Lesson video

Hello everybody.

It's Mrs. Franzsen here.

Welcome to Computing.

We are gonna be learning today all about 3D modelling.

Are you ready?

And then let's get started.

This lesson is called "Introduction to 3D modelling.

" And by the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognise that you can work in three dimensions on a computer.

Let's have a look at our keywords for today.

I want you to listen up really carefully to these keywords because they're going to be used all the way through the lesson, so make sure that you are listening out for the term and the definition, so that you can understand when we come to them in the lesson.

The first keyword is 2D.

2D is two dimensional.

That is 2D shapes are flat and they have no depth.

The next keyword is 3D.

3D is three dimensional.

That is 3D shapes have height, width, and depth.

Our last keyword is perspective.

Perspective is the position from which you see an object.

Now that we've done our keywords, let's move on.

In the first part of the lesson, you will be learning about adding 3D shapes to a project.

Okay, our first question in this lesson is, what is 3D?

Let's look at this a bit more closely.

Here are some two-dimensional shapes.

You can see a red square and a green circle.

Here are some three-dimensional shapes.

We have got a cylinder, a blue one, and we have got an orange cuboid.

So I wonder if you can see the difference between the two-dimensional shapes on the left and the three-dimensional shapes on the right.

The 2D shapes are flat and they have no depth.

While the 3D shapes have got height, width, and depth.

We will be working with 3D shapes in this lesson.

You can use computers to model real-life items.

This 3D model is actually made up of many 3D shapes combined that is put together So if you look at this example of the car, we're going to watch a video clip of this shortly.

The car model is made up of many 3D shapes that all combine together to make the shape of the car.

Let's watch that clip now.

In this unit, you will learn how to make your own 3D models using the Tinkercad software.

3D models can help the design process and let people view parts of objects in detail.

Architects and 3D designers use 3D design in their work to make real-life objects.

Tinkercad is a piece of 3D design software.

It is used to create and view 3D models.

So you would run Tinkercad on a computer or a laptop, or a tablet.

To open Tinkercad, first step is to go to the Tinkercad website.

You can use this link.

The next step is to click the log-in button to log in.

It looks a bit like this.

You can use different methods to log in, so it's best to check with your adult how you should log in to Tinkercad.

There are two ways to start a new design.

The first option to start a new design is to click on the create button, which is a blue button like this, and then select 3D Design from the list of options at the top.

The second way to start a new design is to click on your avatar in the top right corner and then select the new design, which is underneath at the bottom with the plus symbol.

Then, you select the 3D Design from the list of options at the top.

It's time to do a check here.

True or false?

Computers are only used to make imaginary models that can't be created in real life.

Pause the video here to think about your answer.

Welcome back.

True or false?

Computers are only used to make imaginary models that can't be created in real life.

The answer was false.

Why?

The answer was false because architects who designed real buildings use 3D modelling software to ensure the designs are accurate.

Well done if you got that one right.

This is the Tinkercad interface.

So when you open Tinkercad and log in, it should look something like this.

The view tools are on the left-hand side.

Over here.

We've got the view cube at the top and we've got the view buttons underneath that.

The shapes are in the right-hand menu.

So over here to the right, we've got all of the shapes that you can use in Tinkercad.

They're going to be really useful for our project.

And the big blue surface is called the workplane.

You can see it labelled there.

It's even labelled on the workplane itself.

And all of your shapes will start on the workplane.

All right, it's time for a check now.

I want to see if you can label the diagram.

So we've got three labels at the bottom.

We've got shapes, workplane, and view tools, and I want you to label this diagram.

You can pause the video here while you work on that, and when you come back, we can check on the answers.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at the answers.

The first label is the view tools on the left-hand side.

Next we've got the shapes on the right-hand side and the big blue space is the workplane.

Well done if you've got those right.

Right, now we're gonna see how you add shapes to the workplane.

The first step is to click and drag the cuboid, that's this one, and the sphere onto your workplane.

Second step is to place the shapes next to each other on the workplane.

Just like that.

It's time to go and give it a go now.

Try out Tinkercad.

Get your shapes lined up next to each other on the workplane.

Pause the video now, and when you come back, I will show you an example.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed giving Tinkercad a try.

So let's look at Izzy's example.

She has dragged the cuboid into the centre of her workplane, and right next to it she has put her sphere.

So, really good work there.

She was using the mouse, so she clicked and dragged to move both of her shapes into the workplane.

In the next part of the lesson, you are going to view 3D shapes from different perspectives.

Your perspective is your point of view.

This means the position from which you see an object.

Now let's look at an example of that.

Let's look at this teddy bear.

It's a very cheerful teddy bear.

When you look at the bear from the front, you will see it from this perspective.

If you looked at it from the back, you would see the bear from a different perspective.

Let's do a check here.

This is the same bear, but you are looking at it from a different perspective.

True or false?

Pause the video here to think about your answer.

Welcome back.

The answer was true.

Why?

The answer was true because this is the same bear.

One picture is taken from the front and the other is from the back.

You are seeing the bear from different perspectives.

Well done if you got that one right.

Now let's do another check.

This is the same bear, but you are looking at it from a different perspective.

True or false?

Pause the video here and have a good look.

Welcome back.

This time the answer was false.

Why?

The answer was false because the bear on the right is a different bear.

It is a different shape, its arm is in a different position, and its fur is a different colour.

