🐱 4. Making It Fun

🎮🎨 Learn to make your Scratch games and programs pop by changing costumes 🎭, adding backdrops 🖼️, and bringing in sounds 🔊. With these elements, your programs will come alive! 🌟

Changing Costumes

Did you know that sprites have different costumes? When you hear the word “costume,” you’re probably just thinking about different outfits. But in Scratch, a costume can also mean a different body position. To see a sprite’s costumes, just click on the Costumes tab above your code menu.

Check out this bear! It has a costume that shows her on all fours, and it has another costume where it rises up onto her hind legs. The bear can switch between these costume options in your script.

🐻 To return to the bear’s script editor, click the Code tab 📝 next to Costumes. Use switch costume to (__) block to program bear to start on all fours, wait one second, then stand up 🕒. Remember, wait lets us see changes; without them, changes happen too quickly! ⏳

🎨 Return to Costumes tab to make changes. Use “bear-b” costume, select right arm, rotate to make her wave! 🐻👋

🖌️ Use drawing tools to add or erase parts and change colors of bear’s picture in Costumes tab. Click blue cat icon to access various options: choose costume from library, paint, surprise for random costume, upload costume, or use camera for instant costume. Same options apply for adding sprites, accessed by clicking blue cat icon under stage. 🐻🎨

Choosing a Backdrop

🖼️ Backdrops are like stage costume changes! Choose from castle, soccer field, or outer space backgrounds by clicking backdrop icon below “Stage” on bottom right of screen. 🏰⚽🚀

This will pull up the backdrop library, which is loaded with lots of options. Check out all the places your sprites can visit!

🎨 For backdrops, you can draw or upload pictures. Change them with switch backdrop to (__) block, like switching costumes for sprites. 🖼️🔄 Show Colorful City backdrop for five seconds, then switch to Concert backdrop as instructed in the code. 🏙️🎵

Sound Effects

🎬🎶 Be your own director in coding with limitless sound options! Use play sound () until done block for one-time effects like a quacking duck, and start sound () block for continuous background music. 🦆🔊

🎵 Click arrow to choose pre-set sound like “pop” or explore more in sound library. Access library by clicking Sounds tab next to Costumes, then sound icon at bottom left of screen. 🎶📚

Once you have picked a sound from the sound library, it will load into your Sounds tab. Click back to the Sounds tab, and your selections will be listed just like how your sprite costumes are listed.

🎙️ When choosing a sound, notice “Record” option to record your own voice or sounds! New recordings will appear in Sounds tab, alongside library sounds. 📚 To access libraries for sprites, costumes, backdrops, or sounds, click icons like cat or backdrop at bottom of screen. 🐱🖼️