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How to avoid the 'miniature' look


Rich O
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I've had this problem with a few of my renders: they look like miniature models. I'm not using any DoF or background fog which I suppose may be part of it, but take a look at the attached image and tell me what you think. It has a very 'small' feel to it and I'm not sure how to correct this.

small.jpg

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I don't think it feels miniature. The grass is the first thing I'd improve on though; using geometry/proxy or even displacement grass will provide another point of reference for the viewer, when looking for scale.

 

+1 on comments made so far. I am impressed at how sharp and pointy you can get your mason to make that wall pitch. :p

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I think when it comes to making things look more photographic (real) and less hobby-model, you need to focus on 2 things: the reality of proportions within the geometry and the reality of the camera- lens, framing, and POV.

 

Baring the masonry comment which can be resolved with a 3D displacement and a little post work, I think your proportions are good. Your camera needs a little work. The POV is good and the lens is believable enough, but the framing is very CG. For his shot in particular i would look at a square framing or a portrait framing. The landscape view is better for shots that are more pulled back or where you are not trying to show the whole building.

 

If your shot is composed the way you want it, then make sure you can see to the top of the building, render a black background and then put a portrait sky in through post.

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I do get a bit of the 'hobby model' look from this image. Zoom out a bit so the model isnt so in your face, and ad people for scale....

 

Love the copper roof, pitty the house angle dont allow to see more...

Edited by marius e
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Personally I think the main problem is the masonry looking flat and game textured. Some more work on that should make a difference. The grass and in particular the edge towards the pavers also needs work, they seem disconnected. Perhaps a tad less AO as well.

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Yeah I think you guys are right re the masonry. It's from Arroway textures and is set as a displacement map, however when I crank it high enough to show the profile of the individual stones (so the mortar is indented), the 'detail' on the stones also becomes very pronounced which looks very wrong. I imagine part of this is that it's only an 8bit map and really intended as a bump map. I will play around.

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Personally I do not think the stone is an issue, I think as somebody else mentioned the sunlight angle matching the camera angle is more of an issue. Increasing the FOV as also mentioned can help the model appear larger scale, I use this trick many times on interiors to make them feel more spacious.

 

Using HDR or EXR for environment lighting can also help to add depth to materials with subtle changes in hue and intensity across the refracted skylight, especially if you are using displacement.

Edited by beestee
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I think the problem is like they said on thread geomtry and stone, if you see the edge of the roof you will see perfectly flat line of stone and in reality it isnt like that, it looks like in the game just mapped ston on flat wall, also you need more realistic grass, but I think render is really good, keep on :)

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