Just take a look at [this picture](https://www.looksmartmodels.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/lamborghini-huracan-performante-spyder_03.jpg), you can tell immediately that its a model car even though there is nothing in the picture to compare its size to. My guess is that the paint isn’t authentic to our eyes, but are there other reasons as well?
In: 980
You can’t always. It all depends on how good the model is and how it is photographed. Just think about how movies use miniatures, if the effect is good you can’t tell. Hell, even if you know it’s a miniature it doesn’t seem like it to your brain, just look at the sand-crawlers or ships from A New Hope.
For more information just look at this video of William Osman blowing up a ‘Tesla’. So many people fell for this:
For me, it’s the wheels. Model car wheels always look ‘hard’ to me. They don’t look like inflated rubber tyres.
To me the dust and the texture stands out. Look at the dust particles on the windshield and under the black trim on top of the driver door. Also the texture of the rims, headlights, maybe the paintjob?
Agree on the depth of field as well as this is pretty strong DOF.
It isn’t always so easy though [Examples](https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinalan/can-you-tell-if-this-is-miniature-or-full-sized)
1. level of detail – models just don’t have the same level of detail as the real thing does.
2. depth of field – because the model is very small is needs to be really close to the camera to look ‘big’ within the image. the closer an object is the the camera the thinner the area that is in focus is, and the more blurry the areas that are out of focus are.
It’s all down to camera work and craftsmanship of the miniature.
I’d wager most people dont realise when miniatures are used in movies.
Like this one…
depends on the quality of the model, sometimes the model is really good and i can’t tell other times the model is missing some key features. also paint is a big giveaway on models they are close enough but not good enough to pass most of the time
r/minipainting From my perspective, it’s kinda a basic mini. The detail isnt there, the textures aren’t realistic, you can see dust on it. Even if it was a real matte finish, it would still reflect more light. A glossy finish would reflect far more light as well.
If the intent was to make it realistic, there are plenty of people who can do so. It just takes a lot of time and effort.
Texture is a huge unconscious factor. It’s one of the large hurdles in computer animated humans.
If you look at how some parts of the car are sharp and others are blurry, they give us cues as to the range of depth and size of an object. The tilt pan effect exploits this and can be used to make large things look like miniatures by blurring the top and bottom of the image which then tells the brain the object is really close and therefore must be small.
I have seen the opposite where using forced perspective makes a model car look like a real car. But that requires background scenery to provide the perspective.
Panel lines cast a different shadow. Seats don’t have any texture. Tires are too clean. Rims aren’t painted clean. Some black parts are too glossy. Overall, it’s a very good model.
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