Minis Overview
A Mini is a compact 2D heightmap that stores color, material, and height information.
Although Minis are edited as flat images, their height values allow them to be applied as 3D surface detail in voxel assets. This makes Minis useful for building reusable libraries of small patterns, reliefs, and decorative elements.
How Minis Are Organized
Minis are grouped into Mini Sets.
A single Mini Set can contain up to 256 Minis. All Minis in a Mini Set share the same Color Palette and Material Set, which are stored in the Mini Set itself.
Mini Sets are stored in Foxel's shared files folder, which makes them available across multiple projects.
On the Minis page of the workspace, you can browse Mini Sets, open a set, and manage the Minis it contains.
Mini Features
- Fixed Size: Each Mini has a fixed size of 32 × 32 pixels.
- Height Limit: Each pixel can store a height value up to 32.
- Shared Colors and Materials: All Minis in a Mini Set use the set's Color Palette and Material Set.
- Display: Minis are previewed using the colors stored in their Mini Set.
Using Minis in Assets
When a Mini is used inside an asset, its colors and materials are remapped to the target asset.
This allows Minis from a shared Mini Set to be applied to different assets, even when those assets use their own Color Palettes and Material Sets.
Common Uses for Minis
Minis are useful for creating small repeated or surface-based details, such as:
- Relief-like details
- Architectural features
- Decorative elements
- Repeating patterns
Stamping, Placing, and Projecting Minis
Minis can be used in several ways:
- Stamping: Apply a Mini directly into a voxel grid.
- Placing: Insert a Mini with controlled placement and repetition.
- Projecting: Apply a 2D version of a Mini onto another surface.
For more information, see Using Minis.