# Voxel It > Use when the user asks for voxel it or a task matching the examples below. Voxel-It — turn any photo into a high-quality Minecraft screenshot, keeping the HUMAN subject(s) fully photorealistic while the rest of the frame becomes detailed Minecraft block geometry, then cinematic-color-grade the whole frame to the photo's mood so the real person and the voxel world read as one image. A Step 0 router reads the photo and picks ONE of three input-driven modes: object-only (voxelize just the held/featured object + its tableware, keep the person AND background photoreal, float Minecraft loot-tag labels), background-only (voxelize the background/environment, keep the person and any incidental object photoreal, no tags), or object+background (voxelize everything except the person). Single still-image edit via one generate_image_edit call. This skill absorbs the old minecraft-food and minecraft-world trends. Triggers: "voxel it", "voxelize this", "minecraft world", "minecraft food", "minecraftify this", "minecraftify t - Skill: `pika-labs/voxel-it` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add pika-labs/voxel-it` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/pika-labs/voxel-it/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Integrations & APIs - Author: pika-labs (https://skillmd.com/u/pika-labs) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/pika-labs/voxel-it --- # voxel-it > Tools below are **Pika MCP** tools, named bare — call each under whatever prefix your session exposes for the Pika MCP. One skill, one engine: turn a photo into a Minecraft screenshot where the **human stays photoreal** and the rest of the frame becomes **voxel blocks**, unified by a cinematic color grade. A **Step 0 router** reads the photo and picks **one of three modes** — deciding *what* gets voxelized (the featured object, the background, or everything except the person) and whether to float **Minecraft "loot tags"** naming the hero objects. This one skill absorbs both the old **Minecraft-Food** trend (object-only) and the old **Minecraft-World** trend (object+background). The conversion engine is the **@rohxit7 viral recipe**, verbatim (Instagram, 194K likes, #minecraft #prompt #chatgpt). The object-only prompt and loot-tag clause are salvaged from the retired **Minecraft-Food** trend (@aibyjoe "Minecraft Food"). **The effect, precisely:** 1. **Keep photorealistic & untouched — the PERSON** (face, skin, hair, clothing, pose, proportions). No stylization, no blockifying — in every mode. 2. **Convert to Minecraft — the parts the chosen mode targets** (some subset of: terrain, structures, plants, objects, furniture, vehicles, food, drinks, sky, background): clean cubic/voxel geometry, crisp 16×16-style textures, modern-Minecraft-screenshot quality (premium SEUS/BSL shaders — realistic light, soft shadows, AO, volumetric light, sharp edges). 3. **Spatial fidelity (strict):** exact camera, framing, composition; every element in its original position and size; nothing added/removed/rearranged. 4. **Cinematic color grade (the unifier):** analyze the source mood and grade the whole frame to match, cohesive across real human + voxel world so it's one image, not a pasted cutout. 5. **(Conditional) Loot tags** — object-only mode only; see Step 0. > **Identity note:** maskless single full-canvas edit (per the recipe), so the > face is *regenerated* and can drift slightly. Accepted for color cohesion. For > a byte-perfect face, see the advanced mask note at the bottom. ## Step 0 — Router: pick the MODE Read the photo and commit to exactly ONE mode. **State the decision as a single line — `MODE: object-only` / `MODE: background-only` / `MODE: object+background` — then apply the matching prompt block in Step 3.** The engine, color grade, and quality bar are identical across modes; the only delta is *what* voxelizes and whether loot tags float. The three modes: - **object-only** — voxelize ONLY the held/featured object (food / drink / product) **and its own tableware**. Keep the **PERSON** and the **BACKGROUND** fully photorealistic. Float a Minecraft loot-tag label above each hero object. *(This is the old Minecraft-Food look.)* - **background-only** — voxelize the **BACKGROUND / environment** into Minecraft blocks. Keep the **PERSON** photorealistic; if an incidental object is present, keep it photoreal too. **No loot tags.** *(A person standing in a place, now in a voxel world — but anything they're holding stays real.)* - **object+background** — voxelize **EVERYTHING except the person** (the object AND the background). Loot tags optional. *(The old full-voxelize Minecraft-World default.)