Costumes, Sounds and Backdrops
Scratch projects come alive with pictures and sound. A sprite can have many costumes, the stage can have many backdrops, and everything can make sounds. Learning to switch between them is how you create animation, scene changes, and music.
Costumes and animation
Every sprite has a Costumes tab where you can see and edit its pictures. In the purple Looks category you will find switch costume to, which jumps straight to a chosen costume, and next costume, which moves to the following one. If you put next costume inside a forever loop with a short wait, the sprite looks like it is walking, flapping, or dancing. Quickly changing costumes is exactly how animation works.
Backdrops and scenes
The stage has a Backdrops tab. In the same purple Looks category you use switch backdrop to to change the scene, perhaps from a beach to a cave. You can also react to scene changes with the when backdrop switches to hat block in the Events category, which is great for starting the right music or characters for each scene.
Sounds
Each sprite and the stage have a Sounds tab where you can record, upload, or pick sounds from the library. Sound blocks are in the pink Sound category. The block play sound starts a sound and carries on immediately, while play sound until done waits for the sound to finish before moving on. You can also change volume and stop all sounds.
Putting it together
- Use next costume in a loop for smooth animation.
- Use switch backdrop to to move the story to a new place.
- Use play sound until done for speech or music that must not be cut off.
With costumes, backdrops, and sounds together, your projects can tell stories, play tunes, and animate in ways that feel truly professional.