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Getting Started with Foxel ​

This page is for first-time users.

Its goal is not to explain every feature. Its goal is to get you from a fresh install to your first editable voxel scene as quickly as possible, without needing a video.

If you are completely new to Foxel, follow this page in order once. After that, the rest of the manual will make much more sense.

What You Will Do First ​

A simple first Foxel session looks like this:

  1. Download and install Foxel
  2. Start the trial or activate your license
  3. Open the automatically created project
  4. Open the automatically created Voxel Scene
  5. Select the existing Voxel Layer
  6. Draw a few voxels
  7. Paint them
  8. Save the project

That is enough to understand the basic Foxel workflow.

Download and Install ​

Download Foxel from the official download page:

foxel.io/download

To install Foxel:

  1. Download the installer.
  2. Run it.
  3. Follow the setup steps.
  4. Launch Foxel.

Trial or License Activation ​

When Foxel starts for the first time, it shows the activation screen.

You can either:

  • start the 30-day free trial, or
  • enter an existing license key

Both options are straightforward and only need an internet connection during activation.

Understand Foxel in 2 Minutes ​

Before you start clicking around, it helps to know how Foxel is structured.

Projects contain assets ​

Foxel stores your work in projects and assets.

A project is the container for your work.
An asset is an individual file inside that project.

For example, a project can contain:

  • a Voxel Scene
  • a Voxel Movie
  • a Heightmap
  • imported Mesh Assets

For most beginners, the main asset type is the Voxel Scene.

A Voxel Scene contains objects ​

Inside a Voxel Scene, you work with objects.

A scene can contain:

  • Voxel Layers
  • lights
  • cameras
  • references to other assets

For basic voxel modeling, the most important object type is the Voxel Layer.
A Voxel Layer contains the voxel grid that you actually edit.

Pages mainly change the side panels ​

Foxel does not switch between completely separate editors. Instead, it uses pages.

When you switch pages, the left and right side panels change. The rest of the app stays the same, including the central view, the toolbar, the header bar, and the action bar.

Pages are switched at the bottom of the app.

This guide uses page switching to make the interface easier to learn, but in normal work you usually do not need to switch pages this often. As you get more comfortable, you can often stay on one page and use shortcuts instead.

The most important pages at the beginning are:

  • Scene: select objects, organize the scene, edit object properties
  • Surface: work with colors and materials
  • Assets: manage projects and asset files

Your First Foxel Project ​

When Foxel starts for the first time, it automatically creates a new project for you and opens a Voxel Scene that already contains a pre-filled Voxel Layer.

That means you can usually begin editing immediately.

You can still create your own projects and scenes later, but for a first test it is best to start with what Foxel opens automatically.

At this point, you already have:

  • a project
  • an open asset
  • a visible voxel object to work with

Step 1: Get Oriented in the Workspace ​

Do not try to learn the entire interface at once. For now, focus on these areas:

Scene View ​

The Scene View is the large central area where you look at and edit your scene.

Toolbar ​

The Toolbar next to the Scene View contains the active editing tool, its options, and the currently selected color and material.

Header Bar ​

The Header Bar is located above the Scene View. It shows the name of the currently open asset and contains view options that affect how the active view is displayed.

Scene Page ​

Switch to the Scene page if it is not already active.

On this page:

  • the Hierarchy shows the objects in the current scene
  • the Inspector shows the properties of the selected object

Surface Page ​

Switch to the Surface page when you want to choose or edit colors and materials.

Step 2: Make Sure the Voxel Layer Is Selected ​

To edit voxels, you need an active Voxel Layer.

The simplest way to make sure you have the right object selected is:

  1. Go to the Scene page
  2. Click the Voxel Layer in the Hierarchy

Foxel opens a Voxel Scene with a pre-filled Voxel Layer by default, so in most cases it is already there and ready to use.

If the wrong object is selected, voxel editing will not work as expected. When in doubt, select the Voxel Layer again in the Hierarchy.

Step 3: Learn the Basic Camera Controls ​

Before drawing, make sure you can move around comfortably.

Use these controls in the Scene View:

  • Middle mouse drag: pan
  • Right mouse drag: rotate the view
  • Mouse wheel: zoom
  • F: frame the selected object
  • Shift + F: focus the point under the cursor

If you ever feel lost, select the Voxel Layer in the Hierarchy and press F.
That is the quickest way to get back to your object.

