I''m trying to render some sprites using Blender for an isometric game I''m working on, but I can''t seem to get the angles correctly. I''ve tried it with a camera angle of 45 degrees and the model rotated 45 degrees on the z axis (z is up in Blender), but it didn''t look right. I''ve tried having the camera track to the model so I could move it around and experiment with the angle. I got decent results for the character, but when I rendered a box to use for depth/collision tests it didn''t look right. So to summarize, does anyone know the correct camera angle and model angle?

I use 30 degrees above the horizon and 45 degrees around the vertical axis. True isometric should render a cube so that the 3 axes appear to be 120 degrees apart. 30 degrees gives you pretty close to this.

The way I like to set up my stage is to create a circle, rotate it 30 degrees around the X axis, then move the camera out to the edge of the circle. Then I parent the camera to the circle, then undo the rotation of the circle. This rotates the camera above the horizon by 30 degrees, and points it at the center of the circle, where I arrange my lighting stage and place my models. I can rotate the circle in increments of 45 degrees to get the various facing directions for a model.

Also, make sure you select the Ortho button on the camera edit settings, to ensure an orthographic projection.

I uploaded a quick sample isometric stage file here if you want to take a look at it.

World of Golem

Thank you. You also covered a question I was getting ready to ask.

another important issue is the size of the tile when you want to create fitting isometric ground or walls ... and your sprites should fit to the level

this 30 degree front rotation fits at an 16 dot grid with a bastilesize of 64 x 32 pixel ... iso format of 2:1

there is also a way to create a more topdown like iso format of 4:3
there the angle is 48,5 degrees to front , 45 degrees around Z-Axis , and with a basetile of 64 x 48

i too had this angle fight eons ago. i fiddled it out. and so i have written a tutorial how to create isometric tiles. made with truespace . but the way is softwareindependend. maybe also useful for you ...

http://www.reinerstileset.4players.de:1059/isotiles%20tut%20eng.zip

tilesets games sprites
http://www.reinerstileset.de

[edited by - tiles on May 1, 2004 5:37:17 AM]

[edited by - tiles on May 1, 2004 5:38:29 AM]

quote: Original post by 3D

quote: Original post by dwmitch
So to summarize, does anyone know the correct camera angle and model angle?

There is no correct angle for isometric views.

Isometric view simply means to keep the same perspective throughout.

No. Isometric projection is characterized by the fact that 3 equal length lines parallel to the 3 axes of an object are projected to an equal length on the projection plane. When viewed, the angles between the 3 axes on the plane are equal, or 120 degrees apart. 30 degrees is close enough for government work, but I believe the real value is closer to 35 degrees.

You''re confusing isometric projection with orthogonal projection; isometric is a special case of orthogonal, but not all orthogonal projections are isometric.

World of Golem

quod errad demonstrandum

tilesets games sprites
http://www.reinerstileset.de

You''re the one in charge of reinerstilesets? I''ve been on a downloading spree there for the past two days.

I know you said on the site that the sprites/tiles can be freely used to make games, but I assume that''s freeware games.

Is it permissable to use the tiles and sprites in a free game that''s part of an ad campain for a commercial site? In other words, the games themselves wouldn''t be sold, but they would be to draw peoples'' attention to the games that are for sell.

quote: Original post by tiles
quod errad demonstrandum

Indeed. :D

completely offtopic. but my sets are freeware in all cases. even for commercial games

tilesets games sprites
http://www.reinerstileset.de