* **Decision tree (default detection):** ``` Does the user EXPLICITLY ask to voxelize everything? ("voxelize everything" / "object and background" / "full voxel world") → MODE: object+background Else, is a human FACE or BODY present? ├─ Person present + a held/featured object (food/product) is the subject? │ → MODE: object-only (float loot tags on the object) └─ Person present, NO featured object (people-in-a-place shot)? → MODE: background-only (the default for face-in-a-scene shots) No person present? ├─ Pure object shot (a meal, a product, a flat-lay, a desk of gear)? │ → MODE: object-only └─ Landscape / scene with no featured object? → MODE: background-only Genuinely ambiguous (can't tell if the object or the scene is the point)? → ask the user ONE line: "voxelize just the object, just the background, or everything but you?" ``` The routing intent: a **face with no featured object defaults to background-only** (put the person in a voxel world, keep them and anything incidental real). A **featured object → object-only** (voxelize the hero item, tag it, keep person + scene real). **object+background only on an explicit request.** ## Inputs - `` — any photo (path, URL, or chat-pasted image). Works on object shots, person+object shots, and wide scenes alike. ## Empty-args menu 1. "Drop the photo (path, URL, or paste it). I'll auto-pick the mode — object-only (voxelize just the food/product you're featuring, with Minecraft loot tags), background-only (voxelize the scene around you, keep you and anything you're holding real), or object+background (voxelize everything but you). Tell me if you want to force a specific mode." (No provider question — always gpt-image-2; see Engine.) ## Engine — always `gpt-image-2` `gpt-image-2`, `quality="high"`, `output_format="png"`. It's the strong editor the recipe needs and commits the world to blocks. **Do not use nano-banana-pro** — it *under-voxelizes* (preserves subjects as photoreal even when told to block-ify), so the world barely changes (audited over a 6-scene batch). **Timeout gotcha:** at `quality="high"` a synchronous call often exceeds the ~260s tool budget and the client times out. Always call with `background:true` and poll `task_status(task_id)` in a tight loop until `completed`. ## Workflow Working dir: `/voxel-it//` — each run its own folder. ### Step 1 — Get the source as a Pika-CDN URL - **HTTPS URL?** Use it directly. - **Local file?** Upload (Step 2). Convert HEIC: `sips -s format jpeg in.HEIC --out out.jpg` — this strips the EXIF orientation flag, so the JPEG can land on its side. **View it**; only if it's sideways, rotate upright with `sips -r 90` or `sips -r 270` (whichever way it's tilted), then view again to confirm. The model bakes the reference pixels as-is, so it must be upright before upload. - **Chat-pasted image?** Not reliably on disk. If the user names a file (e.g. a Desktop screenshot — macOS uses a narrow no-break space U+202F before AM/PM, so match via a glob), copy it. Otherwise extract from the session transcript: ```bash cd ~/.claude/projects// SRC=$(ls -t *.jsonl | head -1) # newest = current session python3 - "$SRC" "" <<'PY' import json, base64, sys, os, hashlib src, out = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]; imgs=[] for line in open(src): try: o=json.loads(line) except: continue m=o.get("message") if isinstance(o,dict) else None role=(m or {}).get("role") if isinstance(m,dict) else o.get("role") if role!="user": continue c=(m or o).get("content") if not isinstance(c,list): continue for p in c: if isinstance(p,dict) and p.get("type")=="image" and isinstance(p.get("source"),dict): s=p["source"] if s.get("data") and s.get("media_type","").startswith("image/"): imgs.append((s["media_type"], s["data"])) # save the last N pasted images (newest turn). Adjust [-1:] to [-N:] for batches. for i,(mt,data) in enumerate(imgs[-1:], 1): b=base64.b64decode(data); ext={"image/webp":"webp","image/jpeg":"jpg","image/png":"png"}.get(mt,"jpg") p=os.path.join(out,f"source_{i}.{ext}"); open(p,"wb").write(b) print(p, len(b), "sha256", hashlib.sha256(b).hexdigest()) PY ``` Always **read the saved file back** (view it) before spending a generation. ### Step 2 — Upload to Pika CDN `upload_asset({filename, mime_type, size_bytes, sha256})` → PUT the bytes to `presigned_url` with the **exact** `content_type` from the response (`curl -X PUT -H "content-type: " --upload-file ""`, expect `HTTP 200`) → use the returned `public_url`. ### Step 3 — Run the edit (branch on the Step 0 mode) `generate_image_edit` with `provider="gpt-image-2"`, `quality="high"`, `output_format="png"`, `background=true` (poll), the CDN URL in `images`, and `aspect_ratio: "auto"` — the worker measures the reference and matches its orientation, so you never hand-pick or recompute the ratio. Fill the COLOR GRADING mood line from your read of the photo. **Pick the prompt block for the mode you committed to in Step 0.