I’ve found myself in an interesting position during these recent workshops. On the one hand, I have a pretty strong technical background, but on the other hand, my I’m not great at creating visual art, so I definitely struggled a bit with the virtual object. I agree with what a lot of people have been saying regarding Tinkercad, in that it’s a great, user-friendly application, but that a lot of the shapes are really rigid, and it’s tough to manipulate them to create free-flowing shapes. Unity seems far more complicated (understandably), but I’m excited to really get started with it. I think that the prefabs will definitely make the process easier, and I appreciate that we’re taking a seemingly more beginner-friendly approach to creating our virtual reality landscapes. We’re combining technology and art, which is honestly something I’m really glad I’m getting to experience before I graduate.
3 thoughts on “Thoughts on Tinkercad and Unity”
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I also found myself struggling at times with creating smooth, curved figures on Tinkercad. The program’s accessibility is wonderful, though, and I’m glad that I got a chance to play with it. I totally agree with the connection you made between technology & art. Part of my enthusiasm about attending Hamilton is the chance to study what I want- that is, not science/tech/math based courses. However, after enjoying my experience with Tinkercad, I introduced it to my roommate- it’s rare that she, a CS and Econ major, and I, a cinema & lit student- get equally excited in something academically.
I’m interested to see how my level of computer competency will be challenged (and perhaps improved) with Unity in the coming weeks 🙂
I had the same reaction to Tinkercad. The simplicity worked both for and against it. It made it very easy to make simple objects, but tough to manipulate them into anything too complex. I think, however, it was an important first step for those of us not used to using these visual art programs. After using Tinkercad, I’m excited to get started in Unity. I would have been very intimidated just jumping into Unity, but the way the class has built toward it, by showing us Tinkercad and introducing us slowly to the VR machines here at Hamilton first, has given us a good background for Unity. Now we have a full array of programs and options to help us work on the final project. I also agree that this is some of the most fun and unique stuff I’ve learned at Hamilton. I’d never used VR in any context before this.
I have the opposite background from you, in that I’m well-acquainted with physical mediums of art but have almost zero familiarity with virtual programs and environments where you can build a sort of world. While I agree that Tinkercad does pose a few problems, both with the lack of more natural, curved shapes and with the slightly user-unfriendly conception of depth and movement in the work plane, I think it’s really cool that it does function for a range of people with differing technological prowess. I think Tinkercad served to really introduce me to creating these virtual objects, and familiarize myself with maneuvering objects, altering depths and heights, and making sure the objects were cohesive from all angles, and has given me the necessary experience to work within Unity.