Scouts and Explorers: Pixel art bugs

 Animate a creepy crawly using a simple, free programme.


1.      Pixels are tiny dots that make up computer screens.

To find out more, check out the Pixel art activity on the scout website.

2.      What are mistakes in computer programmes are called? They’re called bugs!

3.      Do you know how an animation is created? Animations are made by putting together lots of images (frames) – small differences between frames come together to create movement.

4.      See the example animated bug here.

 

Animation time

1.      Open the starter project in PiSKEL by visiting this link

2.      Download ‘Notes and handout’ pack.

3.      Work through the steps on the ‘Notes and handout’ pack to create your own animated pixel bug.

4.      How does your animation compare to the movement of a real bug?

 

Reflection

This activity was all about developing skills. Do people feel more confident about animating now? How well did their animation mimic the movements of a real bug? Did anyone make any mistakes? It’s really hard to learn something new without making any mistakes. People who work digitally (for example, computer programmers) often find mistakes in their work – they’re called bugs. It’s OK if bugs exist; the most important thing is that the programmers work together to fix it and solve the problem. How did people fix any problems they found when making their bug? Did they learn more about their project (or the app) when they were fixing mistakes?

 

This Activity Completes

Digital Maker Activity Badge stage 2 – requirement 1





 

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