Reasons why shapes become distorted when rendering at low resolution

[amagi]

Question

As the title says, I want to know why the cube in the provided image becomes distorted when rendered at 128x128 resolution without anti-aliasing.

Situation

128x128
No AA
A new project has been created, and all objects are at their initial coordinates and rotations.

What I want to know

I want to render accurately without AA, without distorting the shape.

What I want to do

I want to render at a low resolution of 128x128 and use it for pixel art game development.

Untitled.blend (106.2 KB)

[kawaii.kryx]

@amagi

As the title says, I want to know why the cube in the provided image becomes distorted when rendered at 128x128 resolution without anti-aliasing.

Because.. there are so few pixels/resolution and the rendering is.. based on resolution/pixels ?

Seriously .. 3d workflow.. is completely different from a pure 2d (pixel precise) workflow.. so.. if you want it … easier… all you got is… nastier

[etn249]

It’s because the angle of view causes the sides of the cube to look diagonal, and the lack of AA makes that into a stair pattern.

Maybe you are trying to do an isometric render? You can do that by setting the camera to orthographic mode.

[Okidoki]

And you used an orthographic camera ??? Like so:

..because yours looks like use a perspective camera.

( Didn’t looked into the file; internet-PC only with blender 3.6.. )

And i should read all replies ..or trink my coffe first

[MartinZ (Martynas Žiemys)]

@amagi

As the title says, I want to know why the cube in the provided image becomes distorted when rendered at 128x128 resolution without anti-aliasing.

But this really seems self explanatory and very obvious no matter how you look at it. Try drawing a line on a small resolution image:

How else can you fill those pixels to make a straighter line? That’s just… I don’t know what it is… Logic? Reality? Geometry?.. How else can it work?

[Okidoki]

I think it’s really about:

Perspective distortion

[amagi]

Thank you.

How is perspective achieved in art where it’s necessary?
For example, when a large, long, rotating ship or airplane rotates directly beside you,
I think it would look unnatural without a sense of distance.

[Khamurai]

Could you maybe post an image example/image reference of what you are trying achieve?
I assume you have some art or game in your mind that achieves the effect you are after?

[etn249]

If it’s a pixel art game with isometric view, how can something rotate directly beside you? Isn’t this kind of game viewed from far away?

In any case, if you think one render in particular needs perspective, there is no harm in trying it.

[amagi]

Regarding the difference between orthogonal and perspective projection:

After researching, I learned that the issue depends on whether the projection is from the front or back, and that the size of the object itself changes even when it rotates.

Therefore, I decided to use orthogonal projection.