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Pixx Suite

Build · Voxel & isometric creator · Intermediate

Pixxovo — Intermediate

Model faster and render better: brushes and selections, layered scenes, library models and biome kits, materials, lighting presets and animated props.

Open Pixxovo

#What you'll learn

  • How to model efficiently with brushes, mirror, slice and selections.
  • How to compose scenes from layers and library models.
  • How to use biome kits, lighting and palettes so a set of props matches.
  • How to tune the render: camera, directions, frame size, shading, outline and glow.
  • How to make animated props (bob, sway, flicker, pulse, spin).

#Before you start

  • You've built or loaded a model and exported a sheet with the Beginner guide.
  • You need a plan that includes Pixxovo. Models can be up to 128 blocks on each side.
  • Optional: a palette from Pixxulo or a small sprite from Pixxivi to turn into a relief.

#How-tos

#How to model quickly with brushes

  1. Pick a mode with A (Attach), E (Erase) or P (Paint).
  2. Pick a brush with 1 to 7: Voxel, Box, Line, Sphere, Face, Fill and Replace.
  3. Use Box for walls and floors, Line for beams and fences, Sphere for foliage and boulders.
  4. Use Face to extrude or erase a whole connected surface in one click, for example raising a floor by one layer.
  5. Use Replace in Paint mode to recolour every block of one colour at once.
  6. Toggle Mirror with X, Y or Z to build symmetrical models.

#How to work inside a model

  1. Drag the Slice slider down to hide everything above a height.
  2. Build or paint the interior, then raise the slider again.
  3. Use the view buttons (Iso, Front, Side, Top, 3/4) or ← / → to turn the view in 15° steps.

#How to select, move and reuse parts

  1. Press S for Select and drag a box around blocks.
  2. Move the selection with the arrow keys; Page Up / Page Down move it up and down.
  3. Use Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V to copy, cut and paste, and the turn and flip buttons to rotate or mirror it.
  4. Press Delete to remove the selection, or Escape to drop it.
  5. Press I (Pick) and click a block to take its colour.

#How to compose a scene with layers

  1. Put each object on its own layer with + Layer: the ground, a house, a tree.
  2. Click a layer to edit it. Edits and undo only touch that layer.
  3. To place a library model, open Models (M), tune it and choose Add as layer. Move it into place with Select and the arrow keys.
  4. Stamp into layer merges a model into the current layer instead.
  5. Merge ↓ joins a layer with the one below when you're done arranging.

All layers share one palette, and the sprite always shows every visible layer together.

#How to make a matching prop set from a biome

  1. Open Biomes (B) and pick one.
  2. Click Open its kit: the library shows the models that suit it, already in its colours.
  3. Add the props you need, tuning each one's sliders and seed (🎲 for a new variation).
  4. Click Use its lighting so every prop gets the biome's sun angle, ambient, rim light and glow.
  5. Optional: tick Snap to its palette to limit the rendered sprite to the biome's colours.
  6. Export each prop with the same render settings so they sit together in a game.

#How to set up the render for a game

  1. In Render, pick the Camera: Pixel iso 2:1 for classic pixel-art isometric games, Top-down for RPG overworlds, Side for platformers.
  2. Pick Directions: 4 for most isometric games, 8 or 16 for smooth turning.
  3. Set Voxel size (pixels per block) and Shading (Flat, 3, 5 or 7 tones per colour).
  4. Set Light, Light height and Ambient, or choose a Lighting preset.
  5. Tick Ambient occlusion (with AO strength) for soft contact shadows, Rim light to separate the model from dark backgrounds, and Outline with an Outline colour.
  6. Under Frame size, leave W and H on auto to fit the model in every direction, or type a size so every sprite in a set has the same frame.

#How to make an animated prop

  1. Under Animation, choose Bob (float), Sway (wind), Flicker (flames), Pulse (glow) or Spin (turntable).
  2. Pick Frames (4, 6, 8 or 12) and the Amount of movement.
  3. Flicker grows flames above blocks with an Emissive material, and Pulse breathes their glow, so set a colour's Material to Emissive first.
  4. The Sprite preview plays the animation. Sprite sheets then hold every frame of every direction.

#Workflows

#Isometric tiles and props for a level

  1. Make ground tiles from the Terrain tiles group in Models, and props from Trees, Rocks & crystals and Props.
  2. Use Pixel iso 2:1, 4 directions and the same Voxel size and Frame size for all of them.
  3. Export each as Sprite sheet + JSON, or send As a sprite sheet to Pixxori to place them in a level.

#A voxel standee from a pixel sprite

  1. In Pixxivi, draw a small sprite (128 × 128 or smaller) and send it as an image.
  2. In Pixxovo, open it from Library: it becomes a voxel relief two blocks deep.
  3. Carve it, add thickness and render it from any angle.

#A matching texture for your model

  1. Note the biome or palette you used.
  2. In Pixxexa, pick the same biome to generate tiling ground and wall textures in the same colours.

#Tips and shortcuts

  • Orbit: right-drag or Alt-drag · Pan: Shift-drag or middle-drag · Zoom: wheel · Touch: two fingers.
  • A / E / P modes · 1–7 brushes · I pick · S select · X / Y / Z mirror · M models · B biomes.
  • ← / → turn the view (or move a selection) · 0 fit · + / − zoom · Ctrl+S export.
  • Shading on Flat uses exactly your palette colours; more tones add shades of each colour.
  • The Sprite preview has Spin and a sheet layout choice: Directions in a row, In a column or In a grid.
  • Metal colours get brighter highlights, Glass is see-through, Emissive ignores shadows and can glow.

#Troubleshooting

  • The sprite is cut off at some angles. Set Frame size back to auto, or make W and H larger.
  • 8 or 16 directions look less crisp than 4. Only the four quarter turns can land every edge on whole pixels; the in-between angles use a near-isometric camera. Use 4 directions for the crispest art.
  • Flicker or Pulse does nothing. They act on Emissive colours. Set a colour's Material to Emissive.
  • An image from the Library is refused. Reliefs are limited to 128 × 128; shrink the image first.
  • My edits went to the wrong object. Check which layer is selected in Layers; edits only affect that layer.