Animation is what makes games and stories come alive! In this lesson, you'll learn how to make characters walk smoothly, have conversations, and even dance. These skills are used in every animated movie and video game!
Understanding Costumes
Sprites can have multiple costumes - like different poses or expressions. Animation works by switching between costumes quickly!
1. Click on your sprite
2. Go to the 'Costumes' tab
3. You'll see the sprite has multiple costumes
4. Try clicking between them to see the difference
When we switch costumes fast, it creates the illusion of movement - just like a flipbook!
Walking Animation
Let's make a character walk across the screen:
when green flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (0)
repeat (40)
move (10) steps
next costume
wait (0.1) seconds
end
The 'next costume' block switches to the next costume, and 'wait 0.1 seconds' controls the animation speed. Try different wait times to see what looks best!
Making Characters Talk
Create a conversation between two characters:
Character 1:
when green flag clicked
say [Hello! What's your name?] for (2) seconds
wait (2.5) seconds
say [Nice to meet you!] for (2) seconds
Character 2:
when green flag clicked
wait (2) seconds
say [I'm Cody the Cat!] for (2) seconds
The 'wait' blocks make sure they take turns talking. Adjust the timing to make the conversation flow naturally!
Dance Party Animation
Let's make a character dance:
when green flag clicked
forever
turn right (15) degrees
wait (0.1) seconds
turn left (30) degrees
wait (0.1) seconds
turn right (15) degrees
change size by (10)
wait (0.1) seconds
change size by (-10)
wait (0.1) seconds
end
Add music: go to 'Sounds' tab, choose a song, then add 'play sound [music] until done' at the start!
You're now an animator! You learned about costumes, walking animations, dialogue, and dancing. These same principles are used by professional animators at Pixar and Disney. Try combining these techniques to create your own animated story. What story will you tell?
Z
Zara Patel
Age 9 · South Africa · Coding Builder
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