black male in a football jersey, dark blue jeans, and orange lug boots.
* a man in overalls and wears a baseball cap.
* a teenage boy in a varsity jacket, a T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes.
* a college-age girl in a sporty tank top, and yoga legging pants tucked into sheepskin boots.
I am looking to rework my regular models and offer some more advanced options for those looking to animate my models. I will keep you posted here on "John's Creative Space" and elsewhere in media. All I want you to know here is that you will now be able to use my original models. If you think you can make better-looking models using my base model, the original VOX models are all concluded as they were from MagicaVoxel.
For More Information...
Want to download this package? Choose to support me on OpenGameArt, Voxel Art Store, or both! Links:
Please also support me on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/johnbmarine and make a pledge. Your support can help me to provide more content and even gain funding towards performing other projects. Other than that, enjoy! :)
That concludes this blog post. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
Through MagicaVoxel, I have returned to voxel modeling. "John's Creative Space" has become popular in regards to voxels. So it brings me some pleasure to discuss a few things. I will use this post to share some considerations of mine and some other bits. If you enjoy my work, you are going to want to follow this post. Or if you are fairly new to this blog, welcome to my creative works blog! Having said this... here are some thoughts of mine.
Topic 1: Offering Models.
For the longest, I have wanted to make my models public. The only problem was that I have had a tough time deciding how to modify the models to the liking of others. I don't really want to offer my voxel models cold turkey. Having held onto these models so much, I feel I have to make them viable and useful to others. More importantly, I want to be able to financially profit from my work. So I am in a situation where I want to offer my material for free, but also take donations. I also simply want to offer my work for sale in a combination of single models and bundles. Any plans I make public will be announced here on "John's Creative Space" and elsewhere on social media.
Topic 2: Future Model Plans.
I have somewhat been working on developing a new human model apart from the many past voxel models I've created. The intent is to use them to allow for better animation. One of MagicaVoxel's limitations is the inability to split up pieces of the model for easier animation. People complain about the limit of 126 x 126 x 126 for models. So what I intend to do is make both static models and separated models to allow for two different kinds of models to be used.
Besides voxel people, I have also been known for my voxel vehicles. I haven't made any kind of voxel vehicles in my return to voxel modeling, but I do hope to offer the same sort of versatility for vehicles as I do my voxel people.
Topic 3: Game Development Voxel Modeling?
One of the reasons why I have been slow developing things was because I was trying to learn Java. As I was trying to work on making a possible game, I had a vision of designing a game, but with making voxel models for it for prototyping. It gave me the idea to make voxel models for tile-based games. Nothing has really materialized, but I will be sure to offer material to you all should I develop something interesting and that I am willing to give away.
While you're here, let me share with you a little advice.
Some Quick MagicaVoxel Advice.
Version 0.97.5 is the latest version of MagicaVoxel as of this post. I mentioned breaking up models into pieces. The intent is to make material to be used in more proper programs made to handle things like rendering and (more importantly) animation. I would suggest you try to build up your model as you normally would. Then after completion, break up your model into a number of pieces. Break up key segments ranging from the body to the limbs. Save the different limbs and such into separate objects. If you have accessories and props that can be used, save them as their own objects also. Then in a proper 3D application (like Blender), piece everything together.
I actually would also recommend you use VoxelShop to optimize voxel models. I would recommend it in the case of models that don't require any transparency, mainly with models that don't have any transparent bits. You can optimize such models to not use as many polygons. This probably isn't recommended for items that may require them be transparent, such as the windshields and windows of cars.
Always Remember...
Always remember that I am working on a number of projects as a solo person. So there may be times where I seem to not have anything being worked on or when news of my work is slow. It doesn't mean I am idle. It just means I am hard at work trying to offer some material for you all. Please help support my work any way you can. The latest way you can show some love is through my Patreon profile. Who knows? You might score something cool of mine through my Patreon page should you pledge to it!
So now you have some idea of my voxel plans moving forward. Most importantly, thank all of you who visited my blog for MagicaVoxel content.
That's all for this one. Go have yourself a great day/night and thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
Animated voxel cars? Recently, I experimented trying to rig my voxel model cars. It is very possible to animate even voxel cars. I will explain my work flow and thoughts in this blog post, and I even have plans to share with you all. Be sure to stay with me in this blog post to see all of my plans. I hope you get to enjoy this blog post and all it has to offer.
Voxel Car Animating
"Go where no one has gone before." To many people, these are excellent words to live by. My idea is nothing new. In fact, I can tell you animating voxel cars is not going to set the world ablaze or blow peoples' minds. People have inquired me about my voxel model cars. One of the reasons why I've put aside trying to offer my vehicles for download/sale is because I have been trying to find new ways to implement my machines. Also, I simply wasn't ready to try to offer my material for download/sale.
Previously, all of my voxel vehicles were all static models. This is good enough for making various scenes, but for taking certain cars further in their design and to open new possibilities, you have to make these creations to be worthy of animation. This is what has crossed my mind in trying to make my already interesting creations even more interesting. I considered the possibility of trying to animate my cars after seeing some videos on how to rig cars in Blender 3D. While I know my voxel model cars won't blow away people with their design, I can still use my creativity to design the most interesting-looking cars. And most importantly, I can take my creations and animate them. This will make it good for applications ranging from animations to game assets.
It is time I set the mood by offering many different views on making my voxel cars in better detail than I have previously. Gain my perspective by reading further.
The Inspiration.
I have seen games use voxel vehicles as well as voxel model vehicles for games. When I designed my own voxel model cars, I am influenced mostly by the Gran Turismo series because I had intended on maybe developing a racing game. I started making voxel model cars once I started to follow the work of another voxel artist. This allowed me to come up with my own voxel model cars. As far as variety is concerned in the types of cars, I am mostly influenced by other game series with a variety of cars- such as the Grand Theft Auto series. But in terms of voxel cars in a voxel environment, my biggest inspiration is "3D Pixel Racing." Even though "3D Pixel Racing" wasn't as well-received by gaming fans because of its lackluster game play, I trust that I could be able to make voxel model cars with perhaps another game developer to exceed certain other independent (indie) racing games.
