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Get tooled up ready for this series!

Overview

Name of explainer: Get tooled up for this explainer series

Creative theme: Beginning 3D

Software used (for this explainer): N/A

User level: BEGINNER

This is explainer 1 of 8 in this series

This series includes:

Get tooled up for this explainer series
Navigate the Tinkercad interface, add 3d objects to the workplane and rotate & scale them
Create a coffee mug in Tinkercad
Export a coffee mug from Tinkercad in OBJ format
Navigate the Kenney Shape interface and edit built-in objects
‘Trace’ a Space Invader image in Kenney Shape to create a 3d object and export it in OBJ format
Create a new Unity project and import the objects created in Tinkercad and Kenney Shape
Import a free Unity coffee shop asset and place our 3D objects in the scene

The Software

This series of explainers uses three free / very low cost programs:

Tinkercad, to introduce 3d navigation, scaling, rotating and combining shapes and exporting 3d objects. Tinkercad is completely free and runs in your web browser. Get yourself a free account now and be ready to use it in explainers 2, 3 and 4!

The Tinkercad app displaying a purple mug with "Pixels Cool" text on it, surrounded by various design tools and geometric shapes on the right side.

Kenney Shape, for ‘tracing’ a 2d image and turning it into a 3d object and exporting it. At time of writing Kenney Shape costs less than £5 / $5. We’ll be creating and exporting a 3d Space Invader in explainers 5 and 6:

A screenshot of Kenney Shape design software displaying a pixel art image of a space invader character. The interface includes various tool options and a preview in the bottom left corner.

Unity for importing 3d objects, assembling them in a scene and applying simple textures and lighting. Unity is FREE for personal use. We’ll start assembling our Retro Cafe in explainers 7 and 8:

A screenshot from Unity with a sign reading "Retro Cafe Pixels.cool," accompanied by a coffee maker with two colorful mugs, one orange and one yellow, on a counter with other coffee-related items.

A screenshot from Unity showing green pixelated alien-like figures made of blocks on a black wall, with a "Retro Cafe" neon sign in the background.

3D Objects created in this series

Using a general theme of ‘Objects for a Retro Cafe’, once we’ve got to grips with Tinkercad we’ll use the program to create a coffee mug from scratch, complete with branding:

A Tinkercad 3D design software interface shows a yellow mug with the text "retro cafe" on it. Various 3D shape options are displayed on the right sidebar.

We’ll also make a ‘hole’ in the mug to create a ‘realistic’ design that could be 3d printed or used in 3d games:

A Tinkercad modeling software window displays a yellow mug with a handle and the text “Retro Cafe” embossed on it. Various basic shapes are shown on the right panel.

We’ll ‘trace’ a 2d image of a Space Invader in Kenney Shape to turn it into a 3d object…

A screenshot from Kenney Shape displaying a pixel art image of a space invader character. The interface includes various tool options and a preview in the bottom left corner.

…while having fun with ‘Grandpa’ Invader and Kenney Shape’s built-in retro objects:

A screenshot from Kenney Shape showing a white, blocky, 3D representation of an 8-bit video game alien character on a black background.

A screenshot from Kenney Shape of a spaceship with a predominantly triangular shape and color-coded pixel numbers displayed on a transparent background. The editing interface of a pixel art design tool is shown.

Finally, we’ll bring our saved objects into Unity and start blocking out a 3d cafe scene!

A screenshot from Unity showing colorful mugs with "retro cafe" text are stacked on a counter in front of a neon "Retro Cafe" sign in a stylish, modern café setting.

The pre-requisities

This is a BEGINNER explainer series. You need to have a basic knowledge of using Windows, downloading and installing software to follow along. Tinkercad and Kenney Shape are beginner-friendly programs. Unity is a complex application and is not recommended for new computer users. For introductory courses and videos for Unity, check out Unity Learn

Why would I do this?

We’ve selected Tinkercad as it’s completely free, well supported and offers progression into more sophisticated software including Fusion360 and Maya as your skills grow.

Kenney Shape takes an unusual approach to 3D modelling, by mirroring the building processes of ‘block’ systems such as Lego and Minecraft. It’s fun to get started with, particularly if you like working with stylised / low-poly 3D objects.

Unity is a powerful realtime 3d engine used to create professional renders, animation and 3d games. Along with Unreal, it has a huge online community of ready-made assets and users ready to help!

Let’s do it!

Click the play icon to watch this explainer video. Subtitles are available – Click the settings cog at the bottom right for options. You can watch this video full-screen by clicking the full-screen icon at the bottom right.

Good to know

As mentioned in the explainer, it is best to use a keyboard and a mouse as you start your journey into 3D. If you’re using a laptop, it’s tempting to use the laptop’s trackpad, but you’ll find this starts to slow you down as you learn to navigate 3D scenes. For this reason, we recommend purchasing a separate mouse…

A symmetrical, mirrored image of hands typing on an illuminated keyboard, creating an abstract visual effect.

Any modern mouse will work – It just needs standard left and right buttons and a central ‘wheel’, as below. There’s no need to spend more than 10 GBP / 10 USD unless you want to – Just check reviews before purchase. The explainers in this series assume you’re using a keyboard and mouse, so it’s worth the small investment 🙂

Close-up of a hand resting on a black computer mouse, with a keyboard in the background, on a wooden surface.

Where to next?

We’re just getting started! In the next explainer we’ll open Tinkercad and start learning the interface.

Remember, this is part of a series of explainers – Join us again for the other explainers in the series 🙂

Notes and updates

There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in April 2023. This page was last updated in September 2024.

We at pixels.cool are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Any links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the team. Modern software provides users with many ways to accomplish a task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to refer to multiple options. All computer users must run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise risks of data loss.