** --- #### MODE: object+background (voxelize everything except the person) Use the @rohxit7 recipe verbatim: > ROLE: You are an expert image-transformation artist specializing in stylized > photo-to-game-world conversions and cinematic color grading. > > TASK: Transform the attached reference photo into a high-quality Minecraft > screenshot in which the human subject(s) remain fully photorealistic and > untouched, while everything else in the scene is converted into detailed > Minecraft block geometry — then apply cinematic color grading derived from the > original photo's mood. > > CORE CONCEPT (the hero idea — do not deviate): A real, photorealistic human > standing inside a fully voxel/blocky Minecraft world. The contrast between the > realistic person and the blocky environment is the entire point of this image. > > CONVERSION RULES: > 1. KEEP PHOTOREALISTIC (do NOT alter): the human subject(s) from the reference > photo; their face, skin, hair, clothing, pose, and proportions; render them > exactly as they appear — no stylization, no blockifying. > 2. CONVERT TO MINECRAFT (high-quality block model): all non-human elements — > terrain, ground, plants, objects, structures, furniture, vehicles, sky, and > background. Use clean cubic/voxel geometry with crisp 16x16-style block > textures. Quality reference: a modern Minecraft screenshot rendered with > premium shaders (e.g., SEUS / BSL style) — realistic lighting, soft shadows, > ambient occlusion, volumetric light, sharp block edges. > 3. SPATIAL FIDELITY (strict — this is a conversion, not a reimagining): > preserve the EXACT camera angle, framing, and composition; keep every element > in its ORIGINAL position; keep every element at its ORIGINAL relative size and > scale; the human must occupy the same place and proportion as in the source; do > NOT add, remove, or rearrange objects. > > COLOR GRADING (apply AFTER the Minecraft conversion): > Step 1 — ANALYZE the original photo first: identify its time of day, lighting > direction, dominant color palette, warmth/coolness, and overall mood ([fill in > the mood you read, e.g. "moody night street, cool blue sky with warm street-lamp > glow" / "golden-hour warm" / "overcast neutral"]). > Step 2 — APPLY cinematic color grading that matches that analyzed mood: filmic > contrast curve, balanced highlights and shadows; color tone consistent with the > original photo's atmosphere; subtle vignette and depth, cohesive across both the > realistic human and the blocky environment so they feel like one unified image. > > OUTPUT SPECIFICATIONS: single high-resolution image; sharp, detailed, > professional Minecraft-screenshot quality; photorealistic human + voxel world, > seamlessly color-graded. > > SELF-CHECK BEFORE FINALIZING: Is the human still 100% photorealistic and > unchanged? Is everything else clearly Minecraft block geometry? Are positions, > sizes, and composition identical to the source? Does the color grade match the > original photo's analyzed mood? Does the realistic human and blocky world feel > unified, not pasted? **Loot tags in object+background are OPTIONAL.** If the user wants them (or there's a clear namable hero object), insert the LOOT TAGS block below between CONVERSION RULES and COLOR GRADING, and add its tag line to TASK + SELF-CHECK: > LOOT TAGS: above or near EACH hero voxelized object, float a Minecraft > inventory-style name tag — clean white pixel/bitmap font on a dark > semi-transparent rounded rectangle (a Minecraft item-tooltip / named-entity > tag) — naming that item: [list each hero object → its short name, e.g. "Mojito", > "Sesame Latte", "Apple Cake", "Air Jordan 1", "Leica M6"]. Keep tags tidy, > crisp, readable, non-overlapping, floating just above each item, and NEVER > covering a person's face. (add to SELF-CHECK: "Does each hero object have a > clean, readable Minecraft name tag that doesn't cover a face?") --- #### MODE: background-only (voxelize the scene, keep the person AND any incidental object real) Same @rohxit7 recipe as object+background, with **CONVERSION RULE 1 widened** so the person is not the ONLY thing kept real: also keep any incidental held/foreground object photorealistic. Concretely, replace RULE 1 and RULE 2 with: > 1. KEEP PHOTOREALISTIC (do NOT alter): the human subject(s) — face, skin, hair, > clothing, pose, proportions — AND any object the person is holding or that sits > in the immediate foreground (a phone, a drink, a bag, a prop). Render all of > these exactly as they appear — no stylization, no blockifying. > 2. CONVERT TO MINECRAFT (high-quality block model): the BACKGROUND and > ENVIRONMENT only — terrain, ground, plants, structures, furniture, vehicles, > sky, and scenery behind and around the subject. Use clean cubic/voxel geometry > with crisp 16x16-style block textures. Quality reference: a modern Minecraft > screenshot with premium shaders (SEUS / BSL) — realistic lighting, soft > shadows, ambient occlusion, volumetric light, sharp block edges. Do NOT > voxelize the person or anything they are holding. Keep CORE CONCEPT, SPATIAL FIDELITY (RULE 3), COLOR GRADING, OUTPUT SPECIFICATIONS, and SELF-CHECK from the object+background block verbatim (they apply unchanged). **No loot tags in background-only.