Step 4: Draw Your First Voxels ​

Now start editing.

  1. Select the Draw Tool in the Toolbar
  2. Choose Point Mode or Box Mode
  3. Click in the scene to add voxels

For a first session:

  • use Point Mode if you want to place voxels one by one
  • use Box Mode if you want to block out forms faster

The key idea in Foxel is:

  • the tool defines what you do
  • the tool mode defines how the action is applied

Examples:

  • Draw Tool adds voxels
  • Erase Tool removes voxels
  • Paint Tool changes color
  • Material Tool changes material

Then the mode decides whether that happens as a point, box, brush stroke, flood fill, and so on.

For your first attempt, do not aim for a finished model. Just make a rough shape and get used to how editing feels.

Step 5: Remove Voxels Again ​

Select the Erase Tool and remove a few voxels.

This matters because voxel work is usually an add-and-subtract process.
A beginner should get used to switching between Draw and Erase immediately, instead of trying to build everything perfectly in one pass.

Step 6: Add Color ​

Once you have a shape, give it some color.

  1. Switch to the Surface page
  2. Choose a color in the Color Palette
  3. Select the Paint Tool
  4. Paint some voxels

Important to understand:

  • colors belong to the current asset
  • Foxel stores colors by palette index
  • changing a palette entry updates everything that uses that color

That is why Foxel’s color workflow feels different from painting in a standard pixel editor.

Step 7: Try Materials ​

Foxel also separates materials from colors.

A material controls properties such as:

  • metallic
  • roughness
  • emissive
  • alpha

To try this:

  1. Switch to the Surface page
  2. Select a material
  3. Use the Material Tool to apply it

To actually preview how the material interacts with light, turn on Beauty View in the Header Bar. Without Beauty View, you are working in the simpler default view mode.

For your first project, you do not need a complex material setup. The important thing is simply to understand that color and material are two separate assignments.

Step 8: Move the Object ​

Foxel is not only about editing voxels inside a grid. You also place objects in a scene.

To test that:

  1. Select the Move Tool
  2. Click the Voxel Layer if needed
  3. Move it a little

This is an important distinction:

  • voxel tools change the contents of the Voxel Layer
  • transform tools move, rotate, or scale the object itself

New users often confuse those two levels of editing.

Step 9: Save Your Work ​

Choose File > Save.

This saves the current asset and project changes.

Get into the habit of saving early, especially while learning the workflow.

What Most Beginners Need to Understand Early ​

These are the points that usually cause confusion at the beginning.

1. You do not edit “the scene” directly ​

You edit the voxel grid of an active Voxel Layer inside the scene.

2. Pages do not replace the whole interface ​

Pages mainly change the left and right side panels. The rest of the workspace stays the same.

You can switch pages when you need different side panels, but you do not have to switch pages every time you change tools.

3. Tools and tool modes are separate ​

Do not think only in terms of “Draw” or “Erase.”

Always think in two parts:

  • which tool
  • which mode

That combination defines the result.

4. Colors and materials are separate ​

A voxel can use one color and one material at the same time.

Changing color does not automatically change material, and changing material does not automatically change color.

5. Materials need Beauty View for proper lighting preview ​

If you want to judge how a material looks under lighting, turn on Beauty View in the Header Bar.

6. If editing does not work, the wrong object is usually active ​

When in doubt:

  1. go to the Scene page
  2. click the Voxel Layer in the Hierarchy
  3. press F
  4. try again

That solves a large share of beginner problems.

A Good First Practice Exercise ​

A simple first exercise without any tutorial video is this:

  1. Start Foxel
  2. Use the automatically opened project and Voxel Scene
  3. Select the existing Voxel Layer
  4. Add and remove voxels until the starting box becomes a simple crate, pillar, or tiny house
  5. Paint it with two or three colors
  6. Apply one non-default material to part of it
  7. Turn on Beauty View to inspect the material
  8. Move the object slightly
  9. Save the project

This exercise teaches the most important ideas without requiring animation, rendering, imports, or advanced scene setup.

Where to Go Next ​

After this page, these sections are the best next steps:

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