Author: Sarah Collins

Christmas with Tinkercad Codeblocks

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My biggest adventure this year was moving. Not a move across town, but a move to a different State over 500 miles away. I cannot recommend moving. While I was sitting in front of the TV at night, during my breaks from unpacking boxes and organizing, I decided to relax with some coding in Tinkercad Codeblocks.

The first thing I coded was a Christmas Wreath:

First, I coded one holly leaf with all the details. Then I copied and rotated each leaf along the x, y and z axis.

The rotation around the x and y axis is random, so the wreath will look a little different every time the program in run.

You can copy and run the program on Tinkercad Codeblock: https://www.tinkercad.com/codeblocks/2ZZut9sL86G

The second Christmas design I created with code block, was Santa. https://www.tinkercad.com/codeblocks/hPyeQnEmdV5

He was coded from the feet up. The beard is randomly generated, so it will look different every time the program is run.

After you create a design using Codeblocks, you can export the design as a Shape and use it in Tinkercad 3D Design.

The Santa may have looked better if I used 3D Design, but he does have a level of cuteness to him.

2022 Nebraska State Fair

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I am usually out of town when the when the Nebraska State Fair rolls around. This year I made it back into town just in time for its very last day. The Nebraska State Fair isn’t just about the carnival rides, its mainly about 4H and FFA. There is livestock, food, crafts, woodworking, quilt and many more competitions. There are food vendors and other vendors displaying their merchandise, entertainers, and concerts. Here are some pictures from the fair:

Beautiful Painting of a Horse
13 Year of Noah Anderson made a Saddle.
Quilt by Jorja Piper
World Largest Overall
Model Railroad
Such a pretty cow
Rides
Ummmmmm

Amarillo and Cadillac Ranch

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Amarillo is located in the Texas Panhandle along the historic Route 66. They are known for Palo Duro Canyon (America’s Second biggest canyon) and Cadillac Ranch. Amarillo is also the Helium Captial of the World.

Due to rain, I was not able to visit Palo Duro Canyon. There is a nice, pleasant walking path around the hospital’s complex lake.

Near the lake was Helium Monument:

Cadillac Ranch is located on the west side of Amarillo. It is opened 24 hours a day. The biggest surprise was the layers and layers of paint on the vehicles.

Railroad Town – Mayor’s House

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After I completed the Town Hall in Tinkercad, I knew I wanted a house for the Town’s Mayor. For months, I thought about what I wanted in the house. For example, I wanted a porch or balcony for the mayor to stand on the talk with the citizens of the town.

My inspirations come from looking at old buildings. All the pictures I saw for “Mayor House” was big opulent mansions that just did not fit my town. It wasn’t until I travel to Aurora, NE and visited their museum, that I found the style of the house I wanted for the town. Behind the museum was the Bate’s Houses. Its architecture and age was exactly what I wanted in my design. It was painted blue, but I wanted something special. I decided to color house pink with brown roofing to make it different from all other buildings in my town.

I placed the wooden path in front of the house, because the mayor’s house is located on Main Street in my Railroad Town. I placed a picket fence around the yard. I wanted the fence curved to add some character to the design.

The mayor’s house needed a flower garden. I create one rose and stem; then to create the bush I duplicated it, changed the angle, rotation and position.

One detail that everyone will probably overlook is the gate. On the gate it has a latch and hinges that would actually function if they were 3D printer

You can view this design in 3D on Tinkercad at this link: Mayor’s House

Railroad Town – Town Hall

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Using Tinkercad I have designs buildings to create a Railroad Town. It started in 2016 when I designed a Train Engine and related train cars. They were all based off the early train designs, when trains ran on coal and steam. Two of the building I designed for my town are, a Saloon and a Sheriff Office (a.k.a. a jail). If anyone was going to spend any time in the jail, and if the town kept growing, they would a Town Hall to provide administration.

The Town Hall often had a clock tower and consisted of numerous details. I incorporated these details by adding large columns and lots of windows.

The clock tower I frame in gold and set the time to after the start of the workday. I duplicated the clock and placed it on all four sides.

Clock Tower

Town Halls, in the Railroad Town days, had a bell to signal the town. The building appears to be only one story, and if I put the bell in a tower, it would look out of proportion. Therefore, I placed the bell on the stone platform.