The Experiment.
So at one point, I began to wonder how exactly you rig a car in Blender. I have never attempted to a rig a car prior to taking part in this experiment. I decided to play along with a two-part video series to take car models and make them drivable. The experiment worked as I took on a different kind of modeling method. The animation process began with me taking one of my voxel model cars and doubling the scale of it. I even began to model wheels separately and then import them with my model car. Doing so meant I had to remove the static wheels for a more friendly design for putting on proper wheels in Blender. My more enhanced wheel models were imported into Blender and resized to fit the wheel arches of my voxel cars. This was a snapshot of one of my first attempts to learn how to animate a car in Blender:
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel gallery in my Facebook profile) - Rudimentary as it looks, this was my first attempt to not only learn how to rig a car in Blender, but also to learn how to design my cars to be better made for animating.
Getting better at something means you take more chances and try to sample various other things. Same applies to my efforts to design my old cars and trying to make them better ready for animating. I went with my rudimentary car because I had envisioned making better-looking and more detailed versions of my voxel model cars. I didn't want to ruin any of my original cars trying to learn how to rig cars. That is, until I finally successfully was able to find a way to rig a vehicle. After that, I decided to try my hand at taking one of my existing cars and make it suitable for rigging (namely getting rid of the static wheels). This time rather than take an existing car and doubling its size, I decided to take one car at its original size and simply fit some wheels on them (after resizing the wheels). The end result is this more handsome looking effort:
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel gallery in my Facebook profile) - This experiment involved one of my original voxel model cars at its original size and fitted with my detailed voxel wheels.
Since I was using detailed wheels on a regular scale voxel car, the car does appear pretty awkward in its design, especially around the wheel arches. The more important thing in all of this is the ability to set up a proper model for which rigging is possible. I was fairly happy for the most part with mounting the wheels to the car. I became a good bit happy knowing I mounted a nice set of wheels to these cars. It got me to wonder how I can re-style these cars so they look a bit more handsome when equipped with these extra sets of wheels.
Now to explain my workflow.
The Workflow.
Let me share with you my workflow as well as different changes in methodology in creating my works.
I am still using MagicaVoxel to model my cars. All of the cars I've made and shared pictures of were made through MagicaVoxel. The latest version as of this post is 0.97.1. I have been using MagicaVoxel to make and edit my cars. In my time, I have shared about 15 of my regular cars as well as a few commercial vehicles and some race cars. So I've released maybe 20+ models in pictures. With so many vehicles, I had broader visions for voxel model machines I have created. One such thing I made mention to was the fact I started modeling tires and wheels to be separate items from the cars. What this allowed for was a number of options to make my already detailed voxel model cars even more detailed. MagicaVoxel only allows you to do so much, so enter the other programs I am using...
VoxelShop is what I use to take my MagicaVoxel designs and convert them to COLLADA format. Originally, I used VoxelShop to convert to a low-polygon format. This is good if you want to make good use of voxel models in a refined package. However, you can't refine the voxel model as much. So one thing I did was try saving in some of the other available formats you can export models to in COLLADA format. Models exported from VoxelShop in COLLADA format can be exported in one of four different COLLADA export settings. The one I found works best for further refinement of models is to save in Legacy format. The most important (at least to me) aspect of saving voxel models in COLLADA Legacy format is the ability to save voxel models in materials. I will explain later what makes this material aspect special later in this section. While models saved under the COLLADA Legacy format offer the most complete and comprehensive design, created models come in with some of the most triangles, a high number of verts, and the largest file size. So something like this may not be too suitable for trying to maintain efficient models.
Now for the final element of my experimental car rigging- Blender. Blender is a powerful program that can deliver amazing results in modeling and animation, granted you know how to use it. My voxel models made in MagicaVoxel and refined in VoxelShop are imported into Blender. This gives me an opportunity to try to further refine my voxel models. What some people may not know about my voxel model cars is that my cars actually have interiors to them. That is because I had intended making a lot of my cars have visible drivers and passengers animated with the cars. Recently, I began re-adding windows and windshields to my cars after trying to go for a non-window approach to my voxel cars. That means taking a certain car color and making the windows that color. Remember what I typed about the importance of saving COLLADA files with the Legacy option and the materials? Well in Blender, you can change the properties of any materials of any model. Every color of a model is its own material. Since the windows and windshield are their own material, I can take that color and make it transparent so you can see through the windows. I set the transparency of the windows in Blender to 0.5 for the best results. The use of colored materials also gave me the possibility of making glowing lights. If you were to combine both the use of transparent materials and materials that emit light, this means many more opportunities and options to design cars with. As I made stylish looking tires and wheels to my models, I imported my wheel designs and applied them to my modified cars. The wheels are resized and carefully mounted to the car.
Modeling/Animation Notes.
Let me share with you some of the different things I have noticed in my attemps to rig my voxel cars. Use these tidbits in case you want to rig your own voxel cars.
• The only real changes I make in MagicaVoxel to my cars is to simply remove the static wheels. The cars will look a bit awkward with fancy voxel tires and wheels, but the wheel arches aren't too bad for the cars to be fitted with the detailed wheels.
• The only thing I really needed to change is to change the orientation of car models in VoxelShop in importing to Blender. With cars facing in the front in MagicaVoxel, I have to use the Mirror Z feature in VoxelShop to flip the car models on the Z-Axis so they'd appear properly in Blender without needing to rotate them in Blender.
• Now that I think about it, I could only export the car bodies to COLLADA Legacy format only to allow for the opportunity to make the windows transparent. I could use the Optimal COLLADA settings for all items besides the car body.
