If you're a huge fan of Pixel Stuff or even Minecraft then this Tutorial is just for you!

At the time of writing this tutorial I am currently using Blender 2.79 and Blender 2.8 will be releasing soon so things may change slightly if you are using that version unless earlier.

I'll be showing you how to create a Quick & Easy Low Poly 3D Pixel Tree! Ready?? Okay, Let's get started!!

So first things first, you'll need 3 things, don't worry this stuff is Free. I won't be going over it as much simply just download and install and then enable or use as needed.

1. Blender 3D Installed (or your preferred 3D Software)
2. Download this Tree Texture I made for you (or use Krita (or Gimp) to make your own) 
3. In Blender I would recommend enabling the Pie Menus Addon (File > User Preferences > Search " Pie Menu ")

STEP 1:

Go ahead and start up Blender. After opening it up you should have something that looks like my screen below.

​Yours will be grey so just ignore the blue coloring, that's just a theme I have installed via the file > User Preferences > Themes if you want to change yours to something else.

Anyways so just click in the center off the middle box there to make that go away.
​

STEP 2: 

You should now be at a screen inside of blender with a default " Cube " in the middle.

If you don't see one you may have deleted it so just simply press " Shift + A " then, " Mesh > Cube " and add it to your scene as this is what we'll need to get things going.

STEP 3: 

​Press " Tab " and go into " Edit Mode ". 

Your default " Cube " should then appear highlighted with everything selected to start you off.

Step 4:
​
Now, hit " Shift + S ", press " Z " (or middle-mouse click and drag up or down) to scale on the z axis until you have something pretty tall like an elongated rectangle of some sort. This is going to be the tree trunk.

​You can also hit 4 on the numpad to quickly do this after hitting the Z key.
​

Step 5:

After you're done with that go ahead and press " Shift + B " to bevel the edges slightly. I used roughly .042 in case you want to type it in again.

​Doing this will bevel all the way around the model creating a nice blocky toonish-rounded look for your tree trunk's styling.

You can ignore this step if you'd rather have something a little more box-like.

Step 6:

​Press " A, A " two times to make sure you deselect your rectangular cube that we scaled so that it's no longer highlighted and delete the top part of the geometry by pressing " Z > Wireframe " and then " B " for box selection now " Left-Click " and drag over the top part of the cube and press " X > Delete Faces " to remove it.

Since this is low poly you can leave it there but generally it's a good idea to delete any unseen geometry to cut down on your polygon counts for optimization purposes especially if you're planning on using it in a gaming project of some sort.

You can do the same for the bottom if you wish but, I would leave those there in case you want to add roots to your Tree.

Step 7:

Zoom out slightly with " Middle-mouse Button" to make a bit more room in your scene and press " Shift + A " to add another " Mesh > Cube ".

Press " S " then " Left-Click " to scale the Cube on all axis (don't press Z this time yet) so that it is fairly big, then bevel that the same as before.

After the cube is nice and big drag it up on the Z axis to the top where you deleted before.

If your 3d cursor isn't in the middle just press " Alt + G " to snap your beveled cube back to the center.

Step 8:​

To save time we are going to go ahead and UV Unwrap all of this right now so that when we duplicate some of the geometry later it keeps the nicer UV's.

Click on the lines and drag out to separate your screen and switch over the second window to the " UV Map Editor "

Then you will want to hover your mouse over the cube at the top of your Tree, press " L " to select it and " U > Unwrap " to unwrap your Tree top. It will generate some triangular uvs for the top. 

Deselect the top of the Tree with " A " aftewards and then do the same thing for the bottom and this will create a twisted crazy-look because of the bevel, that's fine though as this is exactly what we want for the Trunk.

Step 9:​

Now it's time to quickly texture it with the Textures I gave you earlier and unzip it.

Switch from Wireframe Mode to Texture Mode by pressing " Z " then go to the " Materials " tab in your panel on the right side. 

Make sure you are in Cycles Render. Add a " New Material " if you don't have on already then click " Use Nodes " and switch the RBG " Color " via the dot on the right of the white over to using an " Image Texture ".

Find the folder you downloaded the Textures I gave you and open it then open that in the UV Editor. It'll appear kinda strange on your tree if you've done this right but ignore that for now as we're going to fix that here in a moment.

And you can now take the UV's you unwrapped earlier and drag those over top of the new textures we just added to give your tree some proper color

So press " L " to select it in the 3D Editor on the left, then " L " again in the UV Map Editor on the right over the UV Map Island you unwrapped earlier that you want to select and move hit " G " to grab it then move it up over the texture square where you want and " Left-Click " to drop it there. You will also need to press " S " to scale down UV so that it fits inside of the texture square for the leaves and trunk for each. Do the same for both the Tree Top and Tree Trunk and use A to select or deselect the model object as needed.

