Students’ Attitudes and Competences in Modeling Using 3D Cartoon Toy Design Maker

Making Education More Important Than Ever With the rapid growth of education and information technology, there has been an increased emphasis on maker education, which places an emphasis on cultivating students' creative thinking and problem-solving abilities. This paper describes our efforts to develop a 3D cartoon toy design curriculum system that is both entertaining and collaborative, and that allows students to engage in creation-based learning while having fun.

There are several 3D modelling software packages available, as well as a series of 3D cartoon toy creation classes. Student cognitive qualities and hands-on operating habits were taken into consideration when developing the former; the toy design classes contain activities such as hand-painting, computer modelling, pattern creation, craftsmanship, and creative display. This 3D cartoon toy creation course was initially adopted in one kindergarten and two primary schools in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China that is known for its silk production. Students who took part in the course were evaluated on their knowledge and skills following completion of the course. The findings reveal that (1) younger students' initial attitudes toward learning 3D cartoon toy creation were mostly affected by their personal interests, but senior students placed a greater emphasis on bringing their ideas to life through the use of technical tools.

The use of 3D design technology has been intensively investigated in both academia and industry over the last few decades. Users can create extremely complicated and realistic 3D models with the help of the software.

While there is some student-friendly software available, the most of it has been designed for expert designers, making the procedures excessively hard and demanding for students. As of right now, there are only a few modelling tools available for students, such as Tinker and 123D Design. Although this software streamlines processes, it fundamentally follows the same workflow as professional software, which means that design thinking cannot be represented as quickly and effectively as it could otherwise.

Sketching is an important technique in product design for thinking about and communicating design ideas, and it is typically the initial stage in the development process [21]. In comparison to traditional modelling approaches, sketch-based modelling streamlines the process, making it easier for students to create 3D models while also providing them with an engaging and hands-on 3D Modeling Services used in creation tool. By utilising the information gathered from the image, we are able to create a fast and intuitive sketch-based modelling method that is both accurate and intuitive. It is possible to replace artificial selection with automatic alignment and deformation, which allows us to make better use of the input photos and makes it easier for students to create individualised models. In this course, students learn how to design and construct cartoon toys using self-developed 3D design tools, as well as painting and crafting techniques. A few of the course's main components are designing and drawing cartoon images (hand-painting), building toy models in 3D space using modelling software (computer modelling), unfolding 3D toy models into 2D patterns using pattern design software (pattern design), cutting pieces according to 2D patterns, hand-sewing and decorating cartoon toys (handcraft), and finally performing with cartoon toys (creative display). In this course, 3D modelling is a process that takes you from 2D to 3D, pattern designing is a process that takes you from 3D to 2D, and sewing the toy is a process that takes you from 2D to 3D once more. Students' grasp of the link between 2D and 3D is furthered by the two cycles of transformation from 2D to 3D and from 3D to 2D that they undergo. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the 3D cartoon toy design course, this study employed a mixed-method research design that incorporated data collected from a sample of students and their teachers [22]. The quantitative data collection consisted primarily of students' responses to an attitude survey, as well as 3D modelling knowledge evaluation and frequency of behaviour observation, whereas the qualitative data collection consisted primarily of teacher interviews and daily records, among other things. In the course of qualitative data collecting, teachers' perspectives, feedback, and experiences were taken into consideration, which could not have been collected exclusively through quantitative methods. Because there were many unstable factors in the data collection from the sample population of students [23], the data collection method was more specific and simplified, and information was primarily obtained through one-to-one question and answer sessions between researchers and students, as well as classroom behaviour observation and observations of students. This 3D toy design course was conducted in one kindergarten and two primary schools in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China that is home to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. An overall total of 93 students took part in this investigation. The students that took part in the study ranged in age from 6 to 12 years, with an average age of 8.7 years. Students from both public and private schools participated in this activity.