Exploring Advanced Pen Block Techniques in Scratch: Circle Art, Triangular Designs, and More

Welcome back to our Scratch programming journey! In our third installment on pen extensions, we’ll dive into more advanced drawing techniques. This blog will guide you through creating intricate circular and triangular art, filling circles, and cloning sprites. Let’s explore these creative possibilities!

1. Recap and Introduction

In our previous posts, we covered basic shapes and artistic designs using pen blocks in Scratch. We learned how to draw triangles, octagons, and circles, and even created colorful flowers. Today, we’ll build on that foundation by exploring new art forms and advanced techniques.

2. Creating Circular Art

To make stunning circular art, follow these steps:

• Initialize: Clear the screen and set your pen size and color.
• Draw the Circular Art:
  • Use a repeat block to draw the circle multiple times (24 times in this example).
  • Each time, turn the pen by 15 degrees to create a dynamic and layered circular pattern.
  • Set the pen to different colors for each iteration to enhance the visual appeal.

Here’s how to implement this in Scratch:

1. Set Up: Start with the when green flag clicked event block.
2. Clear and Set Pen: Use erase all, set the pen size, and choose colors.
3. Draw: Repeat the circle-drawing process 24 times, changing the angle by 15 degrees each time.

This method will produce a beautiful, multi-colored circular art piece.

3. Designing Triangular Art

To create an intricate triangular pattern:

• Draw Triangles:
  • Create a single triangle using the repeat block with three iterations and turning by 120 degrees each time.
  • Repeat the process to create multiple triangles, adjusting the number of repetitions to create complex designs.

In Scratch:

1. Initialize: Use the when green flag clicked block, then clear and set the pen.
2. Draw Triangles: Repeat the process of drawing triangles and turning by 120 degrees.
3. Create Patterns: Repeat this triangle-drawing process multiple times (e.g., six triangles) to build a larger pattern.

4. Filling a Circle

To fill a circle with color:

• Initialize: Start with the when green flag clicked event, clear the screen, and set your pen color and size.
• Draw and Fill:
  • Draw the circle using the repeat block with 36 iterations (or adjust as needed).
  • Gradually increase the pen size in each iteration to fill the circle.

Steps in Scratch:

1. Set Up: Use erase all, set pen size, and choose color.
2. Draw Circle: Use a repeat block to draw the circle, adjusting the pen size incrementally.
3. Fill: Repeat the circle drawing process with increasing pen sizes to fill it completely.

5. Cloning Sprites

To create clone effects:

• Clone a Sprite:
  • Use the stamp block to create clones of a sprite.
  • Move and stamp multiple times to create a visual effect of repeated images.

In Scratch:

1. Initialize: Use the when green flag clicked block, then clear the screen.
2. Stamp: Use the stamp block to clone the sprite, move it, and stamp again.
3. Repeat: Add wait blocks between stamping to create a visual effect of the sprite moving or fading away.

Conclusion

With these advanced pen block techniques, you can create intricate designs, colorful patterns, and dynamic visual effects in Scratch. Practice these methods to enhance your projects and explore new creative possibilities. Stay tuned for more tutorials and keep experimenting with your Scratch creations!