• One problem with importing COLLADA Legacy format models in Blender is that the geometry of imported items is not centered. The models' geometry of COLLADA Legacy models are centered at the bottom as opposed to the center of the model's geometry. This can be easily changed in Blender by setting the origin to the geometry of the model (Ctrl + Shift + Alt + C, then select "Geometry to Origin").
• I import my voxel wheels by first mounting them on the left front side. Previously, I would mount the tires by duplicating the left-front tire and making three extra copies. When I got around to editing various settings to animate the tires, I simply just made that one tire followed by editing its settings. After I did all the editing and parenting, THEN I made duplicates of the tires to all four parts of the car. This just makes the process easier so I wan't have to individually edit each wheel and their settings. Don't forget to parent each of the wheels to the car body. When mounting tires on the right side of the car from the left side tires, rotate the tires by 180°.
• This is an important recommendation in Blender... do NOT use Ctrl + C to copy over wheels. Instead, use Shift + D to duplicate the wheels and mount them accordingly to the car. I stress this because using Ctrl + C to make copies of the wheels somehow makes extra copies of the car body. Duplicating will save you from having to delete the extra copies of your car's body.
• Trying to model for collision is a very tricky process, and I have not yet mastered trying to make a proper car with a sufficient collision system. Trying to give my cars a decent physics system is a success; making the system work properly would be a proper accomplishment. It is something I still need to work on.
And those are the notes I have to share with you on my editing.
Future Experiments.
The next things I want to try to experiment with my voxel model cars are as follows:
• animating cars using armatures/bones
• simulating lights and light systems
• adding visible drivers and passengers
• drivers and passenger animations with the cars
• improved driving and suspension dynamics
If I come up with something interesting, I'll chat about it here on "John's Creative Space." So stay tuned. Finally...
In Case You're Wondering...
Here are the two videos I have seen in learning how to rig cars in Blender. Take a look at them:
In the future (as I mentioned), I want to try to animate cars with armatures/bones as an alternative method to rig cars in Blender. These two videos are what I've used to try to animate cars.
Voxel Car Announcement
There have been people who have inquired me about my voxel model cars. One of the main reasons why I haven't offered my creations for download/sale is because I simply am not ready to release them online. I also have been trying to come up with new ideas to work on them and enhance them. I am simply not going to release anything right now, especially half-hearted efforts. I will offer my voxel cars for download and/or sale when I feel I have designed them to where they can be properly enjoyed and utilized for a number of applications. I never offered any of my voxel creations for sale or download. There are people who offer models without them being ready to be animated. I could offer my creations as they are and leave the dirty work to modelers. However, I sort of feel there is extra incentive in offering static and animated work to others. So I want to try to provide the best possible package to satisfy as many parties as possible.
Since you are reading this right now, allow me to announce my initial plans. I will make voxel cars as somewhat of a "Starter Pack." These will be a few basic models I will create to help you get started as well as give people the opportunity to use my creations. Most of all... my base package of voxel car models I will create will be offered for free. I plan to offer these creations on services like Turbo Squid and OpenGameArt.org. The package I will offer will include my voxel model cars both in static form and in a form with the static wheels removed. The versions with the static wheels removed will feature one set of wheels you can use to mount onto the car through Blender or some other 3D modeling software. If you think this all sounds good, there is a catch- you are going to have to do all of the animation and other advanced driving dynamics if you plan on making videos or games. I'm trusting that the ones I offer my creations to will do a much better job of utilizing the content fully than I [ever(?)] will.
What are my plans after releasing my base package of voxel model cars? I will simply try to re-work some of my existing voxel model cars while also making new models. I also will work to make more voxel tires and wheels for which they can modeled with other cars. In other words... I simply will try to build up my own portfolio of voxel model cars. I even have interest in perhaps making my own Blender animations featuring my voxel model cars. These will be for promotion purposes, not to mention simply making my own video content. Unlike my "Starter Pack" of voxel model cars, my existing creations will be offered for a fee. Machines of a certain category or group may be offered as bundle packages for a fee. This will only bring everything together and offer more options for the modeler.
All of these machines are different from any of my previous creations. So in other words, you'll be getting completely original models apart from my already existing
A Note About My Re-Working of Cars.
The cars I've already created will be re-worked and may appear much different. These are all in trying to get the cars to look a bit more presentable. Future posts on "John's Creative Space" will feature my models in new forms. So the re-worked cars may look a bit different from the old picture where I combined most of my voxel cars into one picture.
Most of what I wanted to discuss is now over.
Special Message
I would like to thank everyone who has supported my work for the longest. I'm glad you all have enjoyed my work. I am sorry I've taken so long to try to address the availability and offers of my voxel models. One thing I am sure of is that you probably won't regret me making my material available to all of you. Once again- thank you all who love my work.
As of this initial post, I have not yet made my "Starter Pack" available. Once I do great a set of vehicles to include into my package, I will let all of you know and let you be able to access my creations. You will then finally get to enjoy the various voxel cars I've created. For now, I thank you for reading this post on John's Creative Space! Take care and be well.
Voxels offer only so much detail. I recently took a voxel car I modeled and decided to look for new details to test out. I wanted to try some sort of transparent window illusion with a visible interior. So what I did was take a muscle car I created and deleted all the windows. The interior of the car is all a silhouette- just like some old games that have had visible interiors with silhouette drivers. Since my car is a mini-spec model, some black parts are clearly visible in trying to offer somewhat of a silhouette appearance.
For reference, here was the original car before the editing:
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel gallery on Facebook) - Deleting the windows and adding a silhouette interior is a unique design study I conducted.
What does my edited car look like? Take a look:
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel gallery on Facebook) - Deleting the windows and adding a silhouette interior is a unique design study I conducted.
