Lesson video

Hello everybody, it's Mrs. Franzsen here.

Welcome to Computing.

It's really good to see you in my lesson today.

We are going to be doing some work with 3D design software today.

Are you ready? Then let's get started.

This lesson is called, "Make Your Own Name Badge", and by the end of this lesson you will be able to recognise that objects can be combined in a 3D model.

Let's look at our keywords for today.

Now, our keywords are really important, because these words are going to be used all the way through the lesson.

So when I go through the keywords now with the definitions, I want you to listen really carefully so that when they come up, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

So our first keyword today is rotate.

Rotate means to turn around an axis.

Our second keyword is duplicate.

Duplicate means to make a copy of something.

Our final keyword is group.

Group, in this lesson, means to combine objects into a single object.

In the first part of the lesson, you will be rotating objects in three dimensions.

You can add text from the basic shape side panel in Tinkercad.

So you will see this panel on the right-hand side of your screen and the text icon is down there near the bottom.

To add text, drag a text box onto the work plane.

When you do that, it will look like this.

It always starts by default with this type of font and this colour.

You can change the text by deleting the word text and typing in a different word or words in the text inspector.

So the text inspector will be on the right-hand side of your screen and it will look like this.

You can see text is listed at the top, one of the top fields there, the text in all capitals, you can remove that and put your own words in.

When you type in your words, the text will change on the work plane.

So I've changed it here to 3D model and in the example it says 3D model.

Alex has got a question.

Alex says, "How do you rotate objects?" There is something in this picture that we use to rotate an object in Tinkercad.

Pause the video here and have a think about that.

The three curved double-headed arrows around text enable you to rotate it in three dimensions.

So you can see the three curved double-headed arrows here.

Depending on the angle the text is viewed from, the rotate handles are not always easy to see.

So have a look at my example image here.

You might be able to see some of the rotate handles, but have a look at this one.

So from this perspective, this arrow is difficult to see.

To see a handle more clearly, change the viewing angle using the view cube.

So this is how you change the perspective.

You can click and drag on the view cube or you could use the right click on your mouse to change to another perspective to see the other side of your text.

So now in this new angle, the arrow is much easier to see.

Let's do a check here.

This is a true or false.

You can rotate an object using the view cube.

Pause the video here to think about your answer.

The answer is false.

Why? The view cube only shows you the object from a different perspective.

To rotate the shape, you need to use one of the three curved double-headed arrows.

Well done if you got that one right.

Oh, Izzy's got a spot of bother here.

Izzy says, "My shape has gone under the work plane.

What can I do?" Now, this might have happened to you when you use Tinkercad.

Sometimes you can move the shape, accidentally even, under the work plane.

You can see the blue work plane there and her text has gone right through it.

When you rotate an object vertically using the curved handle, some of it may end up under your work plane.

You use the D key on the keyboard to quickly sit the object back onto the work plane.

So that's a really useful shortcut to remember.

That D key will pop that model back up.

You can also lift it back on top of the work plane using the cone-shaped handle.

So the cone-shaped handle is how we change the height of an object.

So you can drag it back up using that handle.

Let's do a check here.

To quickly sit the object back on top of the work plane, which key can you press on the keyboard? Is it U, D or B? Pause the video here to think about the answer.

Welcome back, did you remember which key? The answer is the D key.

The D key will pop the object back on top of the work plane.

Well done if you got that one right.

When lifting objects, the distance between the object and the work plane is shown.

You can see this in my example here.

The circled number shows you the distance between the object and the work plane.

A minus figure means that the object is below the work plane.

So that's a good clue.

If things were not lining up correctly, that could be why.

Okay, it's time for your first task of today.

Step number one, add some text to the work plane.

Then I want you to practise rotating the text using the three curved double-headed arrows.

After that, I want you to reflect on the activity.

Which parts were more challenging? Now, for number three, people might have different answers and that's okay.

It's just good to think about the kind of work that you're doing in Tinkercad and which parts are challenging for you.

Off you go and work on that task and when you come back, I'll show you an example.

Welcome back.

