How does AI voxel generation work?

It runs in three stages. First a voxel-tuned image model turns your prompt into a multi-angle sprite sheet. Then a depth-estimation and voxel-projection step folds those sheets into a 3D grid. Finally a post-processing pass flood-fills the interior and reduces the palette to your active colors. Start to finish, it's about 8–15 seconds.

How long does it take to generate a voxel model?

Roughly 8–15 seconds, depending on resolution. A good habit is to rough out the shape at 16×16×16 first, then regenerate at 32×32×32 once you're happy with it.

What can AI voxel generation make?

Characters, props, architecture, environmental bits — all of that comes out well. Where it struggles is abstract concepts and very fine text or symbols, which don't voxelize cleanly. Those are worth cleaning up by hand in the editor.

How much does AI voxel generation cost?

It's token-based: 1 token to generate the image, 3 for voxelization, and saving to the cloud is free. New accounts start with 50 tokens, and Builder and Pro plans top you up every month.

ai generation announcement

Introducing AI Voxel Generation: Prompt to 3D in Seconds

We built an AI pipeline that turns a single text prompt into a fully-formed, game-ready voxel model. Here's how it works under the hood.

Voxel TeamMay 15, 20263 min read

VoxelAI Studio generation has been in the works for a while, and today it’s live. Type a prompt like “a medieval tower with a wooden gate” and the system spins up a 3D voxel model ready to drop into your scene or export to .vox.

How it works

The pipeline runs in three stages:

1Image GenerationPrompt → voxel-tuned image model → multi-angle sprite sheet

2VoxelizationDepth estimation + voxel projection → raw 3D grid

3Post-processingFlood-fill interior + CIEDE2000 palette reduction → clean model

The full round trip takes 8–15 seconds depending on model resolution

Image generation — your prompt is sent to an image model tuned on voxel-style references, producing a consistent multi-angle sprite sheet
Voxelization — a custom depth-estimation + voxel-projection step converts the 2D sheets into a 3D grid at your target resolution
Post-processing — the raw voxel grid is cleaned, palette-reduced to your active color set, and surfaced as a live preview in the editor

What you can generate

Almost any object works well: characters, props, architecture, and environmental pieces. Abstract concepts and very fine text don’t voxelize cleanly — use the manual editor to refine those.

Generation examples: character, prop, architectureImage to be added

Sample outputs from a single prompt across different model categories

Generation tokens

Each generation consumes tokens from your account balance:

Action	Token cost
Image generation	1 token
Voxelization	3 tokens
Save to cloud	0 tokens

Free accounts start with 50 tokens. Builder and Pro plans refill tokens monthly.

Under the hood

The voxelization step was the hardest part. Early versions produced hollow shells — the outer faces looked right but the interior was empty, which caused problems in game engines that rely on solid geometry for collision.

Hollow shell vs solid fill — before and after flood-fillImage to be added

Left: hollow voxel output (broken collision). Right: flood-filled solid model.

The palette reduction step maps generated colors to your active palette using perceptual distance (CIEDE2000) rather than RGB Euclidean distance — the results look significantly better, especially for skin tones and wood textures.

What’s next

We’re working on:

Scene generation — generate entire environments from a single description
Style transfer — match the palette and style of an existing model in your project
Animation hints — tag bone attachment points at generation time for rigging

Try it now in the editor. Feedback welcome on Discord.