Part of my interest in designing such a silhouette interior comes from certain old racing games. The one that came to mind for me was SEGA Rally Championship. I just got rid of the windows and made the interior all black. For the driver in the car, that driver is represented with some tall piece inside. I even colored the driver so that it seems a bit realistic to see the driver in the car. For this design study, though, everything inside is a silhouette. This design method doesn't work for certain styled cars, but you tend to get the general idea of how windshields and windows are styled for a car.
Never be afraid to experiment with any of your work.
Bonus Comments: Why I Haven't Offered My Work Online...
A long time ago, I wanted to try to offer my 3D work for sale. The reason why I haven't offered anything is because I was trying to make the models for use with Unity3D. I haven't converted or worked on anything to be made functional through Unity3D. This also includes making certain models rigged for animation. I never got around to making models for animation either. So in case any of you are interested in my work, that is why things have been so slow in that department. I apologize for this.
One thing I will NOT apologize for, however, is offering great content for you to read and enjoy. I hope this blog post qualifies to you as "great content." Please Subscribe to my blog(s) if you enjoy my content. Have yourself an amazing day/night. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
My MagicaVoxel voxel adventures now involve mechs and robots recently. Conceived as possible projects I want to start with Minecraft, I've been making certain robots and mechs. So I decided to show some of my work with you. This is the latest in a series of models I've been trying to create to further expand my profile of voxel models I have created.
A Special Announcement...
Unless you haven't visited my main blog, "John's Blog Space," I have a new Weebly page showcasing my creative works. I will use that space to feature some of my creative works with all of you. Some of those works include various voxel creations of mine that you've seen here on "John's Creative Space" previously. To visit my Weebly page, you are invited to come here:
Thank you if you do visit. I would appreciate your cooperation.
My Voxel Robots
In recent times, I been compelled to design robot voxel models. If you are expecting something like Gundam, Titanfall, Metal Gear, or anything like that in terms of robots or mechs, look elsewhere. There was a good bit for me to learn in creating these voxel robots.
One of my goals was to design these robots to populate Minecraft as part of a new world I want to create in Minecraft. These robots would be part of a story with this new Minecraft world I want to create. These robots try to merge in with a world already populated with humans and creatures. The world I am envisioning in Minecraft and its story revolve around humans feeling threatened by a combination of its own humans, various creatures, and robots. It kind of draws influence from Final Fantasy, but not deeply entrenched in Final Fantasy. Each class- humans, creatures, and robots- will have one or more characters massive in size and serve as boss characters. Some even may be rare and/or legendary enemies.
The robots I have conceptualized are a combination of various passive and hostile robots. While the models themselves seem out of place for something like Minecraft, they represent models unique to my own style of art and voxel modeling. I want to eventually design a number of robot models of different kinds and sizes. I even envisioned one or more robots to be boss-type characters that are massive in size and capable of massive damage and devastation.
My First Voxel Robot.
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel album on Facebook) - This robot has average claws meant to grasp various objects and even to pierce into intruders.
One look at this robot, and one might think this is a fairly old school robot. And in senses, it is. This is a robot who is meant to be a hostile mob. About as tall as an Enderman, this robot has claw hands meant to grasp people and objects. It has two laser cannons in its hand units to attack from longer distances. Mounted on its chest are two lights to see in dark conditions as well as be able to light up dark areas. There is a big battery pack installed on its back.
This model is another hostile mob. It has two basic gun turrets. Its main purpose is to defend turf from invaders. They are fairly standard issue protection and fairly basic enemies. These robots are about as tall as the main player model in Minecraft.
This model looks pretty wicked, doesn't it? Can't complain when you have eight legs and tote TWO chainguns! This robot doesn't have a technical name, but its hypothetical name is the "Arachne Class." This is a hostile mob that has the same sort of mobility as the basic Spiders in Minecraft, but rather than jump at you, it fires plasma lasers from its two chainguns. It has another mode of attack in the form of a laser beam from its chest. Needless to say, this robot is a total war machine. It is also possible to ride this machine and use it for transportation and battle.
Now you have a little peek at my creations.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
Matilda is a Maltese puppy and Charity's friend. As much as Charity cares about making the world and society as happier places, Matilda has about the same passion. The two got to know each other as Charity helped out Matilda was down on her luck. Feeling as if she owes her one, Matilda decided to join in on the mission to help make the world a more positive place.
Here is Matilda (prototype):
^ from: (my MagicaVoxel album in my Facebook profile) - Matilda is Charity's friend. She is also the first voxel dog I've created. This voxel animal model was created using MagicaVoxel.
Though Charity and Matilda have the same goal, the methodologies of doing so among the two are different. Charity doesn't entirely feel she can make the world better just by doing cute acts and by working to solve problems. Matilda is a bit more serious and doesn't really try to be overly cute. In fact, Matilda would probably say Charity seems too reliant on being cute and trying too hard to win over the respect of people around her.
Creation Notes.
I seem compelled to try to make animals other than cats. As much as I love cats, this was my first attempt at making a dog. I actually am scared of dogs. While I don't know my dogs that well, I do admit that Maltese puppies are lovely dogs. The model I created was loosely based on my model of Charity. I didn't know how to design a Maltese puppy to the best of my ability. So I took a few different pictures and made my own interpretation of a Maltese puppy. I almost thought of giving Matilda a red collar, but I wanted to offer some difference between Charity and Matilda. So I gave her a blue dog collar.
So that is a rather brief look at one of my other original characters.
You should Subscribe/Follow my work to keep up with my latest posts. Thanks to everyone to helping keep this blog remain relevant and loved. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
I used MagicaVoxel to make more cars than what I shown in a previous post. What I want to do for this blog post is share more of my vehicle creations with you all. This collection features a number of cars I created and want to share. Descriptions for each of the cars I've created lately will be provided in this blog post for your enjoyment. I hope you enjoy this blog post and my different creations.
Since this is my first released post for 2015 for "John's Creative Space," happy new year!
LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S)
OCT 10 2019 - added a new section, updated look of post
Voxel Vehicle Showcase
Before I continue, let me share with you a look at various voxel vehicles I created so far:
^ This picture represents many different vehicles I created, including some you may have already seen before.
This time, rather than some rather detailed look at each car, I figured I just share a picture and offer a brief description. I hope you enjoy this post of mine.
Family Sedan.
This is an American sedan I created. Power comes from either a 260hp normally-aspirated Inline-6 or a 350hp normally-aspirated V8 in top-level trim. A 5-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual are offered for this car. It is a fron-wheel drive car, but rear-wheel drive is also offered.
Supercar.
While not the best design, I challenged myself to come up with something exotic and interesting. So what I did was create this supercar. I have no real story or specifications on this car except... it is fast, and it is long. A turbo V10 engine with about 550 horsepower is the heart of this supercar. Top speed is about 195 mph.
Classic American Convertible.
I was inspired by seeing classic car auctions on TV to come up with a car like this. This is the first convertible car I've ever created with MagicaVoxel. The top is clearly down on this car. I think it is tougher to design more classic vehicles. I did my best regardless. A V8 engine powers this car with about 390 horsepower fed through a 4-speed automatic or a 4-speed manual.
European Hatchback.
The intent of this vehicle was in making a car that's boring. Nothing is "sexy" at all about this car. This car is more like someone's first car that just simply gets him/her around town and various other points. This front-wheel drive hatchback has a good 175 horsepower through a turbo inline 4 engine. It also comes in a turbo Inline-6 with 225 horsepower. Again- nothing special about this car to make it seriously appealing to most people.
Vintage European GT Sports Car.
I consider this my most complex model I've created because there were a number of cues that are much different from the more modern machines I created. Among others is the headlight design. I tried to offer the illusion of lights tucked away and hiding behind glass. It is not easy to try to come up with such a design, so I let the lights show as they do. The Jaguar XKE and the Datsun 240Z were inspirations to me in making this machine. This was the first right-hand drive car I created. So if I were to create scenes with this car, you would see the driver on the right hand side drive this car.
Mid-Engined Hatchback.
If you know your cars, you probably know what this car's inspiration is. Think of a mid-engined hatchback with rear-wheel drive. If you aren't as keen on cars, then let me introduce you to this car's primary inspiration- the Renault Clio V6. A standard Clio was taken from its usual front-engine, front-wheel drive layout and given a more powerful engine mounted midship and given rear-wheel drive. It is one of the most unique vehicles ever created. I tried to create my own interpretation of this car with this model. A turbo V6 with 240 horsepower is the heart of my model. A 5-speed automatic or 5-speed manual drives this car.
Luxury Supercar.
I actually had Aston Martin in mind in trying to design this car. It is a supercar that weighs about 3,800 lbs. and powered by a 480hp naturally-aspirated V12. There is also a supercharged V12 for this car that makes about 565hp. I didn't know exactly how to convey the Aston Martin look and feel in its design. So I modeled this car with certain cues I know of best. I had the Aston Martin DB9 in mind. However, this car's design also sort of takes on a character of another insane British sports car- the TVR Cerbera Speed 12. Only this machine is MUCH more docile than the Cerbera Speed 12.
Sporty British Roadster.
Here is another car with some obvious style cues as to what this car resembles. This is how most Caterhams look. Go back even further and you may remember the Lotus Super 7. Either way, this machine is based on the more-than-capable roadster. It is a fast and agile sports car with exceptionally light weight. It accelerates and handles well, but don't expect it to win drag races or go fast around high-speed courses.
1990s Japanese Sports Car.
This car is my interpretation of a generic Japanese sports car from the 1990s. I mostly had the Nissan 240SX or the Nissan 300ZX in mind. The tail lights are more from the late 1990s Subaru Impreza. Maybe I felt like wanting to make this car a JDM (Japanese Direct Market) machine, so my model is right-hand drive. It is a car powered by an turbo Inline-6 pumping around 240hp or even 276hp.
Electric City Car.
I actually wanted to create a microcar that was environmentally friendly when I eventually made that neon green subcompact. This car is a more proper electric city car. This car leisurely takes its time getting up to 60 mph. It is a front-engined, front-wheel drive microcar with a top speed of about 105 mph.
These cars I created were created through MagicaVoxel. Each one is different in terms of me trying different design elements. There are still many limitations in designing voxel model cars. Despite these limitations, I am doing my best to try to design these cars for fun. One of my hopes is to try to use these models for media projects or possible game projects I have in mind. You may see these models (and more) in the future. I hope you enjoy my work regardless.
A Special Announcement!
(section addedL October 10, 2019)
After years of not knowing what I want to do, I finally decided to rework my voxel vehicle models to where I now offer them for sale! Since joining Envato, you can buy my voxel vehicles through Envato's 3DOcean. It is part of a package called "Basic Voxel Vehicle Pack." It includes 19 of the 20 regular model voxel vehicles I have created. Use them for your media projects or your game projects. If you want to make commercial work with my voxel vehicles, buy an Extended License on 3DOcean.
To get started and to see my voxel vehicles, click on the image or link below:
I would like to thank everyone who found my voxel vehicle work interesting and entertaining.
Before I close this blog post, I just want to make note of something. Ever since I started sharing my voxel artwork online, I've become fairly connected to various other voxel artists and game developers. I want to say hello to any pixel artists and game developers who may be reading my blog posts and seeing my work. Thanks to you all for supporting and enjoying my work. I know I talk a lot about MagicaVoxel, but I also am fond of any supportive of Qubicle Constructor. After all, I began making voxel art with Qubicle Constructor before I started really dabbling with MagicaVoxel. I am also using another free program called VoxelShop primarily to convert my MagicaVoxel models to COLLADA to use as I am trying to learn Unity3D. I'm all over the map, basically!