Well done if you got that one right.

This table has two 3D shapes on it.

Now I want you to have a really good look at these shapes because I want you to make a quick sketch of these shapes from your perspective.

Remember that perspective means from what you can see, so which sides of the shapes can you see, for example.

You can pause the video here to work on that sketch.

Welcome back.

Well done for working on those sketches.

This is Izzy's sketch.

I want you to compare this sketch to your sketch.

What do you notice?

You can pause the video here to compare your sketch and Izzy's sketch.

Izzy has drawn the blue shape in front of the red shape.

Izzy was looking at the objects from the left, so she had a different perspective to you.

You should find that your sketch is different from Izzy's in that way.

To change the viewing angle on Tinkercad, click and hold on the ViewCube and move the mouse.

You can see an animation of that there.

You can do the same thing by right clicking, so you can right click, hold, and move the mouse on the workplane, and it will also change the viewing angle.

You can do it either way, just see which one you prefer.

Zooming on Tinkercad lets you see a closeup of an object or view your whole workplane.

You can zoom in and out using the plus and minus buttons on the toolbar.

This will be on the left of your screen.

All right, we're gonna do our task now on Tinkercad.

I want you to view your objects from the top, bottom, the left, the right, the front, and the back.

I want you to draw a quick sketch of the images to show what you can see from each of these perspectives.

So that is six sketches, but you can do them quite quickly.

And then I want you to share what you noticed about the different perspectives.

It's time to go and work on this task now.

You'll need somewhere to sketch and you'll need Tinkercad so you can view your objects from the six different perspectives.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed using Tinkercad and the view tools to look all the way around your objects from different perspectives.

This is my example of how the objects looked from the top, the bottom, the left, the right, the front, and the back.

Let's look at Alex's answer for this part of the task.

The question was, what do you notice?

And Alex says, "The 3D objects have not moved, but you can use the view tool to see the objects from a different perspective.

Well done for your hard work in this part of the task.

In the last part of the lesson, we will be moving 3D shapes relative to one another.

Now let's have a look at Tinkercad again.

To move an object, you first click on it to select it.

Once selected, the object will be highlighted in blue.

The handles are used for a different technique, so if when you see those pop-up, you will know the object is selected, but we're not going to be using those handles in this part of the lesson.

Once the object is selected, you can then move the object by clicking on the shape and dragging it, or you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Try both methods and see which one you prefer.

Let's do a check here.

Which of the following could you use to view the shapes in Tinkercad?

Is it A, the zoom tool, B, the view cube, or C, the shape's handles?

Pause the video and have a think about that.

Welcome back.

The answer is A and B.

You can use the zoom tool and the view cube to view your shapes, but the shape's handles are used for a different technique.

Well done if you got that one right.

Let's do another check.

Which of the following could you use to move a shape from one place to another in Tinkercad once it has been selected?

Is it A, click, drag, and drop, B, the view cube, or C, the arrow keys?

Pause the video here and have a think about that.

Welcome back.

The answer here is A and C.

You can move the shape using click, drag, and drop, or the arrow keys.

Well done for working on that question.

Okay, it's time for our final task of the lesson, and the first step is to move the cuboid and sphere to different places on your workplane, and then answer the following questions.

When you move objects, can you move them in three dimensions?

How easy is it to position objects where you want them to be?

And what can you do to help you position objects?

And finally, what happens when you put more than one object in the same place?

All right, it's time for you to go have a play on Tinkercad.

Move your cuboid and your sphere around, and then answer these questions.

You can pause the video here to go and work on that.

Welcome back.

Let's look at some answers to these questions.

So the first question was, when you move objects, can you move them in three dimensions?

So Laura has said, "By clicking on the shapes and dragging them, or by selecting the shapes and using the arrow keys, you can move shapes in only two dimensions on the workplane, width and depth.

" You would need another tool to lift and lower the objects.

That would be the height.

I wonder if you noticed that while you were trying out Tinkercad.

The second question says, how easy is it to position objects where you want them to be?

So you might have a different answer, but let's see what Laura says.

Laura says, "It's quite easy to move objects across the workplane, but depending on the perspective that objects are viewed from, it can be difficult to place them accurately.

I think I'll need to practise that skill.

" The next question was, what can you do to help you position objects?

So let's see what Sofia has to say.

Sofia says, "Changing the viewing angle can help you to position objects more accurately.

For small movements, zooming in on an object can help.

" That's a handy tip there.

I wonder if you also recognise that zooming in can help you move the object a small amount.

The next question says, what happens when you put more than one object in the same place?

Now that was a good investigation to experiment what happened there.

Sofia said, "The objects will overlap each other.

Sometimes if one object is smaller than the other, the larger object can completely cover up the smaller object.

You might not be able to see it, but the shape is still there.

" Well done for your effort in this part of the task.

Okay, we've come to the end of the lesson.

I'm going to summarise all of the learning that happened today during the "Introduction to 3D modelling.

" 2D shapes are flat and have height and width.

3D shapes have height, width, and depth.

In 3D modelling, computers are used to create and arrange shapes to represent real objects.

Viewing a 3D model from different perspectives allows users to understand its shape and structure more clearly.

Perspective means the position from which an object is seen.

Changing perspective using the view tool could help you to place objects more accurately.

Well done for all of your effort in this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed learning with me and I hope to see you again soon.