Step 10:​

You're pretty much done!

All you have to do now is just select the Tree Top and Tree Trunk in the 3D Editor with " L " to select it then " Shift + D " to duplicate the textured trunk and top and move it wherever you want with " G " or " R " to rotate on a certain axis to create your 3D Pixel Tree however you like...Enjoy!! :)

​And don't forget to Save!!

P.S. - If you want to make some roots just switch to Face mode in the 3D Editor window on the left then press " Alt + Tab " and select " Face " where you can then select one of the faces on the bottom of the tree to extrude outwards with the " E " key.

You can download the Completed 3D Pixel Tree below..

So, what's going on with Evil Never Dies you're probably wondering about now after not hearing anything about it for awhile and that's a very good question...

As of right now the game project is still undergoing some development but it has slowed down slightly due to a few complications until I can figure out a better way to go about it which may delay things. But, regardless of anything that didn't go as planned which seems to be happening with the game project I am definitely going to be finishing it most certainly and I really don't care how long it takes, it's gonna come one way or the other even if early access!

There are times where I have become frustrated with a few things honestly trying to finish with it but, the end result to proceed has been worth it so don't worry as this is one game that I refuse to let it fall off the map as I do not want to let this one go. I have taken a few breaks from this because of working, learning, and dealing with kids which means it is likely going to take just a little bit longer than I expected.

The biggest wall right now is mostly the programming. I am more of a 3D Artist than I am a Programmer so it is taking me awhile to grasp further needed programming knowledge to complete it. I had some help with this here and there for finishing some things in it including doing a lot of this myself after awhile but currently I cannot really afford to hire someone and while I had someone helping me they too need to work and do their own thing just the same respectfully. It would be nice to be able to afford this but currently it's not really in my budget and trying to get someone for free is like pulling my own teeth out which is a lot harder than it seems leaving a bloody mess. So the majority of the project still resides in my hands mostly due to the fact  that I am only one developer and I am trying to learn everything I can to proceed with furthering it's progress.

I know I can't exactly wait for everyone so I haven't. Instead, I have been doing what I can so that I can finish the game when I am not busy working my day job. On top of that I am also trying to figure out the best way to proceed with how I want to go do the level design because the most important thing to me is making the game so that players don't get bored as I really have a massive desire to ensure that the game represents its roots of inspiration from Evil Dead so that it has that quirky Bruce Campbell touch and yet being fun, appealing, and interesting in the long run. That's the end goal!

Currently, there is still a lot to be done and I am working to add multiplayer for a co-op mode. I've had to change up the map quite a bit, fixing up paths, looks, navigation and more. I am thinking about adding in 3 maps to start but I am trying to figure out how I want to do that for this particular game. I am even planning to bring in a fully modeled main character to be seen in multiplayer which is in the works so that the game looks better overall curing co-op which is my current objective.

Then there's 2 additional enemies I want to add for variance so it's not just the same demon over and over. I am working on a better hand gun, the one in there truthfully was a test and now that I made my revolver I know I can make something better along with some other weapons with everything needing modeling, texturing, and most likely rigging and animation.

All the above just means there's still a heck of a lot more changes are required to fully implement them into the game including several changes to the menu to make it a lot better to handle all of this and yeah its a lot to do but, I think it'll be worth it in the long run so rest assured that I will finish this game as that is a promise!


If you read this far, thank you!! And if you want to help, here are a few ways:

OPTION #1 -
You can Pre-Order the E.N.D Game, that will help tremendously! I use this to learn more and get anything necessary to continue development!

OPTION #2 -
You can donate at least a $1 to me via the game project page or on paypal to skywolfgamestudios@gmail.com . If a lot of people do this it will add up fast and I could even then hire a dedicated programmer if a lot of people joined in on it! I also have another option for a bigger related donation campaign if you would rather contribute to it, but this one I goes a lot further with making a physical business while providing jobs and giving back to the community and providing education for kids just the same as well as giving indie game devs in my area a new place to call home who need help too. It's a much bigger idea on a grand scale!

OPTION #3 -
If you happen to be a Dedicated UE4 Programmer or know C++ and would like to help make a name for yourself then that is something I would very welcome, just Contact Me so we can discuss further! I am very willing to revshare if the game goes big upon it's official release!

Life is often set at a Hard Difficulty Level regardless of how you slice or dice it and we're all just doing the same thing over and over just trying to survive and then when you think you have it figured out, nope, the stink'n AI Cheats of course throwing you in for a loop go figure!

