3D pixel NFTs are awesome, IMHO. By now, most cryptoarticles.com readers know what NFTs are all about. It is amazing to see how the NFT market continues to expand and evolve. As such, I am always looking for new NFT ideas.
RVN Blocks
Well, a while ago I had the idea of converting pixel NFT art to 3D Pixel NFT art. My idea involved using 3 dimensional blocks to construct anything imaginable. This is like using Lego blocks, except everything is done digitally.
I started by creating single 3D blocks, which I call “RVN Blocks.” I call them “RVN Blocks” because the blockchain I use to create NFTs is the Ravencoin blockchain. From a digital art perspective, RVN Blocks can be thought of as pixels. And pixels can be thought of as the foundation of digital art, as these can be used to create anything imaginable.
From a technology perspective, these RVN Blocks can also be thought of as a representation of the blocks that form the chain of the Ravencoin blockchain. As with digital art, these blocks can be used to create anything imaginable.
3D Pixel Emoji NFT
At first I wasn’t sure where I was going with this. I started with something simple to see where it would lead me. I used these RVN Blocks to create a 3D pixel emoji. This was pretty simple, and in my opinion it looked much better than what a comparable 2D pixel emoji would look like. Here’s the link to the first ever 3D Pixel Emoji NFT minted on Ravencoin.
3D Pixel Smoker NFT
Next, I decided to try a popular NFT. I considered a Crypto Punk, but decided to help promote Ravencoin artists instead. So, I contacted the artist from the Degen Smokers Club (@DegenSmokers) to get his blessing to create a 3D Pixel version of a Degen Smoker. Imitation is the best form of flattery.
The process was a little more involved than creating the emoji. In addition, the process of deciding how much “depth” to give to certain features was very rewarding. In this 3D Pixel NFT, the smoke has more depth than all other features. This is evident by the shadow created, which can be seen on the red background.
3D Pixel RVN Heart NFT
Later, I chatted with another pixel artist that recently came to the Ravencoin NFT scene, artist @HeartRvn. The original 2D pixel heart NFTs were beautiful and simple. What’s really cool about all of this is that the true artist behind these NFTs is an eight year old girl.
All of this led me to the idea of writing about Ravencoin pixel artists. Keep checking this website for more updates on this.
3D Pixel CatBits NFT
Another artist I’ve chatted with is @catbitsnft, whom also gave me his blessing to make one of his pieces into a 3D pixel piece. This piece took significantly more effort to convert to a 3D pixel NFT, for various reasons.
This particular piece of art is more complex in shape and color scheme. Some of these colors are a bit difficult to distinguish. For example, the smoke is made out of white and light gray blocks. The 3D pixel version has significantly more depth than other 3D pixel art I’ve played with.
3D Pixel Gun NFT
After trying a few more complicated 3D Pixel NFT projects I felt compelled to go back to something simpler. However, I also wanted a more 3D feel to it. So, I ended up creating this 3D Pixel Gun, standing on its own, rather than clamped to a board. This was a bit easier, but still rewarding. One thing I’ve noticed about this particular NFT is that when I stare at this piece I have the urge to “grab” the gun.
The Future of 3D Pixel Art NFTs
Converting a few 2d pixel art NFTs to 3D pixel art NFTs has been fun. It has also been great to get to know some of the Ravencoin pixel artists. Unfortunately, creating 3D pixel art, in the manner in which I’ve created it, is a time consuming process. As such, it is difficult for me to envision pursuing this project beyond a few more 3D pixel art NFTs.
Nevertheless, simply having the 3D conversation with a few artists and sharing some of these thoughts with the NFT community has been rewarding and will hopefully inspire a few more artists to explore 3D NFTs.
See Twitter thread below.
What is Voxel Art?
I looked up the definition of voxel, and all the definitions I came across were too complicated. Here’s one voxel definition that I like: A voxel is a volume element, representing a value on a regular grid in a three dimensional space.
In other words, a voxel is the 3D version of a 2D pixel image. However, I’d have to agree that my 3D images aren’t voxels, because I didn’t always use cube shapes.
How to Create Voxel Art?
When I was looking at creating 3D NFTs, I played with free online software. For the most part, the software I came across was easy and intuitive. However, I was attempting to use an existing image as the basis for my 3D NFTs. In the end, I decided not to use these voxel art options. Instead I used Sketchup.
If you are looking to create voxel art, these are some free popular voxel art editors that are worth checking out.
In addition, here’s a great video on how to make Voxel art using Magical Voxel.
Voxel NFTs on Ravencoin
Some time after I interviewed @degensmokers for this article, he began producing his own 3D NFTs. These are true voxel art images and they have become very popular within the RVN community. Below are a few fun examples from his collection.
Perhaps one of the coolest things @DegenSmokers has been doing is creating voxel NFTs from his previously created 2D pixel DegenSmoker collection.