Getting the right sense of scale

I’d like some advice on this image I’m working on. I’ve got to a point where I’m starting to get frustrated that the image doesn’t appear to be the right scale. It looks like a model street rather than a full sized one, and I don’t know what subtle clues of scale I’m missing.


The two figures are placeholders to help me see scale when modelling or texturing, the final render will have no people in it at all, just the buildings. Any suggestions for making this read more realistically as a full scale view?

edit: Cycles render, not at the compositing stage yet.

I’m not a expert or guru by any means but I don’t see the problem. The lighting is way to flat for my taste but that is subjective call. A scene like this shouldn’t really need anything to set the scale. But, I’ve read the archviz types will use a human cutout even in a scene like this just for that purpose. Also, I’m not a big Cycles user but honestly what size is your sun. Try setting it to .005 and cranking it up.

In my humble opinion you have a very nice still here. But, the lighting is making it look flat. Also I would include something on the edge of the frame which is on this side of the street. A mail box or streetlight and maybe put it on the left edge. With a change in lighting and that it might have way more depth.

I think to let the scene give a sense of scale you will need to add more elements in the foreground and move behind the camera: a car is good to improve the sense of scale, then maybe a bench or garbage bins, trees or other “street furniture”.
As theoldghost said lighting can be improved; also that can contribuite to give the right sense of scale.

As TheOldGhost said the sun lamp should be smaller. I usually set mine at 0.004. Currently it looks like studio ligthing.

Have you modelled everything in real world units? making sure doors / steps / curbs are realistic? the door on the right hand side looks a bit thin?

I Would also suggest putting a slight amount of DoF into the shot… as well as a few plants and what not for small scale reference.

The bricks on the left hand side are rotated 90degres?

The road looks quite bland, is it concrete? asphalt? are there any road lines?

I cant seem to see into the rooms… I would suggest putting in rooms with a slight AO texture on it, will help immensly.

NO! Don’t do that, Depth of Field will only make it look more like a miniature set, and not life size!

The glass windows look fake; too much like mirrors. What if you subdivide the glass mesh and put a little distortion in it? Make it a little bowed or warped. And turn down the reflections just a bit. And those vertical blocks on the left look odd to me. They don’t seem to fit with the scene.
This is a very nice scene, though.

Your eyes will tell you that there’s absolutely nowhere on a real street that you could put a real camera such that it would be able to take any picture with all of that imagery in it, without using a fairly wide-angle lens. Your eye is looking for that lens-effect.

Go measure the height of that door and call it “eight feet.” Now, make sure that the size of every other object is consistently “real.”

Now for your camera: it can’t be more than 6 feet up in the air, since that’s how tall an adult person is, nor can it be farther away than, say, “the opposite sidewalk.” (Measure that, and convert to Blender units.) Now, from that chosen spot (and, do watch for cars … it’s a busy street …), take your picture. You have to adjust the focal-length of the camera, and you have two choices: a zoom lens from farther away, or wide-angle up close. Be sure that “orthographic projection” is off unless you intend to simulate the effect of a bellows-type camera.

The reflections in the glass are much too intense … they distract from the scene, such that a real photographer would seek a different position to shoot from.

Also, while “cloudy bright” is a nice atmosphere to shoot in, the lighting in this shot is “dull as doughnuts.” You need some highlight, some directional light, some “something” to add some visual interest. This shot screams “Cycles bland.”

Thank you everyone, I’ll go back into the scene and try out your suggestions.

Just FYI, because appearance trumps reality, the vertical tiles on the bank on the left are based on the real marble tiles on a real bank on a real street. they are put on vertically like that.

Reflections first stop, then lighting, then foreground and some tweaks to model sizes. Thanks everyone.

You know guy proportion / scale is relative. And, while I have a halfway decent eye I usually go to Scene and change Units to Imperial being a old American. Then I pick out several objects in my scene usually a door and windows where I know the actual measurements. Then it’s just a matter of using the Ruler/Protractor in the T panel or actually typing it in the N panel. Once several of the large objects are scaled right it’s much easier to eyeball then.

