In this article, we are looking at Voxel 3D applications. Voxels are a 3D alternative to polygons and can simply be thought of as like 3D pixels. Working with Voxels is generally incredibly simple, much like working with virtual lego blocks. Early Novalogic titles tried to popularize Voxels in the 90s, but the recent massive success of Minecraft certainly helped raise the popularity.
Actually mentioned in the 3D application, MagicaVoxel deserves to make this list twice it’s so good. Some of the art generated by MV is absolutely amazing. Oh, and it’s completely free. Check it in action here.
An extremely simple voxel based application with a free version that limits the number of available colors. There are both desktop and browser versions that are functionally the same. Check it in action here.
goxel is an open source voxel based application for Windows, Mac, and even iOS. The source code is available on GitHub.
VoxelShop is a Java based Voxel application that can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Additionally, the source code is available on GitHub. Somewhat uniquely VoxelShop supports skeletal animation.
A very simple Voxel editor that hasn’t been updated in years and is included mostly for completion. If you want a very simple editor, this could be a good choice.
A browser based voxel editor, usecubes is incredibly simple, extrude and repeat, then color. It’s really that simple. Unfortunately, beyond sharing and image download, I found no way to export your results.