How to Make a Cartoon in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Animation Guide for Kids

Scratch is a free visual programming environment developed at MIT. Instead of typing code, you snap together colored blocks: a "say" block shows a character's line, a "next costume" block changes their pose, a "switch backdrop" block changes the scene.
For animation, Scratch works beautifully for three reasons. First, it comes with a built-in library of characters, backdrops, and sounds. Second, you see the result instantly the moment you hit the green flag. Third, your finished cartoon can be published and shared with friends directly inside the platform — no need to download anything.

Animation in Scratch is built on two key ideas.
A sprite is a character or object on the stage — a cat, a car, a tree. Each sprite has its own behavior, its own sounds, and its own costumes.
A costume is a single image of a sprite. If a cat has two costumes — one with its paw up, one with its paw down — and you switch between them quickly, the cat appears to walk. Rapid costume switching creates the illusion of movement, exactly like a flip-book or frame-by-frame animation.
To switch costumes automatically, use the "next costume" block inside a "forever" loop with a small pause from a "wait" block. The shorter the pause, the faster the animation.

Creating your first character takes just a few minutes:

1. Go to scratch.mit.edu and click Create.
2. Click the cat icon in the bottom right to open the sprite library and choose any character.
3. Go to the Costumes tab and make sure your sprite has at least two different costumes.
4. Go to the Scripts tab and build this chain of blocks: when green flag clicked → forever → next costume → wait 0.2 seconds.
5. Click the green flag. Your character will start animating.

You control animation speed with the number in the "wait" block: 0.1 gives fast movement, 0.5 gives slow.

A walking animation in Scratch has two parts: costume changes (moving legs and arms) and the character actually moving across the stage.
Add a "move 5 steps" block to your chain from the previous step, right before the "wait" block. Now every time the costume switches, the character will nudge slightly to the right. To keep them from walking off the edge, add an "if on edge, bounce" block — the character will turn around and head the other way.
For more realistic walking, make sure your sprite has costumes showing different leg positions. The default Scratch cat already has these built in. Try it with the cat for your first go.

Backdrops. Click the icon next to "Stage" in the bottom right and pick a backdrop from the library. To change the backdrop during the cartoon, use the "switch backdrop to" block at the right point in your script.
Dialogue. The "say [text] for [2] seconds" block shows a speech bubble above your character. To have characters take turns talking, chain their "say" blocks with pauses between them — or use the "broadcast" block so one sprite triggers another to speak.
Sounds. Go to the Sounds tab and pick from the built-in library, or record a voice right in the editor using your microphone. The "play sound" block fires it at whatever moment you choose. Scratch also includes built-in effects — echo, robot, reverb — that give voices a fun, distinctive feel.

When making their first cartoon in Scratch, beginners tend to run into the same problems:
No pauses between blocks. Without a "wait" block, the animation executes instantly and you see nothing. Even a 0.1-second pause fixes it.
Too ambitious a story on the first try. Start with one scene and two characters. It's always easier to add complexity than to rebuild from scratch.
Forgetting the "when green flag clicked" block. Without it, the script won't run when you hit the green flag, and your character will just stand there.
Character walks off the screen. Add an "if on edge, bounce" block, or limit the movement range using conditions.

Scratch is built specifically for kids, and most of them create their first animation on the very first day they try the platform. The best approach is to start simple: one character, one movement, one line of dialogue. Once that works, add the next piece.
Making cartoons in Scratch builds several skills at once: logical thinking (what order do the blocks run in?), creative thinking (what's the story? who are the characters?), and attention to detail (syncing sound and motion). It's one of the most tangible ways to show a child that programming is a tool for making something genuinely your own.
At Rocket Tech School's Scratch course, kids from age 7 create animations, games, and interactive stories with the support of their teachers. By the end of the first few lessons, every student has a finished project they can share with friends.