I have many more models I've created that I may share in the future. That even includes some models I am making exclusively for game projects. Will those projects ever come to fruition? Maybe... or maybe not. It all depends on if I am able to be convinced enough to make something good enough to be featured. Until then, all I am doing is sharing my work with the world, and I hope you're enjoying my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
I made a voxel drag racing scene once. The scene I created in MagicaVoxel is what I'd like to share in showcasing more of my voxel artwork. I will present this scene to you all to showcase my art as well as offer a little story to it. My hope is that you are enjoying the work I've created and showcased in my blog. If you enjoy my work, thank you. I appreciate your support. Anyhow, let's get cracking!
--- Voxel Scene: Top Fuel Drag Race ---
Here is the scene in question:
^ 0-300 mph in five seconds! Top fuel drag racers make this happen.
I created this scene as a mock-up of a drag race. While it looks like I created two cars, I actually used one model and colorized the other one in a different way. The base model is the red top fuel dragster. The base model also does not have flames shooting out of the engine- I added those effects specifically for this render.
If you are not educated about racing, let me briefly describe what you are seeing. The cars you are seeing in my render are top fuel drag race cars. These speed demons often take very little time to blast down a quarter mile drag strip. The highest end top fuel dragsters can reach speeds well over 300 miles per hour. A top fuel dragster can clear the quarter mile in five seconds or (sometimes) less at speeds of about 320 mph or greater. Unlike a lot of other race cars, these are purpose-built race cars specifically meant to travel down a quarter mile drag strip. There is a steering wheel inside these cars to help keep the cars stay straight down the drag strip. To help slow these cars down after a pass down the drag strip, parachutes deploy to further help slow down the cars after a long pass.
Now that you know about these cars, I hope you appreciate and like this voxel scene I created!
Thanks again for visiting "John's Creative Space!" I hope you enjoyed your time here. Please be sure to Subscribe and Follow if you want to see more of my work and be in the know for when my latest posts are released. If you enjoy my work, please be sure to help support my work rather than spam the crap out of my posts or ludicrously view my post(s) just to spam up views. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
This MagicaVoxel scene I created is one of the first buildings I've created. I will share you this voxel scene and what it's about with this blog post. The building represents Oni's Body Shop- a business designed to repair or customize vehicles. The body shop is named after its owner. You'll get to know more about this scene as this blog post continues. Welcome to "John's Creative Space!" And also, happy new year- since this is my first post of 2015 on JCS!
All of the scenes I've created in artwork are featured under my "Scenes" label. I will share various scenes and offer stories to them to make each scene interesting.
--- Oni's Body Shop ---
Here is a look at the scene I created in MagicaVoxel. By the way, do you notice something a bit unusual about this image? Take a look:
^ Oni's Body Shop.
The reason why it looks so nice is because this is the first-ever picture I've taken using the MagicaVoxel Render program. There is also another difference with this picture- there are two new cars I haven't featured in my blog or on Twitter. You have the light blue old car in the garage, and then you have the blue roadster with the yellow stripe down the middle. Don't worry- I'll showcase all of my latest voxel models in the future.
Let me go back to the scene for a moment. I call this as "Oni's Body Shop," named for Onesimo Oliveira, the owner of this body shop. Onesimo is nicknamed "Oni." His body shop does more than just repair cars- people even come into Oni's Body Shop to have their automobiles customized with aftermarket parts and other cosmetic and performance features. People can wait in the main store area as their cars get customized or repaired. In a commercial, here is Onesimo promoting his body shop:
"Hi. My name is Onesimo Oliveira, better known as Oni. Are you tired of your jalopy? Do you want your ride to shine? If so, me and my mechanics can help get your baby back on the road. Or do you want to upgrade your vehicle's performance? I can help with that, too. To keep your car alive, you got to make that drive! Only Oni!"
-Onesimo ("Oni") Oliveira
Constructing the Scene.
Designing this scene required me to make a massive enough garage. I designed two so that it doesn't seem like the body shop only services so many cars. I took a number of car models I created to help in the process of designing Oni's Body Shop. I used some of Mike Judge's garage models for reference on how high and how wide to make the garage openings. I needed to make the garage deep enough to handle some of my longer car models. The two garages allow for only so much business. The interior of the main garages had the walls colored. I then decided on how I wanted to do the building, because I didn't want it to look completely generic. I went ahead and put on "Oni's Body Shop" in a nice way.
I kind of wasn't sure what vehicles I wanted to feature. The cars I created are all fictional cars with cues taken from real-world cars. In the garage are an old blue hatchback and a dark gray luxury SUV. To give the impression of realism with a car driving by, I included a British roadster inspired by what you'd see from Caterham. Adding to the realism is a visible driver driving the British roadster. I try to model all of my vehicles so that they can be used by characters for realism. I want to be able to drop in one of my characters to provide a realistic experience.
I wanted to use the MagicaVoxel Render program to make this special image. While it worked wonders for my external scene, the inside of the garage appears dark since there are no lighting options. The exterior still looks great with the render and the sun effects. The default size for wallpaper in MagicaVoxel Render is 1600 x 1600. I reduced it to 800 x 800 for a shorter picture. I could have halved the samples from 1024 to 512, but I kept the samples at 1024 in my wallpaper render of Oni's Body Shop. I adjusted the sun scale for full brightness.
And there is your look at this scene I created.
I hope you enjoyed my art work. I actually created this scene back on December 16, 2014; and it is just now I decided to make a blog post about it. Thanks to all of you for supporting my work and having some sort of interest in my material. I will be sure to post more material to keep this blog rolling along. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
Back at it with MagciaVoxel. This time, I want to share to share some more voxel assets I've created. It was a great accomplishment when I made my first car in MagicaVoxel. I later practiced making more automobiles. I actually took two of my models to make two different automobiles. Just recently, I created my first-ever motorcycle. What you are about to see are some of my vehicle assets. I hope you enjoy this blog post here on "John's Creative Space!"
