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MagicaVoxel Tutorial

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ThatGuyJake's Avatar ThatGuyJake
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Gent
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MagicaVoxel is the main program I use for Voxel editing because it is fairly easy to use, and it can export files in all different types.


Ok, so, first step: Get the Voxel editor. Here's a link to the page you can get it from:   https://voxel.codeplex.com/

I'm fairly new to the program, so I can give you the basics, and then we can go through the rest together.

I'm fairly certain you understand how to install programs- if not, forgive me- so I'll skip ahead to the program itself. 

Camera controls:  Right click and drag to rotate the camera. Scroll zooms. Space+right click pans the camera.  




Layout: MagicaVoxel is laid out fairly simply compared to most design programs. It is easier to handle as well. Here's a picture of the layout:  http://i.imgur.com/JRNoc8a.png



Wherever you hover your mouse in the editor, on the bottom of the screen there is a text bar that tells a bit more about the tool you hover over.

Now, the left side of the screen has several components. There's the palette and a colour changer (these work hand in hand; the colour changer modifies the selected colour on the palette).



Next is the brush selector. If you click brush at the top, it changes to shapes you can use. Now, brushes; There are three main types:

V: allows you to brush freely.       
F: Is a fill option. It fills every block on that face with the matching colour.    
B: This allows you to drag and paint the area selected.

Now come the subcatergories for brushes:

Attach: Adds a single block layer of the colour you picked to the layer you affect.
Erase: Removes a single block layer.
Paint: The paintbrush allows you to change the colour of the blocks selected.
Move: This is fun; it moves the whole model wherever you drag it.



Now we move to the right side of the screen. At the top, there is an undo/redo set of buttons, and tools below that. The tools here do different things like...

Zero: Empties the model entirely. Clean slate.
Full: Fills the entire area.
Inv: Inverses the solid and empty space.
Fill: Fills the model with colour picked.
2x: Doubles the size.
Mir: Mirrors the model.


Next we have the Rotate and Flip tabs.  Each letter corresponds to an axis on the grid, and it flips or rotates the model that way. Loop is the next one. It does the same thing as move. Shape gives you a list of objects that, when clicked, fill the model. You can try them out for fun, but they don't do a whole lot. Aux has more tools for you to use:

Flood and Fractal are two tools I haven't yet figured out.
Dilate adds a whole layer to every face.
C: Fills all invisible space
R: Uses a random colour.
E: Erodes one layer to every face.


The Scale tab lets you scale the model according to the input. if you typed 'y 3' in the box, the model would stretch 3 times along the y axis.
Repeat: This allows you to duplicate the model in the direction you indicate with x,y or z, and makes as many duplicates as you type. 
Rotate: This rotates the model  whichever direction again like the last two, but the number is equal to the degree of rotation.






Finally, the last bar on the screen... the first icon saves your model, and the second one makes a new model. The third one copies it. The bar with a list of names are premade models. When you save yours, they show up as -new(000) and count up.
The trash can deletes the selected model. To export, you can select any of those tabs and saves it in the export folder in that file type. There are 9 different exports, so choose wisely.





Last thing I'll tell you about: The Render button. It is located in the top middle of your screen. This button lets you take screenshots of your model in high quality images. There are several options you can use, but if you want to know about that, they aren't included in this tutorial. 











Captain_SPD, I hope this answers some of your questions. If you get MagicaVoxel and get stuck, I'm more than willing to find an answer. Please, I wrote this blog, so ask away.
CreditCaptain_SPD, for requesting I make a tutorial on the subject.
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1
12/11/2017 2:57 am
Level 1 : New Miner
downvote
downvote's Avatar
Thnx
1
12/13/2017 1:13 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Gent
ThatGuyJake
ThatGuyJake's Avatar
No prob
1
06/26/2016 12:00 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Gent
ThatGuyJake
ThatGuyJake's Avatar
Actually, just did some digging, I found a thing called BDCraft Cubik, and it accepts Obj models and can export minecraft models.
1
06/26/2016 12:01 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Gent
ThatGuyJake
ThatGuyJake's Avatar
I think it would be handy if anyone wanted to make models with Magica and then put them in Minecraft.
1
01/09/2016 8:45 pm
Level 28 : Expert Cowboy
PermanentMarker
PermanentMarker's Avatar
Nice! ⋅ ω ⋅
1
07/29/2015 3:39 pm
Level 57 : Grandmaster Terraformer
Jusserhead
Jusserhead's Avatar
What's the practical benefit of using this instead of just making it in MC with voxel sniper or worldedit? What would you normally make with such a program?
1
01/26/2016 6:04 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Wolf Whisperer
Myyoyo
Myyoyo's Avatar
This is for 3D modeling. Not Minecraft world editing.
1
07/29/2015 3:57 pm
Level 65 : High Grandmaster Gent
ThatGuyJake
ThatGuyJake's Avatar
I don't know the full benifit of Voxel-Sniper or world edit, but with these models you can export them and use them in various ways; not just for use in Minecraft. This program can be used to make models for other games. The makers of Trove use this program to design weapons and other items. I'm not certain, but I'm fairly sure the makers of Crossy Roads and the makers of Cubeworld use this or a similar program. Since you can export these projects in various manners, you can save them as screenshots and models for other purposes. 

You also are not limited to the colours of blocks used in Minecraft either.
1
09/09/2015 9:34 am
Level 6 : Apprentice Ranger
Sphinx006
Sphinx006's Avatar
The Devs from Trove actually use Qubicle, a very good voxel editor, but the price ranges from 15$ to 60$ (40$ at the moment) and even a 200$ package...(160$ at the moment). But, if you want a  free voxel editor, I also recommend MagicaVoxel.
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