Voxel Art and Non Fungible Tokens, How the Metaverse Works
MetaMetaverse is a platform for creating your own metaverse. Each metaverse functions as a virtual society and has its own games, interactive experiences, economy, and governance. These metaverses are constructed with metameta lang, the layer 1 protocol for metaverse interoperability.
Table of Contents
- What are voxels
- What is the difference between voxel and pixel art?
- What can you create with voxel art?
- How do you make voxel art?
- Artists in voxel art
- Voxel games
- Conclusion
To understand voxel art, we need to first consider pixels, the ‘atomic form’ of visual data. These 2D pixels are what bring you this post before you, at their base they are squares placed in a grid and display color, or lack thereof. If you can think back to your earliest gaming experience you’d likely remember boxy, poorly rendered images of our favorite characters. Mario, Lara Croft, and space invaders.
The reason behind their ‘unshapeliness’ is simply that less pixels could be used in the past. This was because it took more computer memory to build them back then, but the image of the clunky early PS and Nintendo characters is an aesthetic of the 90s. Now we have mind blowing games with Ultra 4K 2160p resolution. That is a lot of pixels.
Voxel art, however, takes a different approach. It is a return to a simpler time, when pixels and boxes were still king.
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What are voxels?
Voxels are the three-dimensional version of pixels. Just like pixels they can form the foundation of the digital, visual medium. Rather than being the flat images that pixels create, they have the extra dimensions that create depth. You can see voxels from all sides.
Voxels, like pixels, represent a colored cube and can be fitted with others as building blocks. Just as with building blocks and pixels, these cubs can build up images large and small. You can have a treasure chest that fits in your hand, or a replica of the Hubble telescope, voxels are the basis of building virtual items.
Finally, we have voxel art. Voxel art takes these cubes and allows users to create anything their imaginations can come up with. On a basic level, voxels are like the paint that you use to cover a canvas, the canvas is the empty space within a digital setting.
Digital artists are creating incredible artwork online with the use of voxel art. This includes animations, illustrations, and even whole video games.
What is the difference between voxel art and pixel art?
The main difference between the two should be evident at this point. Whereas pixel art is two dimensional and works on a side-by-side grid, voxel art has greater depth and can be used to create single color values, 3D grids, and 3D models based on cubes. Pixel art generally appears as PNG or a JPG.
Voxel files are different to the kinds that most of us are used to by now. These file types differ according to the platform you are using to create your artworks. Mega Voxels Play, as an example uses VOXEL files, and MagicaVoxel uses the file type known as Vox. As a result, voxel artists, or enthusiasts of the craft need to use specialized editors to render their ideas.
So as we can see, voxels are an evolution of pixels, a step up from 2D to 3D. It sounds simple enough, but the amount that can be done with voxels, as opposed to pixels, is quite staggering.
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What can you create with voxel art?
As with every kind of art, what you create is largely up to your own imagination.
Voxels were originally used in video game design in the 90s but have since become an aesthetic choice. Just as in Minecraft and Roblox (the latter of which is not voxel based), world building is gaining huge traction among gamers and artists alike. This is the perfect example of the type of things you can do with voxels.
Video games are the perfect media to work with voxels because they are simple, standardized and scalable. You can use them in a diverse array of ways to fit your own unique vision.
Nowadays there are many platforms and tools to help you edit and create your own voxel art. Magicavoxel as we have mentioned above is one, and for animating your creations you can use Maya.
All of these editing tools help to give you the freedom to be curious. To express yourself through voxel art and 3D renderings of art.
How do you make voxel art?
It all starts with an idea and cubes. You then take the basic shapes and colors that you would like to make the foundation of your work and go from there.
Create cute little voxel animals with patches of brown and white with horns to make a cow, or you can build a castle that towers over a courtyard. Place cubes upon each other and side by side to grow the outline of your design and fill it in.
Use animation platforms like the ones we mentioned earlier to bring your work to life. If you are curious about what professional voxel art looks like, we are going to look at that next.
Artists in voxel art
If you have been keeping up with our Medium account so far, you know that we are crazy about voxel art. Earlier this month we shared a chat we had with voxel artist Ogar. Where better to start than with Ogar himself.
Ogar has been in voxel art for a long time and feels that games like Minecraft and Roblox are a great opportunity for the youth of the world to get involved in this great art style. He loves how a minimalist style, cubes, can be so versatile and dynamic. Now, with NFT technology, he is pleased to have a way to market and sell his work online.
John Kearney is another well-known voxel artist. Kearney’s art has developed from pixel art and matured into voxel art. He has over a decade of experience creating scenes, characters, and digital sculptures, among other things. His art inspires us to think differently, and injects a sense of nostalgic styles with technology that is forming the path forward in this sector.
Some digital editing tools
We have mentioned a variety of modern editing tools that are used today to produce voxel art, some of the most popular ones are:
MagicaVoxel allows users to create art with lighting and material effects. This makes it a top choice for digital artists as it is not overwhelming to new users and has a strong GPU based renderer built into it. This makes it super easy to use and great for new users.
Quibicle is more focused on game users themselves. With a simple import/ export feature, it is said to be easy to integrate your concepts into the platform itself. For those who are already working on projects or have a vast portfolio of artwork at hand, this is an ideal choice for those who know the ropes.
Goxel is an open-sourced editor with mobile phone and desktop capacities. It gives you the ability to create on the go and use your handheld device to work on your art. Using the direct-to-broswer feature Goxel live gives you the opportunity to have your work on display straight on their website.
Voxel games
Minecraft is the greatest example of voxel art in popular culture. A smash hit when it first came out, thousands of people use it everyday. Servers allow you to explore the worlds created by different players and build your own worlds alongside them.
And it is super simple to do:
Step 1:
Create a new model. This will be the space in which you create your art. Maybe you want to build a house with a garden. You will need to consider your space and the colors that will represent each segment; the grass outside the house for example.
Step 2:
Build a base. Just like the foundation of any building or space, the base is the most important part of the structure. This will define how large the room is and how much space you will have to place other items or rooms within the space, depending on what you want to do with it.
Step 3:
Extrude the base. From here on out, the digital world is your oyster. Build up as big as you like, make new rooms, add items. Just add on as you see fit.
Conclusion
Voxel art is a new and dynamic form of expression. Many, many people today are enamored by its simplicity and utility. But it is not just a beautiful place to design and create, it is a practical artform too, as we are seeing with VR projects that are emerging today.
The MetaMetaverse is one such project. We have created a virtual world built off of voxel art which you can contribute to. You can buy pre-built metaverses, or segments of it, and build whatever you want for other users to interact with. You can even profit off of it by creating play-to-earn games, and build in business oriented spaces to interact with commercially.
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FAQs
What is voxel art? Voxel art is a modern artform that uses voxels. Voxels are the three dimensional version of basic pixels and allow users to create 3D using specialized editors like MagicaVoxel and Quibicle. Voxel art is the basis for the MetaMetaverse.
What are some popular voxel art programs? MagicaVoxel, Qubicle, and Goxel are some well known and commonly used editing programs. Different users seek each program out for different reasons. The simplest one generally being considered to be MagicaVoxel.
How can I use voxel art in virtual reality? The MetaMetaverse is a virtual reality in which voxels are the base of everything. You can buy or rent out metaverses and use them for commercial purposes. Users interact with your metaverse or objects and you, as well as they, can make some money in the form of our native currency Fairy Dust [FAD].
