Modeling

Human Scale and Reference Units

Real-world sizes used to keep assets consistent

Also known as: Scale reference · Door height game · Unreal units centimeter · Unity units meter · Mannequin scale · Standard dimensions game art

Environment Modeling Workflow

Definition

Human scale is the use of real-world dimensions, based on the size of a person, to keep the objects in a game consistent. Unreal Engine counts one unit as one centimeter and Unity counts one unit as one meter, and a standard adult character is about 1.7 to 1.8 meters tall, with a door around 2 meters, a stair step 15 to 18 centimeters, a table about 75 centimeters and a ceiling 2.4 to 3 meters. Artists keep a reference mannequin in their scenes to check the scale of everything they build.

In production

Model in the correct units from the start, and keep the same unit scale and export settings across tools. Check each new asset next to the player character and existing props in the engine, and fix the scale at the source rather than in the scene. Stylized games exaggerate proportions but need their own consistent system, for example doors that are always twice the character's height.