NIVALIS

Overview

For 2 years and 3 months, I worked as a voxel artist on NIVALIS, the upcoming and highly anticipated successor to CLOUDPUNK.

My role was to create voxel-based game assets, mostly buildings and props. While the vast majority of what I made is still under a strict NDA, I was allowed to share a small handful of pieces. In the videos below, you can see three of the assets I worked on. I also tried to bring extra life to my work through subtle 3D and 2D-style animations when it made sense, with the goal of making the world feel more alive without pulling attention away from gameplay.

Working in voxels pushed me to get genuinely comfortable with pixel art, because voxel art is essentially pixel art in 3D. Over time, I became confident creating pixel-based mock ads and signage to dress up my buildings inside MagicaVoxel, which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the process.

Overall, it was a super gratifying experience, and I'm hoping I can share more of the work in the near future.

Problems I faced

• Balancing detail with game constraints
• Making small details readable at a distance
• Working within strict palette and material limitations
• Pixel art learning curve
• Adding motion without causing visual noise

Solutions

• I focused on "smart detail," not maximum detail
• I designed for readability first, then layered in flavor
• I became intentional with the 256-color and PBR workflow
• I leveled up my pixel art to support the voxel work
• I used subtle animation to make the world feel alive