Morning all,
Cant get my head around scaling and units of measurement.
Need to create a rectangle “tray” - 14cm wide, 7 cm deep and 2cm high, the walls need to be 1cm thick so the internal size is 12cm x 5cm deep x 2cm high.
So I take the cms as units but then when I come to do extrusions etc the sizes are in m - is that meters?
I can guarantee when I export the object I comes out ginormous!
Good time of day,
Since it is would be complicated to answer your question as you need to provide more detailed information, such as screenshots or, perhaps, a .blend file itself, I’d suggest you to watch this short tutorial that maybe could help you:
This may also depend on the export format… not all do use real units… but simple use the numbers… so some might read things 100 times bigger or smaller…
( Sometimes a reference line or cube is addded for this…)
Some exports use “real units” for example to drive a 3D printer. But, in a typical render situation what really matters most is relative scale. The only clue that the viewer has for “actual scale” is something in the scene that is of an expected size, if there is such a thing in-frame. Otherwise, he simply notices if something “draws his eye” as being “out of scale” relative to the other objects in the scene. (Of course, sometimes this is done purposely, creating a “stylized” effect. e.g. for some super-duper weapon.)
When I first start working on a scene or a short, the props are simply represented by “bounding box” geometry. The prop hasn’t been finished yet, but the “box” would just enclose it. Most importantly, it is “to scale.” Your imagination does the rest.
Hi,
First of all, -only- ‘true CAD’ applications use proper scale. (oversimplification)
3D animation/viz applications use, like others said, a ‘relative’ scale.
For the hugenormous scale after import, check your export/import settings.
If you set the export to meters (m), but import in centimeters (cm) the object will be a 100x larger. (1 meter = 100cm). Or smaller if it’s vice versa.
Same for feet/inches etc.
Most of the time, when using Metric anyway, it’s an easy scale operation devided/multiplied by values of 10.
With feet/inches… good luck 
Thank you all, big help indeed 
FYI: I have certainly found that “attention to scale, from the very beginning,” is extremely important in the believability of the final product. So, grab that measuring-tape and actually measure those “real-world things.” (Even if, for now, those “things” are just “a bounding box.”) Likewise, when laying out your sets, “grab that 100’ tape” to guide your placements. Take meticulous notes – just like a “real” filmmaker would have to do. (I actually keep my own “daily shooting log.”)
Then, when you start shooting from different angles, everything will “ring true.” As best you can, pretend that you really are standing on a physical set, shooting physical things with physical cameras. This attention to detail pays off.