Are you tired of boring old programming? Do you want to add some excitement and creativity to your code? Well, my friend, look no further than the humble turtle screen!
That’s right, With just a few lines of code, you can create intricate designs and mesmerizing animations using nothing but a virtual turtle and its trusty pen. And in this tutorial, we’re going to show you how it’s done!
To start: let’s import the turtle module into our program. This is where all the magic happens.
# Import the turtle module, which allows us to create graphics and animations using a virtual turtle and its pen.
import turtle
# Create a new turtle object and assign it to the variable "t".
t = turtle.Turtle()
# Set the speed of the turtle to "fastest" so that it moves quickly.
t.speed("fastest")
# Use a for loop to repeat the following code 36 times.
for i in range(36):
# Move the turtle forward by 200 units.
t.forward(200)
# Turn the turtle to the left by 170 degrees.
t.left(170)
# Exit the turtle program once the loop is complete.
turtle.done()
Now that we have access to the turtle screen, let’s create a new window for it using the `Screen()` function. We can customize this window by passing in various arguments, but for now, let’s keep things simple and just set its size:
# Create a new window for the turtle screen using the `Screen()` function
screen = turtle.Screen()
# Customize the window by passing in arguments for width and height
# Set the width to 600 pixels and the height to 480 pixels
screen.setup(width=600, height=480)
# The `Screen()` function returns a Screen object, which is assigned to the variable `screen`
# This allows us to access and modify the properties of the screen, such as its size
# The `setup()` function is used to set the size of the screen, with the arguments being the desired width and height in pixels
Next, we need to create a new turtle object that will do our bidding. This is where the real fun begins!
# Create a new turtle object and assign it to the variable "tess"
tess = turtle.Turtle() # "turtle" is a module that provides a variety of functions and objects to create graphics using a turtle. "Turtle()" is a class that creates a new turtle object.
# The following code will use the turtle object to draw a square
# Move the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100) # "forward()" is a method of the turtle object that moves it forward by the specified number of units.
# Turn the turtle 90 degrees to the right
tess.right(90) # "right()" is a method of the turtle object that turns it to the right by the specified number of degrees.
# Move the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100)
# Turn the turtle 90 degrees to the right
tess.right(90)
# Move the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100)
# Turn the turtle 90 degrees to the right
tess.right(90)
# Move the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100)
# The square is now complete!
Now that we have our trusty turtle by our side, let’s give it some instructions to follow. We can move it forward using the `forward(x)` function, where x is the distance we want it to travel:
# Import the turtle module
import turtle
# Create a turtle object and name it tess
tess = turtle.Turtle()
# Move tess forward 100 units
tess.forward(100) # This function moves the turtle forward by the specified distance (100 units in this case)
But what if we want to turn our turtle instead? No problem! The `right()` and `left()` functions let us do just that. They take an argument in degrees, so a call of `right(90)` will rotate the turtle counterclockwise by 90 degrees:
# This script uses the turtle module to rotate the turtle named "tess" by 45 degrees to the right.
# Import the turtle module
import turtle
# Create a turtle named "tess"
tess = turtle.Turtle()
# Use the right() function to rotate the turtle by 45 degrees to the right
tess.right(45) # The argument in degrees specifies the amount of rotation, in this case 45 degrees.
Now our turtle is facing east instead of north. Let’s move it forward again to see where that takes us!
# Set the turtle's orientation to face east
tess.setheading(0)
# Move the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100) # Moves the turtle forward by 100 units in the direction it is facing (east)
And there we have it, Our very own virtual turtle has just taken its first steps on the screen. But wait, what if we want our turtle to draw a line instead of just moving around? That’s where the `pendown()` and `penup()` functions come in handy:
# This script uses the turtle module to create a virtual turtle and make it draw a line on the screen.
# First, we need to import the turtle module
import turtle
# Next, we create a turtle object and name it tess
tess = turtle.Turtle()
# Now, we make tess move forward 100 units
tess.forward(100)
# Then, we make tess turn right by 45 degrees
tess.right(45)
# This line tells tess to put its pen down, so it can draw a line as it moves forward
tess.pendown()
# Now, tess will move forward 100 units and leave a line behind it
tess.forward(100)
# Finally, we lift the pen up so tess doesn't leave any more lines behind
tess.penup()
# And there we have it, our virtual turtle has drawn a line on the screen!
Our turtle has just drawn its first line on the screen. But what if we want to draw a square instead? No problem! We can use loops and conditional statements to make our turtle repeat certain actions:
# This script uses a for loop to draw a square with the turtle named "tess"
# The range function creates a sequence of numbers from 0 to 3 (4 iterations)
for i in range(4):
# The forward function moves the turtle forward by 100 units
tess.forward(100)
# The right function turns the turtle right by 90 degrees
tess.right(90)
This will create a square with sides of length 100 pixels, because we’re moving forward by 100 pixels and then turning right (which is equivalent to rotating counterclockwise by 90 degrees). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! With some creativity and experimentation, you can create all sorts of amazing designs using nothing but a virtual turtle. So go ahead, let your imagination run wild, and have fun with it!
Later!