Scratch For Kids For Dummies

Book description

Scratch is a fast, fun, and easy way to get started in computer science

Do you want to make cool games, impressive animations, and become an all-around Scratch super star? You've come to the right place! Packed with full-color photos and easy-to-follow instructions, Scratch For Kids For Dummies makes it easy to get started—even if you've never attempted computer programming or coding. Inside, you'll find out how to design and develop your own games, create amazing animations, interact with the online Scratch community, and much more!

There's no doubting that Scratch is fun, but it also helps you learn to think creatively, reason symmetrically, and work collaboratively—essential skills for life in the 21st century. Best of all, the software is completely free and runs right in your web browser! With the help of this down-to-earth and friendly guide, you'll quickly discover how to choose from a library of characters, backgrounds, and props, draw your own options, and open another user's project, modify it, and publish it online—all with the click of a button.

  • Create games, stories, and animations

  • Learn programming

  • Share your projects with the Scratch community

  • Participate in the Scratch forums

  • If you're looking to make the most of MIT's Scratch software but don't quite know where to start, everything you need to try your hand at this popular multimedia programming tool is right here. So what are you waiting for?

    Table of contents

      1. Cover
      2. Introduction
        1. About Scratch
        2. About This Book
        3. Icons Used in This Book
        4. Beyond the Book
        5. Where to Go from Here
        6. Oh Yeah …
      3. Part 1: Become a Scratch Designer
        1. Chapter 1: Getting Started with Scratch
          1. Access Scratch on Your Computer
          2. Use Scratch offline
          3. Create a New Project
          4. Bring Game to Life with Code
          5. Add Collision to Your Game
          6. Adjust Pipe Size and Location
          7. Wrapping Up the Flapping
        2. Chapter 2: Create Your Own Comics
          1. Modify Sprites from the Library
          2. Modify Scratch Characters
          3. Tell Your Super Story
          4. Wrapping Up
        3. Chapter 3: Design Scratch Animals
          1. Create a Great Turtle
          2. Add Code to Animate the Turtle
          3. I Want a Wild Hippogriff!
          4. Add Code for the Hippogriff’s Whinny
          5. Moving On
        4. Chapter 4: Build Vector Robots
          1. Diving into Vector Design
          2. Sculpting Robot Shapes
          3. Start Your Robot Design
          4. What’s a Robot Without Code?
          5. Finishing Your Project
        5. Chapter 5: Digital Collages
          1. Create a New Project
          2. Start Composing Elements
          3. Transform Your Sprites
          4. Adding Vector Graphics
          5. Designing Advanced Collages
          6. Getting into a Great Collage
          7. Erase Part of an Image
          8. Modify Sprites with Visual Effects
          9. Use Vector Text for Title
          10. Finish Up Your Collage
      4. Part 2: Become a Scratch Animator
        1. Chapter 6: Animation Essentials
          1. Draw Your First Character
          2. Animate the Stick Figure
          3. Animate with Code Blocks
          4. Bring Humor to Your Animation
          5. Add Stick Man’s Best Friend
          6. Walk Like a Man
          7. Animate the Dog
        2. Chapter 7: Animate Great Characters
          1. Keep It Simple, Stupid
          2. Getting a Head Start
          3. A Little Body Work
          4. Apply Finishing Touches
          5. It’s Okay to Clone Scratch People
          6. From Dead Skin to Furry Beast
          7. Fangs Make the Beast
          8. Undress the Beast
          9. Strike a Pose
          10. Add Finishing Touches
          11. Create a Third Character
          12. Assembling Your Cast
        3. Chapter 8: Location, Location, Location
          1. Planning Animation Scenes
          2. Design an Interior Scene
          3. Make Scenes More Immersive
          4. Design an Exterior Scene
        4. Chapter 9: Sounds Good to Me
          1. That’s What He Said
          2. Record Dialogue in Scratch
          3. Edit Audio Clips
          4. Play Sound with Code Blocks
          5. Animate Character Speech
        5. Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, ACTION!
          1. (Not) Starting from Scratch
          2. Camera (or What Do I Focus On?)
          3. Action! (or Let’s Get the Story Moving)
          4. Broadcast Animation Messages
          5. Switch between Animation Scenes
          6. And CUT!
      5. Part 3: Become a Scratch Game Developer
        1. Chapter 11: Design a Classic Videogame
          1. This Game Looks LAME!
          2. Create a New Project
          3. Change the Background Color
          4. Add a Bouncing Ball
          5. Add the Paddles
          6. Make the Ball Bounce Off the Paddle
          7. Add a Second Player
          8. Keep Track of Player Scores
          9. Check for the Winning Score
          10. Add Sound Effects
        2. Chapter 12: Super Snake
          1. Create a New Project
          2. Use Gradient for Background
          3. Construct Your Snake
          4. Set the Snake in Motion
          5. Add Body to the Snake
          6. Add Food for the Snake
          7. Set Up Game Collisions
          8. Code Snake Growth
          9. Track Player Score
        3. Chapter 13: A-Maze-ing Game
          1. Create a New Project
          2. Choose Game Characters
          3. Design Maze Background
          4. Add Player Keyboard Controls
          5. The Mouse Eats the Cheese
          6. Program Enemy Patrol
          7. Give Player a Chance to Win
        4. Chapter 14: Attacking the Clones
          1. Create a New Project
          2. Choose a Game Background
          3. Create Player and Enemy Sprites
          4. Clone a Bunch of Aliens
          5. Add Laser Blaster to Spaceship
          6. Enable Spaceship Movement
          7. Use Collision to Destroy Aliens
          8. Program Enemies to Drop Bombs
          9. Add Sound to Your Game
          10. Give the Player Three Lives
          11. Destroy a Player on Impact
          12. Keeping Score
        5. Chapter 15: Game Not Over!
      6. About the Author
      7. Cheat Sheet
      8. Connect with Dummies
      9. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Scratch For Kids For Dummies
    • Author(s): Derek Breen
    • Release date: May 2015
    • Publisher(s): For Dummies
    • ISBN: 9781119014874