And, I say this not seeing any real major scaling problems in your picture. I too have read DOF can turn your scene into something on a tabletop. And, like most here I think it’s the lighting. It’s not that your lighting is unrealistic. When I was in Scotland I saw many days where you could hardly see a shadow at midday. But, if you want to see it pop just throw a small sun light in there. Once again I think it’s a nice still just waiting to happen.

I said slight… all real life shots have DoF on them, even if it is ever so slight…

The doesn’t have much depth so by adding DoF it probably wont make a visible change without overdoing it. But I be wrong of course :slight_smile:

Thanks for all the suggestions and recommendations.

  • Foreground didn’t work, it detracted from the image.
  • Lighting was awesome, biggest improvement by far.
  • Putting the camera in a realistic position and using a wide-angle lens made a big difference too.
  • Reducing reflections was hugely important.

So much so that I was confident enough to continue dressing the scene, particularly with things inside the windows (blinds, shades, books, a plant). So we’re moving again. Not done yet by some margin, I’ve got a lot of texturing work to do to make the surfaces look less perfect, but the scale issue isn’t there, to my eye now.


Looks awesome! I would probably increase the intensity of the sun lamp, because currently it looks pretty weak. If it is a sunny day the shadows will be more noticeable.

What do you mean putting the camera in a realistic position. Your camera was fine, guy. Now with a wide angle lens you have completely destroyed your original composition. Which was looking just great by the way. Look at your first effort and then this with a critical eye. And, for the shadows what is the sun in damn Cycles. Maybe 0.003 might be in order and boost it up.

If the composition isn’t right the rest is a exercise in futility. Believe it or not art and Blender do come together occasionally. When all the talk about nodes and such shit are finally done with a composition remains. And, no amount of nerd shit is going to make that any better. Go back to your original composition and work from there. What you had was great.

And, one other thing the reflections in the windows. How will the average viewer read them. Well, with a high contrast scene I suspect rather well. Where your windows reflected the buildings across the street. Hell, man you’re attempting to make a piece of art not mimic a damn camera. Reality is what you give them, guy. Otherwise just buy one of those little Canons and forget about creating anything.

Thanks oldghost. Actually in this case I am trying to mimic a camera. And I’d be very happy to photograph the things I’m putting together if they existed to photograph. In this case, the drop of perspective helped make it less like model you were looking down on, to my eye. I’ll keep reappraising the composition, but as of today I honestly thing the new one is stronger. I really appreciate the advice and kicks up the ass though.

On sun intensity and shadows. Making the sun smaller and more intense. It does make the shadows pop. But looks more like California than London to me. I wonder if an HDR skybox would be better. I want some shadowing, but I don’t want it to look out of place.

Do You add an HDR envirment texture? and You can change the color of the sun lamp to be a little bit orange, the green door can be better and it is weird that in the first floor everithing is white and in the second You have brick apparent, that is unrealistic for me because those kind of buildings are awned by too careful persons. The blacksmith can be more realistic with anoter material and the material of the low wall at the left side down the blacksmith can be more realistic, maybe addin a displacement to it and to the plaster of the entrance (coloumns etc) Maybe this fast tutotorial can help with the plaster objects:

I am not the best but I am trying to help You.

Well if the street is in London you are right about that. A sun size of 0.005 is sure going to destroy that. And, I have just three more observations left then. You have a nice scene in IMHO. But, one that cries out for a 45 / 50 mm lens. And, there is no rule that says a picture has to have a foreground, mid ground, etc. But, many scenes that don’t benefit from a mild vignette. Also since you can’t use hard lighting to make it pop how about a London street right after it raining. I have not a clue how that is done in Cycles but it could really make your composition here something else. It would be a lot of work but maybe well worth it.

The second shot is better, for curiosity, have you set any unity of measure?