** --- #### MODE: object-only (voxelize just the featured object + its tableware; keep the person AND background real; float loot tags) This is the retired Minecraft-Food recipe. Fill the bracketed list per item and keep the KEEP and label clauses verbatim: > Edit this exact photo. KEEP [the person + their face, hair, hands, clothing, > accessories /OR for a flat-lay: the table, containers, plates, cups, tray, > utensils] and the background/scene and lighting 100% PHOTOREALISTIC and > unchanged — do not stylize [the person] at all. > > ONLY transform the FOOD, DRINK and the food's TABLEWARE into 3D Minecraft > voxel blocks — chunky, low-resolution cube-pixel geometry with flat blocky > textures, exactly like Minecraft items, each sitting naturally where the real > item was: [per-item mapping — e.g. "the ramen bowl → a blocky voxel bowl of > yellow cube-noodles"; "the pepperoni slice → cube crust + voxel cheese + cube > pepperoni discs"; "the steamed rice → a mound of white voxel rice cubes"]. > > Above or near EACH transformed item, add a Minecraft inventory-style text > label: clean white pixel/bitmap font on a dark semi-transparent rounded > rectangle, naming the item (e.g. [item labels]). Keep labels tidy and > readable, non-overlapping, and never over [the person's face]. > > Final look: a real photorealistic [person / scene], but every piece of food, > drink and tableware is a Minecraft voxel object with floating Minecraft > inventory labels. Then apply the **COLOR GRADING** step from the object+background block (analyze the source mood, grade the whole frame to match) so the voxel object and the real person/scene read as one image. **Enumerate before you generate:** the single biggest lever on object-only quality is naming each food/product item AND the voxel object it should become, item by item, in the prompt. Read the source and list every dish / drink / utensil first; generic "turn the food into blocks" is mushy, per-item mapping lands. --- **Groups:** in any mode, name *every* person in the KEEP clause so none gets blockified. **Contact objects** (held mug, drink, plate) voxelize with the object in object-only / object+background, but stay real in background-only. ### Step 4 — Download, show, open (+ rotation check) Download to `/voxel-it-.png`, show it, `open` in Finder (no analyze_media re-check — just look). PNG only unless asked. **Rotation check:** gpt-image-2 occasionally returns an edit rotated 90° — if sky/ceiling isn't up, rotate it back with `sips -r 90` or `sips -r 270` (whichever lands it upright, free, no regen) and re-view. Stills only. ## Tips & failure modes | Symptom | Fix | |---|---| | Output rotated 90° | Rotate back `sips -r 90` / `sips -r 270` — whichever lands upright (free, no regen). | | Person got blockified | Re-assert the KEEP clause; for groups name every person. | | World barely voxelized | You're on nano-banana-pro — switch to gpt-image-2. | | Person looks pasted | Make sure the COLOR GRADING block + mood line are present — that's the unifier. | | Wrong things voxelized | Re-check Step 0 — you picked the wrong mode. object-only = just the featured object; background-only = just the scene; object+background = everything but the person. | | Object voxelized in background-only | Widen the KEEP clause to name the held/foreground object explicitly. | | Tags missing / wrong items (object-only) | You forgot the label clause, or didn't list the hero items by name. List each one. | | Tags messy / overlapping / on the face | "keep labels non-overlapping, just above each item, never over a face"; re-roll. | | Tags appeared but shouldn't have | You're in background-only (no tags) — drop the label clause. | | Day-for-night flip | Name the night mood explicitly in COLOR GRADING. | | Cropped vs source | Pass `aspect_ratio: "auto"` — the worker matches the reference's orientation. | | Face drifted | Expected (maskless recipe). Advanced fix below. | **Advanced — guaranteed identity (off-recipe).** `remove_background` (`mode="portrait"`) on the source → use the alpha as the gpt-image-2 `mask` (transparent=repaint, opaque=keep) so only the targeted region converts and the person's pixels are never touched. Off the @rohxit7 path; use only when a face must be byte-perfect. ## Reference - **Engine:** @rohxit7 viral recipe, verbatim. **object-only prompt + loot tags:** salvaged from @aibyjoe "Minecraft Food". This skill **absorbs and retires both minecraft-food (object-only) and minecraft-world (object+background)**. - Verdict: gpt-image-2 always; one recipe, three input-driven modes.