What is Voxel Art and How to Create it?

A Voxel is indeed a 3D pixel, often referred to as a “volumetric pixel.” The term voxel is derived from combining the words “volume” and “pixel,” representing its fundamental characteristics.

The concept of voxels allows for the representation of objects in 3D space, similar to how pixels represent objects in two-dimensional space. Voxel art, as an artistic medium, often embodies a charming 8-bit video game style due to its resemblance to 3D pixel art. Creating voxel art is akin to constructing with virtual building blocks, resembling the experience of building with Lego bricks. It provides a unique and intuitive approach to 3D creation.

Free Voxel art programs like “MagicaVoxel” also serve as a great introduction to 3D and allow for experimentation with 3D materials even though you models may be simplistic you can create some stunningly beautiful renders: Really dialing in things like lighting and materials and composition.

The simplicity of what you can create with a minimal number of voxels and still convey your idea to the viewer also becomes an art in and of itself. However not all voxel is simplistic:

A lot of it can be incredibly ornate, with hours and hours being poured into the smallest of details.

Some artists even create voxel art so complex at first glance you might not even interpret it as voxel art.

The voxel art style is also really popular with things like games and apps especially for indie and solo game developers. Games like “Crossy road” and “Shooty skies” are great examples and a lot of other games definitely have voxel art influence like “Monument valley”, “Minecraft” and “Pokémon Quest”.

Now let’s take a look at some of the most popular voxel art editors you guys can use to create your own voxel art and the best part is most of these are free and available for both Mac and PC.

Let’s start with “Magicavoxel”, it is free and probably the most popular voxel program among artists, because it has a very powerful render engine built right into it. Allowing you to create some stunning renders with lighting and material effects really easily.

Next is “Qubicle” which was actually used in the creation of games like “Crossy road” and “Shooty skies”. Qubicle is a top choice for many game developers, because it features a lot of export options which makes it easier to import your models into the game engine of your choice. Qubicle does have a free trial option, but the indie license is available for just $25.

Next is “Goxel” which is a free open source voxel editor. It’s unique because not only can you create with it on your desktop, but you can also download it as an app on both iOS and Android so you can easily create on the go. You even have the option to create right on your web browser with the live version they have built into their website.

Finally we have “Voxedit” which is currently in free beta and it allows you to not only build voxel art creations, but also tools for rigging and animating your creations as well.

Now, there are two other websites that would definitely recommend checking out and they would be megavoxels.com and voxelmade.com. Megavoxels is a great knowledge base for articles and tutorials for all the different voxel editors. Voxelmade has an awesome artist page where you can check out some of the top Vauxhall artists.

Thanks For Reading.