Everything about Sprites

Create a new Sprite

But first, what is a sprite?

A sprite is an object that does actions in a Scratch project. The default sprite in Scratch 2.0 is the Scratch Cat. You can import your own or choose from the Scratch library. Each sprite has its own scripts area, meaning it can have its own program. The look of the sprite can also be changed by using something called costumes. Costumes are kind of like clothes for the sprite. It can also be imported and edited in the paint editor (more on that later).

How to create a new sprite

The default sprite when you open Scratch is the Scratch cat. To import a new one, you must choose how you will import it to Scratch. There are four ways, one is to import from the Scratch library, another is to draw your own in the paint editor, the third way is to import from your computer and the last is to take a photo from the computer's camera.

Let's say you choose to import from the Scratch library. What you do is to click the first icon that looks like a person beside the New Sprite sign.

For future purposes, the second icon that looks like a paint brush means draw your own sprite. The third icon that looks like a folder means import from computer. The last icon that looks like a camera means take a picture.

After clicking it, a menu will pop up. You may choose anything you like then click OK. For this tutorial, I will be choosing Pico, since he looks cool.

After clicking OK, you will return to the Scratch project editor. You will see that the sprite that you picked is right in the middle of the stage in front of the Scratch cat. You may find it annoying to have the cat behind your sprite, so let's delete it.

How to delete a sprite

Click on the Scratch cat from the sprite list. It is most probably named sprite 1, I am not really sure if the name can change. Anyway, after clicking on it, you may right click on the icon which will bring up a menu. Click delete and the sprite will be deleted.

Costumes

Costumes are like "frames" or other appearances of a sprite. Sprites can change how they look like to a specific costume. Sprites must always have one costume.

Adding a Costume

First navigate to the costumes tab. 

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Scratch Environment

The Basic Skills Course

Scratch Environment 

Welcome to Scratch! The picture above shows how the Scratch environment looks like. We are going to familiarize ourselves with the environment by first earning what is each part called.

These are the main parts of Scratch. The stage, where all the action happens. The sprite list, where all the sprites are. The blocks palette, where all the blocks are. And finally, the scripts area, where all the program is located. Let's go deeper into each part!

Stage

This is the stage. It is where your program runs. Always remember that the stage can have its own program.

Sprite List

This is the sprite list. It is where all the sprites are (more on those later).

Blocks Palette

This is the blocks palette. It is where you will find all the blocks used in Scratch.

Scripts Area

This is the scripts area. There is a separate one for each sprite. This is where all the blocks are put to be used in programming.

Well done! Now you can move on the to next part of the course, All about Sprites!

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The Basic Skills Overview

Overview

This course is designed to familiarize you with the Scratch environment. It is very beginner friendly even if you have no previous knowledge. This course will take you through the blocks palette, sprites, paint editor and scripts area. After the course, there will be a whats next for those who want to learn more. The entire course will nay take about 10-15 minutes and then you will be very familiar with the Scratch environment.  Before starting the course you may also want to view about scratch. You may use the offline editor (download here) or the online editor (here)

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Table of Contents

Scratch environment
Everything about Sprites
Create a basic program

Whats next?

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About Scratch

Scratch is a programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations -- and share your creations with others around the world. In the process of designing and programming Scratch projects, young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. It is available for free at http://scratch.mit.edu

Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.

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