Big environments - Should we resize characters?

psfilipe

Hi,

I'm kind of a newcomer concerning 3D environment build.
Specifically building big sci-fi sets that have HDRI domes and large terrain and rock/habitat props.

I've read somewhere that it's common practice to resize the Genesis characters in order to maximize the sensation of a big space.
My question is: Will the resized character maintain it's quality texture wise or are there any better practices for doing big scale sets?

.p

WendyLuvsCatz

personally I would create a group and resize the set but it wouldn't matter either way I guess

nonesuch00

Never heard that. I only resize is the scale between them is glaringly wrong that even I notice the mismatch. Resizing / scaling equally on all axis does not affect texture/material qualities "too much" although the thicker / thinner of scaling should effect things like tranlucency(opacity), reflection, refraction and so on but those things are typically not noticable as they are already simulations that are rough estimates of rough estimates of real world values. 

DrunkMonkeyProductions

Whether you scale the set or the character, there are going to be issues.

The two biggest are going to be textures and geometry.

For characters, such as g8f, it's not as much of an issue, but as nonesuch00 points out, some rendering parameters, such as sub surface scattering, are based on scale.

So you may have to tweak your material settings to compensate.

For props, sets/environments, the problems can go from minor annoyance to totally ruining a render.

Since most assets are setup around a 100% scale, the geometry might not hold up as you increase the size. Low geometry models might begin to show signs of the lower geometry. That is, you'll see that the curved surface, isn't so curved.

For textures, again the scale increase can cause issues, such as stretching. Also flaws in the texture maps can become glaringly obvious, such as tesselation, strange colors in the texture, and other problems that aren't obvious by default.

If the texture is tiled and not uv mapped, it's less of an issue, as you can change the number of tiles, Surfaces tab>Tiling>Horizontal and vertical tiles and offset,  to get the look back, but that can create an issue unto itself.

You may also want to learn how to use the f/stop on a camera to 'fuzz' out the background. Note:the f/stop in render settings is different from the f/stop on the camera.

As an option, you could always do post work to extend a particular scene to achieve the look you're going for.

 

Just depends on what you want.

 

 

psfilipe

Thank you all so much for your input.
Great insights.
'Big' scale environments in 3D (or, more accurately, perceived as big) is an area where I wish I could find
more information and tutorials (take note PA's! )

It's one thing to have a landscape prop that works in a certain angle but can be rendered rather useless with even the slightest camera movement.
Since what I'm currently doing requires a LOT of camera movements, and alternate takes of one scene in various angles, I struggle immensely to be able
to use environments that don't have the scale and the 360º quality I need.
 

fastbike1

@psfilipe "currently doing requires a LOT of camera movements,"

Why? Use different cameras. Adding more cameras to a scene doesn't impact rendering time or moving about the scene, once set.

psfilipe

fastbike1 said:

@psfilipe "currently doing requires a LOT of camera movements,"

Why? Use different cameras. Adding more cameras to a scene doesn't impact rendering time or moving about the scene, once set.

What I meant is I want to pan a camera around (any camera), freely, without having some spot of my 3D to look empty.
In short I need big, 360º scenarios, that never break the world set.