Town Hall Bell

All of the buildings for the Railroad Town are based on the same scale. The doors and windows are approximately the same height. You can see and copy the 3D version at the Town Hall at this link: Town Hall. Sometimes, you learn more about how something is designed by deconstructing it.

Creating and Using Shapes in Tinkercad

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The way I design in Tinkercad changed on July 20, 2022, when I learned that I could create shapes from my 3D Designs. For a lot of my designs such as the Cow Depot, Saloon, Mill, Barber Shop, Houmas House… anytime I wanted to reuse a shape I would save it out as an STL file and import a copy back into the design. Now, if the design is not to complicated, I can save it as a shape in Tinkercad and use it over, and over, and over again.

Since I am so excited about this feature, I wrote an instructable on Creating and Using Shapes in Tinkercad.

Here are some of the new shapes I have created:

The Chicken: This design answers the question of which came first, the Chicken or the Egg. The answer is the egg. Because only egg shapes were used to create the chicken, except when I used the cubic hole to cut the egg in half.

The Sheep: To create the sheep, first I made a fluff ball and saved it out as a shape and used the fluff ball to create the sheep. I also used the fluff ball to make a tail from my bunny.

The Mouse: There is nothing really special about the mouse, except a little cuteness.

I have created a Youtube video on Creating a Shape in Tinkercad.

As I was typing this, I realized some of my buildings are not covered in the blog. So, more posts about Tinkercad are coming.

Creating an Umbrella using Tinkercad

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I am currently working on two projects in Tinkercad. One of the projects is huge and needs lots of parts. During the planning for this big project, I decided to create an umbrella. Not only did I create the umbrella, I also wrote instructions on how create an umbrella in Tinkercad. The instructions are available at on Instructables: Creating a Colorful Umbrella

The process is simple:

Add a Cone Shape
Duplicate the Shape
Change the Colors
Create a Hole
Create a Handle
Align the shapes
Add a little flare. You have an umbrella.

Okay, maybe it is simple for me. The video on how I created the umbrella is available on my YouTube channel.

How to Make Googly Eyes in Tinkercad

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According to Wikipedia Googly Eyes are: “Googly eyes, or wiggle eyes, are small plastic crafting items used to imitate eyeballs. Googly eyes traditionally are composed of a white plastic or card backing covered by a clear, hard-plastic shell, encapsulating a black plastic disk. The combination of a black circle over a white disk mimics the appearance of the sclera and pupil of the eye to humorous effect. The inner black disk is allowed to move freely within the larger clear plastic shell, which makes the eyes appear to move when the googly eyes are tilted or shaken.”

Tinkercad has some amazing 3D Designs created by some talented people. Looking at these designs, you can’t help to say “Wow!” Instead of trying for the “Wow” factor, I went with the “Fun” factor. Googly Eyes are fun, but they can also be spooky. It all depends on how they are used.

Instructions are available on Instructables on how to create Googly Eyes in Tinkercad and place them on existing designs. Link: Creating Googly Eyes with Tinkercad

Sunflower Created the Tinkercad Codeblocks

Previously, I created a sunflower using Tinkercad Codeblocks. (You may copy the Codeblock Sunflower file.) This would be a good design for the Googly Eye instructions. I exported as a Shape to be used in 3D Design.

Googly Eyes in Tinkercad

I created a new design and place the sunflower into the design, by selecting the shape from Your Creations on the Shape Panel.

The four shapes used for Googly Eyes

Next, I created the Googly Eyes. These Googly Eyes consist of 4 shapes: three half spheres and one sphere.

Sunflower with Googly Eyes

I moved the resized and moved the Googly Eyes into position. It looked so strange with just the eyes, so I created it a mouth.

Smiley Sunflower with Googly Eyes

The mouth is a flatten sphere hole that was group with the sunflower. The Googly Eyes Sunflower file is not available for copying, because creating your own is usually fun and will be a learning experience. See the instructions or watch the videos to create you own.

There are two designs available for copying: Shape Bots and Googly Eyes on Shapes

Shape Bots with Googly Eyes

Googly Eyes on Shapes

Notice how the Googly Eyes are different shapes and sizes, and looking in various directions. How fun creating your own Googly Eyes.