Blog posts under this label feature various vehicles I've created as part of my collection of artwork. These vehicles can include cars, trucks, motorcycles, watercraft, aircraft, and more.
--- My Vehicle Assets: Story ---
Let me bring you up to speed in my creation of automobiles using MagicaVoxel. That is what I intend to do with this section.
On Facebook and Twitter on November 21, 2014; I shared this picture:
^ I designed this voxel formula race car from scratch.
As a car lover, it was great I finally was able to create a car in MagicaVoxel. I didn't exactly design it to any proper specifications, but I did base my designs on a number of different formula racing machines. I was very pleased making this first car because I felt I was finally able to make something as complex as a car in something like MagicaVoxel.
I know I've made habits lately of continually talking about MagicaVoxel. However, I made some cars before in Qubicle Constructor before my MagicaVoxel work. Some of the cars I created in Qubicle were rather large. I didn't make too many in Qubicle. I was still pretty pleased making that formula race car in MagicaVoxel.
Influence From Another Designer.
I didn't feel too comfortable trying to adjust all of my models to my regular scale models. So I ended up wanting to design smaller-scale items. The models I wanted to create will almost exclusively compliment my mini models. This was a point where I began mostly making smaller-scale material. I would meet one of those driving forces (so to speak) from one MagicaVoxel user who basically got me attracted to wanting to make small scale assets for my media work.
This person I came across Twitter was a fellow named Mike Judge. No- not the Mike Judge of "Beavis and Butthead" fame, but the Mike Judge who is a Seattle-based software engineer. He creates a bunch of renders with MagicaVoxel as part of his "Mini Mike's Metro Minis" package. This consists of various scenes and renders primarily meant for use in creating scenes in cities and such. If you'd like to learn more about his Mini Mike's Metro Minis collection, please visit Mike Judge's MMMM (Mini Mike's Metro Minis) GitHub page.
There were moments when I took Mike's vehicles and studied them. I thought about perspective, design, and getting a feel for making realistic material for my mini-scale characters to use. I actually even studied Mike's mini models to make my own mini characters. The combination of the Mini Mike's Metro Minis assets as well as the vehicles got me to think- "how do I make vehicles to compliment my mini characters?"
The first thing I did was take one of Mike's vehicle models and study its design. Rather than take it and edit it to make my own model, I instead used it as a base for building my own car. So I basically took a huge amount of space and put in one of Mike's vehicles while also making a completely new car from scratch. I ended up creating a luxury SUV (which you will see later in this post) with give-or-take the same dimensions as the vehicle I used to base my designs on. Because this was a mini-scale item, it meant I had to work with fewer details. My main challenge was to make as much detail as possible using such confined space. I even tried a few tricks to try to get as much detail as possible to make my vehicles not only believable, but also useful for possible media projects.
So what was the end result? Five cars I designed. Read the next section to get to know the five cars I created.
--- My Vehicle Assets: Five Voxel Cars of Mine ---
I created a luxury SUV for practice. Then, I made four other cars to expand my range of machines and even practice different designs. Check this out:
^ These are the five cars I've created since making my first car.
I felt so pleased making cars with MagicaVoxel. Even more so considering I can use these in possible media projects and renders. I chose to design items with realism. As a detail touch, I decided to make the side windows open so the driver and passenger(s) can be visible. Even after making these automobiles, I edited them little-by-little to make them even more appealing while also practicing my car-making skills. After designing these cars, I used some of Mike Judge's scenes to place my cars into for comparison with the other models in the area. I felt like I made some gorgeous machines that mini-scale voxel models can interact with and see. A missing detail from my cars is the gas cap. I decided to make everything one color for easy editing.
My Vehicle Models.
Let me introduce you to the cars I created. The machines will be featured from left to right based on the image I shown you of the five automobiles. They are noted by what they are. Here is my chance to show I am an amateur car salesman. :)
• Green Luxury SUV
The green SUV on the far left in my picture is an American luxury SUV. This machine was the first car besides my formula racing car that I created. It was created from scratch by taking cues from one of Mike Judge's vehicle models. Initially, it was a pastel blue SUV. I since changed it to a dark green SUV.
It is an SUV powered by a turbo V6 making about 280 horsepower. Visual cues were sort of taken from Land Rover and the Cadillac SRX. The interior has wood grain. It has only two rows of seating. The second row could be folded over for more storage space. A bit more space can be had by folding down both the second row and the front-row passenger seat. This SUV has four-wheel drive, but rear-wheel drive is also offered.
• Red Mid-Engine Sports Car
This is a peppy Italian sports car. I tried to design something smaller than my luxury SUV. What I ended up doing is create a machine that isn't as long. I wanted to give this car a unique touch design-wise. So what I did was create a scoop that would feed air into the mid-mounted engine. I got this idea from a car from "Ridge Racer Type 4." I gave this car side-scoops to feed the engine more air.
It looks more powerful than it really is. This is a mid-engined sports car that packs about 240 horsepower. This car is mainly a bargain sports car with tremendous performance. It would give the owner a quality sports car. Its exotic image will make any owner of this car feel like he/she spent lots of money to own a fabulous sports car.
• Pale Blue Pickup Truck
Believe it or not, this American truck was created using my red sports car! I thought about something my mom said when I shown her my voxel model cars. She questioned if I made a car or a truck. I then thought about its design and used the red sports car as a base to make this truck. It was actually the same length as the red sports car at first. But later, I decided to stretch out its length and make it a bit higher off the ground. The biggest influence in the design of this truck are the RAM Trucks. What was confusing to me was whether to make this a light duty truck or make it a full-size truck. I didn't want to make this a quad cab truck or anything.
This pickup truck makes about 300 horsepower, and it is primarily meant to be a road performance truck. It is possible, though, to make this a proper off-road truck. Four-wheel drive is standard for this pickup truck. The truck comes with gray seats with red details.