Take me for instance, I'm not really the best blogger in the world but hey I'm trying and I've held quite a few jobs, probably one too many too be honest but most have never lasted long. A few were my fault of course but definitely not all of them, I quit for a reason.

What was that reason? Well i'll go ahead and tell you..

My last job was a Customer Service Manager and while I love working with people and helping out when and as much as I can but I am just as human as the rest of you and I do burn out from time to time. That really wasn't the issue, the issue was when they cut my hours down to 1-2 hours weekly after hiring me on as a CSM and gave me very little to do so I could not afford to take care of myself nor my family's needs. 

Why is that? It was a startup and I knew that and it was becoming apparent that things weren't being done right to fix it and help the startup grow. Of course I know these things take a lot of time, trust me, after trying to learn to market myself as a 3D Artist & Indie Game Dev since I'm not really much of a Marketing Guru I know exactly how hard that can be. However, I do have enough knowledge and common sense to know how possible it is to rapidly grow through the use of Social Media which is in my opinion is one of the most powerful tools available!

I made this suggestion along with tossing them a boatful of several other ideas to help out just because I wanted to try to get things to pick up which they should have for something of the sort but after working with a certain company I'm not going to name it became very relevant to me that the founders had no more of a clue about it than I did and it was time for me to move on, I could not wait any longer because my families life and losing out on paying bills was really starting to stack up.

That ended up being final straw that broke the camels back for me. After doing everything I could with wearing my heart on my sleeve quite a few times and tried to be up front, honest, help out, and there were times that as a freelancer I didn't even charge them for time that I should or could have because I knew how fast the hours can rack up. Eventually, it was just time to cut the cord after they left me with almost no hours my motivation just went out the window to continue working with them and I ended the contract on Upwork then moved on.

Shortly after that they tried to get me back but it was too late, my heart had already moved on elsewhere but, I just couldn't do that anymore as I too needed to survive just the same. Yeah I feel bad but it was freeing at the same time. While I did enjoy the job to a tolerable point as it was something I was okay with doing since sometimes we have to do things we don't necessarily want to do just so we can survive.  But, to put it bluntly I wasn't really ever too happy with it or even any of the previous jobs I've had though sometimes I just had to suck it up and do what it takes to survive and sometimes that's just something you gotta do if it comes down to it.

I've worked for a lot of companies but even though I love the nitty-gritty of working on the technical side of things mostly involving computers they all have had one thing in common for me and that was digital art and computer graphics. Sure, I would do it again if I had to without a doubt. since I do love testing softwares and games for instance so yeah I would if it came down to it.

However, regardless I have noticed a change in myself over the last decade as I have grown overly fond of the 3D Art & Game Development Industry. Yeah there's a vast ocean of game art and development professionals and a lot of big name games and companies that I am not apart of but, I know that they were once in my shoes too and I believe with enough practice, time, and effort I know doing what I love can get me there since we all have to start somewhere and as the saying goes, no risk, no reward and I do have a ton of new ideas that STILL have not been created yet so I know I have a good chance regardless of what anyone else says.

This has create an eternal fire and ​I've had this passion for quite awhile that has pushed me to this point whereas before I just kept going with the bandwagon trying to get by and I think that was the problem all along was just doing stuff elsewhere so I couldn't ever focus on what really made me happy and motivated.

​For instance, I've been into Blender since 2011 and UE4 since 2014 and over time this has been increasing each every day. I have always had a general interest in Video Games, 3D Stuff just because I started out in the Atari Days! I don't think of games as brain rotting, I think of them as works of art with a very visual story! And I've always had a creative mind anyway, I like writing and I love poetry so better late than never!

Over time this has built me up into something more of a 3D Artist that I am now constantly using Blender 3D & Unreal Engine 4 to the point that I have released my first PC Game not too long ago. I did a few before that but never made them live because they were just stupid little half projects that I never finished. But I am finding the more I do, the more I can do and then on top of that following others like myself Andrew Price, Mr Sorbias, CGMasters, Darrin Lile but the guys that got me into this life style the most started with the Tornado Twins. That was when I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life!

Now, I know some people might not want to talk about things like that or bear their soul for fear of being judged but this has slowly but surely made me less afraid of making mistakes and I am okay with that. You really have to learn to love to be comfortable with yourself to press on. And I think anyone else that might be struggling like me, yes, you can make it happen too! Success is Possible but you just may have to do a bit of heavy lifting to get there!

Since then I try to model something at least every few days though I do stop here and there but aside from everything else I have never been happier than I am today! I have found a few clients that I am working with and I plan to keep looking and doing whatever it takes to keep doing what I Love!