Monocular Depth Cues

Monocular Depth Cues are exactly what they sound like: hints about an object's depth that can be observed with just one eye open. Here are some examples that I found in Second Life.

Size Differences: Why does my avatar look almost as big as one of this castle's towers? Because I'm far away from it! The further away an object is, the smaller it seems. I'm fat but not that fat!

Occlusion: The picture on the top shows my rear end blocking a plant that is visible on the bottom picture. Because my avatar is closer, it is blocking (or "occluding") the plant.

Lighting and Shading: Lighting is important when showing depth. The shadows from these trees show off their size.

Texture Density: From a distance, the roof texture on this house looks dense and almost solid. When approached from up close, you are able to see the texture of it is much different.

Linear Perspective: The railroad tracks seem to get closer together as they go off into the distance.

Atmospheric Perspective: This cat next to me is clear and sharp. Look at the object that is to the right of him. I have no idea what it is because it is too far away and thus too blurry to distinguish.