• Neon Green Subcompact
This is a Japanese subcompact car. I used the red sports car to create something more compact than that sports car. The car I created eventually used to be a light purple color. I actually wanted this to be an electric subcompact. I eventually just made this a simple subcompact with some flashy character. I tried to find a good neon color for it using MagicaVoxel's default palette.
This is a front-wheel drive subcompact that makes about 170 horsepower. Impressive fuel economy and nimble handling are its strongest points. This is a compact coupe with no second row to speak of. The passenger seat can be folded down for some extra space.
NOTE: The rear view of the subcompact actually is supposed to have the rear muffler on the RIGHT side.
• Dark Gray/Grey Luxury SUV
As its foreign contender to the American SUV market, this luxury SUV is the flagship SUV of a heralded British company. I took my American luxury SUV and simply... well, made it bigger. I wanted to make this British SUV as much a flagship machine as possible. I tried to make this SUV to be different from the other SUV despite the fact this machine is based on that green SUV. There is much more chrome to this SUV than with the green SUV. Even the side mirrors are chrome compared to the plastic side mirrors of the green SUV. I had even intended to make this a three-row SUV, but ultimately decided to keep it a two-row SUV. The biggest inspiration for this SUV is the Infiniti QX56, which is nowadays the Infiniti QX80. While I don't have proper names for each of the vehicles, this is the only one that I've named so far. I call it the "Amistad."
Seen more as a status symbol rather than a quality automobile, this is a British SUV that delivers elegance and status unlike any other automobile. People have praised it for providing so much elegance. Many others, however, simply call this an SUV that is just big and impractical. It is an SUV powered by either a normally-aspirated V8 with 355 horsepower or a supercharged V8 making 470 horsepower. Only four-wheel drive is offered, and it is not meant to be any kind of off-roader. It is strictly a road-going machine.
Are More in the Works?
Absolutely! I am trying to create as many different voxel cars as possible.
Uses for Voxel Cars.
I may simply use them for scenes and media projects. Part of me wants to develop a game featuring these cars. That was actually one plan of mine in making these cars.
Now you have an idea on the cars I created.
--- My Vehicle Assets: My First Motorcycle ---
I always wanted to make motorcycles in addition to my cars. The trouble I had was that I didn't know how to design a motorcycle. I wanted to make a model to suit my mini models but didn't know how exactly to make a realistic one. Remember I talked about Mini Mike's Metro Minis? Well, none of the vehicles he created was a motorcycle. So I was on my own to make my own motorcycle. I did a lot of practice by taking certain visual cues from Google Images results of sport bikes. Once I confidently could design a motorcycle, I designed one along with giving my mini-scale character a unique riding stance. The end result was this:
^ My first motorcycle made with MagicaVoxel.
I actually like sport bikes and sporty bikes more than I do scooters or cruisers. I tried to infuse as many different cues as possible to make my bike unique. I looked to the beautiful Ducati Desmosedici RR for inspiration for the headlights. I added some turn signals to the front. The yellow front suspension was added. I made this a bike with two swingarms. A lot of motorcycles have two swingarms, but some machines- such as the MV Augusta F4- have only one swingarm. This bike has two rear mufflers. One other thing I considered in designing my first motorcycle was the possibility of making this bike realistic in the ability to have a two-up riding style. For those not as educated on motorcycles, two-up is basically one rider taking the controls while another rider latches onto the main rider, thus making it possible to have two people riding one bike. I even lengthened the bike a little bit to make the two-up look realistic.
After I made this first motorcycle, I edited it and made a racing version of the bike. I may share that in a future post here on "John's Creative Space." Basically, I removed the side mirrors, the lights, replaced the tail light with a muffler design, and got rid of the main mufflers to the bike. And instead of a dark red, I painted it blue.
Testing the New Machines.
I later took my motorcycle designs and put them into Mike Judge's scenes to see how they would fit into a mini-scale scene. I took a scene for my regular-scale characters and tried to scatter the space with my motorcycle model. I was so pleased looking at it because I tried to make a scene where multiple bikes raced against each other. I tried fitting about sixteen of them in a racing setting, and it looked so cool!
--- Special Thanks... ---
I want to give special thanks to Mike Judge for inspiring me not only get into making mini-scale items, but also for being the real force behind me making the voxel vehicles presented in this blog post. If Mike Judge himself is reading this, thank you very much.
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Affiliate Disclosure
I am an affiliate of the following: Collective Voice (formerly Shopstyle Collective), and Sovrn. Be mindful that I may also receive commission from your involvement with other affiliate-linked content and other sources if you visit the links and make qualified purchases on any affiliated sites featured on this site.
Hello! I am now willing to accept [legit] advertising offers from legit companies. Contact me for any collaboration offers. I would appreciate your support both regular and financially of me and my work. Would you like to help support my blogging work? If so, I'd like for you to help yourself to these offers as my way of thanking you for visiting my blog. You're welcome! :)
When I am not blogging, I am trying to make content to my creative works studio I call "JohnMarineDesigns." Donations can help me to provide more content and even finance getting certain programs and licenses. Would you like to donate to support my creative work on ? Donations to JMDesigns are voluntary, but would be appreciated:
DISCLAIMER: Read "Affiliate Notes" for important disclosure information regarding any affiliated material posted in this blog.
Creative Links
You can now find MANY Creative Resources by clicking here: Creative Resources!
All of the work that I've produced for this blog and elsewhere are my own property. It is very much okay if you use my work, but be sure to give credit back to me. Plagiarizing isn't cool. Most of the material I've created is basically my own original work. Sure, I am inspired by lots of things; but for the most part, most of what I have created is (to my knowledge) very original.
If you would like to use my material in creative works or projects, please contact me. I may not respond directly or be able to efficiently work with you, but I will try to work with you to make both of us happy.
Yours truly is an eBook author! If you would like to take a look at my eBooks, please use this section to take a look at my eBooks. I would appreciate your business should I interested you in my eBook work.
