Scratch Coding - Animate Your Sprite
Use Scratch to design and animate a sprite with costumes, motion, and sound blocks while testing controls and sharing it with an adult.
Step-by-step guide to animate your sprite with Scratch
Step 1
Open your Scratch account and click "Create" to start a new project.
Step 2
Choose a sprite from the library or click the paintbrush to draw your own sprite.
Step 3
Click the Costumes tab and add or make at least two different costumes for your sprite.
Step 4
Click the Sounds tab and choose or record one sound for your sprite.
Step 5
Click the Code tab and drag the "when green flag clicked" block into the scripting area.
Step 6
Attach a "forever" block under the "when green flag clicked" block.
Step 7
Drag a "move 10 steps" block and place it inside the forever loop.
Step 8
Drag a "switch costume to next costume" block and place it inside the forever loop.
Step 9
Drag a "wait 0.2 seconds" block and place it inside the forever loop under the switch costume block.
Step 10
Drag a "when right arrow key pressed" block into the scripting area to add a control.
Step 11
Attach a "point in direction 90" block under the right-arrow key block.
Step 12
Attach a "move 10 steps" block under the point-in-direction block.
Step 13
Click the green flag to run your project.
Step 14
Ask an adult to press the right arrow key to test the control and give you feedback.
Step 15
Share your finished animation on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
I don't have a microphone or can't find a good sprite—what can we use instead?
Use the Scratch sprite library or the paintbrush to draw a sprite and, in the Sounds tab, pick a built-in sound or upload an audio file instead of recording with a microphone.
My sprite isn't animating or costumes aren't switching—what did I miss?
Check that the 'when green flag clicked' block has a 'forever' block attached and that both 'switch costume to next costume' and 'wait 0.2 seconds' are placed inside that same loop on the sprite's Code tab before you click the green flag.
How can I adapt this project for younger or older kids?
For younger kids use just two costumes and increase the 'wait' to 0.5–1 second while keeping only the 'when green flag clicked' loop, and for older kids add 'play sound' blocks, extra arrow-key handlers, variables, or backdrop changes from the Backdrops tab.
How can we make the animation more unique or interactive?
Personalize it by drawing extra costumes with the paintbrush, adding 'play sound [sound]' from the Sounds tab inside the forever loop or under 'when right arrow key pressed', and include 'if on edge, bounce' or backdrop changes to match the animation before sharing on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to animate your sprite with Scratch
How to Make Animations in Scratch! (Easy Tutorial)
4 Videos
How to Make Animations in Scratch! (Easy Tutorial)
Fun With Scratch | Sprite Motion | Forward, Backward, Up & Down!
Change Sprite Costumes in Scratch | Kids Animation Tutorial #4 | Visual Programming
How to Make a Simple Animation in Scratch | Scratch Tutorial
Facts about block-based coding for kids
🎨 Animations in Scratch are made by switching costumes quickly — it's basically a digital flipbook!
🌐 Scratch has a global community where kids share and remix projects so everyone can learn from each other.
🧩 Scratch uses colorful, snap-together blocks so you can build programs without typing tricky code.
🐱 The Scratch Cat is the default sprite you get in a new project — it's like your coding buddy!
🎮 You can program sprites to respond to keyboard keys, mouse clicks, or other sprites to make games and controls.
How do I use Scratch to design and animate a sprite step by step?
What materials and tools do I need to animate a sprite in Scratch?
What ages is Scratch sprite animation suitable for?
What safety tips should I follow when my child shares their Scratch project online?
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