Let's look at Laura's example.

So you can see she has got the text here and she has rotated it into four different configurations.

So each one of her 3D model texts are facing different directions.

They've all been rotated.

Let's have a look at the reflection on this rotation activity.

Izzy says, "I found the rotation activity quite tricky.

I haven't worked in 3D on a computer before, so it was good to practise the skill." Sophia says, "When I used the view cube, I noticed that some of my text was below the work plane." And Alex says, "It was really useful knowing I could quickly sit the shape on the work plane using the D key." So you might have some different reflections and it's really good if you can to have shared those with other people so we can all build on our learning together.

Well done for all of your hard work during this task.

In the second part of the lesson, you will be duplicating 3D objects.

You can add text and shapes to the work plane.

You can also add hand-drawn shapes.

Which of these is drawn by hand? Have a look at my example image.

You can pause the video here and have a think about that.

Welcome back.

The answer is the at symbol.

So the blue a sign, the at symbol is drawn by hand.

You can tell it's drawn by hand as the lines are not smooth and it looks a bit uneven as if someone has drawn this with a mouse.

To draw an object by hand, find the scribble tool in the shapes panel, then drag it onto the work plane.

When you do this, the work plane will switch to a 2D view.

This is almost like a top down view or a bird's eye view.

It lets you have a really good perspective to draw the shape.

You can draw directly onto it using the tools.

So the tools are down at the bottom here.

We have got an undo, a redo, a draw and an erase button as well.

A 3D preview of your object will show up in the top right corner.

To make a solid shape, make sure that the outline is coloured in using the pencil tool.

When you have finished, click on the done button, but if you'd like to try again or draw something else, then if you click on the clear button, it will clear the page of the scribble tool and let you start again.

If you want to use an object more than once, you can duplicate it.

You can see here in my example, I've duplicated the at symbol.

In Tinkercad, duplicate means to both copy and then paste an object right away.

Okay, we're gonna do a check here.

I've got three words and I've got three definitions and I want you to match them up.

I'm going to read the keywords and then I'm going to read the definitions.

So we've got duplicate, copy and paste and our definitions are inserting a previously copied image, temporarily storing a copy of an image and making a copy that is placed instantly on top of the original.

So these are quite similar, so think carefully here.

Pause the video and when you come back, I'll show you the answers.

Welcome back, let's have a look at the answers here.

Duplicate means to make a copy that is placed instantly on top of the original.

Copy means to temporarily store a copy of an image and paste means to insert a previously copied image.

Well done for your hard work on that question.

Select the shape that you want to duplicate and then choose the duplicate and repeat icon.

You can see it here in the menu.

It looks kind of like a bunch of sticky notes all together and it's labelled duplicate and repeat.

You can also use this keyboard shortcut, CONTROL + D.

Let's see what's happening here.

Alex says, "I clicked on duplicate and repeat, but it looks as if nothing has happened." And Laura says, "Don't worry.

When you duplicate and repeat an object, it will look that way at first." So remember, duplicate works a bit differently in this programme compared to other programmes.

It is a copy and a paste at the same time.

When you choose duplicate and repeat, it might look as if nothing has happened.

The duplicated object will be placed exactly on top of the original object, so you'll need to drag the selected object to one side to reveal both of the objects.

Let's do a check here.

Which of these tools allows you to duplicate and repeat an object? Is it A, B, or C? You can pause the video here to think about your answer.

Welcome back, the answer is A.

A is the duplicate and repeat button.

Well done for thinking about that question.

Okay, it's time for your task now.

This is our second task.

In this task, I want you to draw an object by hand using the scribble tool.

Then I want you to duplicate the object three times.

I want you to edit each of the objects in different ways.

For example, you could resize, lift or lower, rotate or change the colour.

And then once you're done, I want you to explain how the duplicate and repeat tool compares to the copy and paste tools.

It's time for you to pause the video here, go and work on this task and when you come back, I'll show you some examples.

Welcome back.

You can see that Alex has duplicated and repeated his at sign.

He has changed the colour of one.

He has resized one, he has rotated another.

