Using Tinkercad as an AR/VR Design Tool

 

At the start of this year we published a post on this blog about the purchase of a pair of end of line backdrops that were brought from a major chain and marked as line discontinued.   They featured a 'tropical island/volcano backdrop and a second design as shown left.

The cost for these items was NZD $2.00.    The measure 2.5m by 1.8m.

The first instance led itself to animals and some of the pre-made Tinkercad designs.  In this instance we wanted to push the design skills of the students but the intention was not for a 3D Printed model it the end, the intention was for Tinkercad to be used to design the figure and for it to be projected into place as part of the design but not to be physically printed.

We have previously published entire slideshows along this theme, accessed by clicking here.

Students needed to consider their ability to design something that would potentially seem authentic within the scene.

We tasked students with not trying to 'hide' something but think about scale and think about setting.

Once this had been designed in Tinkercad students then used the Tinkercad App and its AR/VR button to project their original image onto the scene.   There were a number of aspects to this design the students had to consider.

An example is shown left where the student has created a cloud that is designed to fit into the scene.  The brightness of the cloud makes it stand out relative to the other objects in the background.

The student wanted to then edit the photo to change the brightness of photo and in particular find a way of reducing the brightness of the cloud.

In the second example shown left the student wanted to introduce something that was implied to be there by the shape of the scene.   They created a cable and a hook by using the basic Tinkercad shapes and had it 

Again there is a subtle difference between the colour of the yellow from the cable connector to the hook to the other yellow present in the scene which the student was going to undertake to alter.

Scale was an important consideration for this task as well as the colour and shade of the additions created by the students.   In the further example shown left the student added a figure who is sitting on the crane which needed to be manipulated by the student so that it appeared to be the correct size - when you compare this image to the photo above you can clearly see the figure that has been added.

We completed this task in an afternoon session with a whole class of students who were working individually (as we are luckily a 1:1 iPad School) however it could also be completed as a group activity.   As it was completed without the need for any physical object that came as a result the results could be completed and it was instantly available, instead of having to wait for a 3D Printing process to be completed.   Completed independently by eight year old students.

AR/VR Onto a Pre-made Background

The backdrop featured left and detailed in a previous post as possible the best 'value' for money purchase for a classroom ever has been put to use via Tinkercad, the Tinkercad App and its ability to project images using the AR/VR button.
 

Tinkercad has a number of pre generated object available from the main interface, including several which the students identified as suitable for projection in the scene shown.

One of the challenges for the students was the fact that the project image tends to be quite bright and can stand out.   When the background is bright and has a strong image like it did last year when we had the Christmas Festive Background Challenge in this instance the students needed to consider what elements that they could use to change the setting.

The crocodile proved to be a popular choice - which in some cases was multiplied several times.

This allowed the students to experiment with the placing and composition.   This will be uploaded to Facebook and a number of examples will be shown.

Using Resources to Combine with AR/VR

 

3D Printing and Technology design has been an engaging and successful tool to use with the students.    As we been evolving projects and ideas we are always looking for items that would work in conjunction with the technology.  An obvious example from 2025 was the Dolls House Project which combined a physical object with a strong virtual component.  Another was the 'eyes' which became the 'cyclops' challenge which led to the creation of an original storage project.

Some of the items located to use like this has come from 'bargain shops' or second hand shops - like the toy farm that is being used for 'AR/VR project work in 2026.

Just this week, in the holidays in New Zealand at a large franchise store we located another item from the 'clearance' section that should prove very useful with the students this year.   We found two large backdrops.   These backdrops are themed 'Island' with a tropical volcano scene and 'Construction'.   The scale of the these backdrops are large - they measure 1.8m high and are 2/5m wide.  As a backdrop the intention is to put them on a classroom wall and then have the students create something to be placed in front of the backdrop and AR/VR it into place using the students iPad and the Tinkercad app.    The price to purchase both backdrops (it was clearance) was $2.00 each.