3D - Using A Tinkercad Model (Difficulty: 2)

CreatiCode

Key Topics Covered

Community models

Introduction

Tinkercad.com is a free website for creating 3D models. You can create your own models, or choose from millions of models shared by other users.

In this tutorial, you will learn to export a model from Tinkercad, and use it in the CreatiCode playground.

Step 1 - Sign in to Tinkercad

First, please sign in to tinkercad.com. If you don’t have an account, you can create a free account.

Step 2 - Search for a Model from the Gallery

Now please go to the “Gallery”, and search for a model you would like to use, such as “airplane”. Once you have found the model, click on it, and then click the “Copy and Tinker” button. A copy of that model will be created in your own folder. This is very similar to the “Remix” button in Scratch.

Step 3 - Modify the Model

You can use the tools in the model editor to change the model, such as changing the color or shape of any part of it or adding/removing some parts.

Note that you can use the left mouse button to select one or multiple shapes, and use the right mouse button to rotate the camera around the model. The middle mouse button can be used to zoom in or out of the camera.

For a simple example, here is how to change the color of the tail:

Step 4 - Rotate the Model to Face Forward in Home View

This is a critical step. To make sure the model can be loaded facing the forward direction in the CreatiCode playground, please rotate the model in Tinkercad so that it faces forward.

First, click the “Home view” button on the left, so that we can find the current facing direction of the model:

For the airplane, its head is facing the left. So we need to rotate it to face the forward direction (into the screen). Use the left mouse button to drag a big rectangle to select all parts of the model, then use the handle to rotate the model left or right.

Step 5 - Export the Model as a GLB File

When you are happy with the model, you can export it as a GLB file. The “GLB” 3D file format is similar to the “JPG” format for 2D images.

As shown, when you click “Export”, you will see the option to export a GLB file:

Step 6 - Upload and Share Your Community Model

Now we have the GLB file, we can upload it as a new “community model”, so that you and any other user on the CreatiCode platform can use it for free.

To do that, go to the “My Stuff” page, and click the “3D Models” category. Click “Share a New Model”, then select the GLB file you have exported in the previous step.

Step 7 - Fill in Model Information

Before uploading the model, you should fill in the name and category of the model. If the model is originally created by someone else, you need to add that information to the “Attribution” textbox.

For example, for the airplane model, we can go to the page of the original model, and copy the URL of this page into the attribution field.

Note that the upload may take a few minutes, depending on the file size and network transmission speed.

Step 8 - Use Your Community Model in a New Project

To test out your new model, you can create a new project with a 3D scene, then load the model using the “add community model” block:

Creative Ideas

You can use this method to share more interesting models on the CreatiCode platform. Please make sure you give credit to the original author of the model if it is not built by yourself.