So he has really experimented with all of those tools.

For the reflection part of the task, let's see what Sophia says.

Duplicate and repeat is a little bit like copy and paste in one.

It copies the selected shape and places an exact copy on top of the original.

Well done for all of your hard work in this task.

Let's look at the third part of the lesson where you are going to be grouping 3D objects.

In this part of the lesson, you'll be combining your skills to create a name badge in Tinkercad.

Here is Alex's example of that.

The name badge will have three parts.

First, it will have a base plate.

So the base plate is the main shape of your name badge.

To make your base plate, you can choose your base plate from the basic shapes panel.

So it could be one of these basic shapes.

What shape will you choose? Next, you will get your name onto the name badge.

You could use the text object or you could do it hand-drawn with the scribble tool.

Alex has used the text object there to type his name in as a 3D model.

You can change the font style in the text inspector.

So in the second field where it says font, you can change the font there and it will display your text in a variety of different fonts.

The last thing you need in your name badge design is a decoration.

So this is a duplicated shape or a hand-drawn object.

So Alex has duplicated the star shapes to decorate his name badge.

Let's do a check here.

There are three things you need to include when making your name badge, can you name them? Pause the video and have a think about your answer.

Okay, let's see what you remember.

These are the three things you need to include when making your name badge.

We need the base plate, then the text, which could be a text object or a hand-drawn scribble tool object, and then the duplicated shape or hand-drawn object to decorate.

Well done if you got that one right.

Once you have created your name badge, you may want to resize it or rotate it.

It can be helpful to group the objects before doing this so that you don't need to rotate or resize each individual object.

Select the objects you want to group by clicking and dragging a box around them.

So Alex clicked and dragged around all of the models on his work plane.

Once the objects are selected, click on the group icon.

So this is how the group button looks.

It's kind of like a square and a circle together.

They're making a group.

So this is the group button.

Once you have grouped your objects, then try moving, rotating and resizing them.

Your objects should all move together as if they were a single object.

Oh, let's see what's happened here.

Alex says, "The name plate has turned blue and I've lost my original colours." Oh dear.

Well, Sophia says, "That's just because the objects are grouped.

You can ungroup the objects." So this is normal, so don't panic if it happens to you.

To return your design back to your chosen colours, ensure that the objects are still selected or click and drag around them again to make another box around them and then choose ungroup.

So Alex was able to do that and he's ungrouped his design.

Let's do a check here.

Which of the following icons lets you group multiple objects together? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here to have a think about that.

Welcome back, the correct answer is C.

C is the group icon.

If you're looking at B, B is the ungroup icon.

So grouping is for C and then when you want to ungroup again, it's B.

Well done if you've got that one right.

Okay, it's time to assemble your name badge.

So you will need the base plate, choose a shape and drag it onto the work plane.

Then it's the name.

You can use a text object or draw it by hand.

And then you need to decorate.

So choose a shape or draw an object by hand, customise it, that means change it, change the colour or resize it and then duplicate it at least once.

Once your name badge is assembled, I want you to group your objects and resize your name badge.

Then I want you to rotate your name badge to present it to someone else.

And then you can ungroup at the end to reveal your chosen colours.

It's time for you to go and work on your name badge.

You can build it all up, group it, rotate it and then you can share it with someone else.

You can pause the video here and I'll be here when you get back.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed creating your name badges.

This is Izzy's example here.

You can see she's chosen the heart-shaped base plate.

She's added her name as text and then she has duplicated the star shape for decoration and once she built it, she grouped the objects together so that she could rotate it all so that it is standing upright like it is now.

And then at the end, she ungrouped so that she could show her design to her partner.

Well done for all of your hard work in this task.

You have worked really hard today.

Well done for your excellent effort.

I'm going to summarise our learning for this lesson, "Make Your Own Name Badge".

3D objects can be manipulated.

To rotate a shape, you need to select it and use the curved double-headed arrows.

You can use an object more than once by duplicating it.

You can group objects in order to move, rotate or resize them altogether.

You can then ungroup objects to return them to their original colours.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today and I hope to see you again soon.