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Anishinaabe Arcs Tutorial

#1 | | #2 | | #3 | | #4 | | #5 | | #6 | | #7 | | #8 | | #9 | | #10 | | #11 | | #12 | | Make Your Own

Welcome!

Welcome to the Anishinaabe Arcs programming tutorial! We're going to make some Wigwaams together. Click on the links above the simulation to go through the steps:

You can also click on them to see instructions again. Click Start below to go to the first step.

My First Arc

A Single Arc:

Create your first arc by dragging in the blocks into the scripting panel (click for more details):

Drag the “when clicked” Control block to the right (click and hold while moving the mouse).
The “when clicked” block starts the program.
Now you can create a script to create an arc.
The “angle” Motion block will tell the middle of the arc which directions to point.
The “go to” Motion block will tell the arc where to move along the x, y, and z axes.
The “clear” Pen block will erase all prior drawing on the stage.
The “pen size” Pen block will allow you to set the diameter of the arc's cross section
The “arc” Pen block will allow you to draw an arc by specifying the width and height.

Running the Program

Click the green flag button to run the program:

The green flag button is in the upper right corner, just above the stage.
When you click the green flag button it tells the “when clicked” block to run the program, stepping through each block in the script to create a arc.

Positioning

On your own, build an arc that changes at a 90 degree angle along the Z axis and goes to the x: 0, y: -80, z: 0:

The “angle” block controls where the middle of the arc is pointing.
The “go to” block controls where the arc will be positioned on the coordinate grid.
Click me if you're stuck.

Making a Structure

Making a Structure!

Iterate and translate your arc using the “repeat” and “translate” blocks:

Drag the “repeat” Control block into the script panel.
Place the “arc” block into the “repeat” block.
Drag the “translate” block into the scripting panel and place it inside of the “repeat” block.
The width, height, and depth of the translation by clicking on the drop down menu within the “translate” block itself.

Making Beautiful Structures

Create 8 arcs with each translating by 20:

The translate block controls the spacing.
The repeat block controls the number of iterations.
Click me if you're stuck.

Make Two Variables

Make variables for width & height:

In the block library you will find a “make a variable” button. Click on it to make your first variable.
When the “Variable name” window pops up type in width.
Click “OK” and a width variable will appear.
Do the same thing but for creating a height variable.

Setting Variables

Set your width and height variables by dragging in two “set to” Variable block:

Drag in two “set to” Variable blocks, place them at the beginning of your script, and set them to 100 each.
In the “set to” blocks use the drop down menu to select the variables you just created: width and height.
Find the “width” and “height” Variable blocks that you just create and drag them into the aligning width and height values in the “arc” block.

Change Blocks

Change the your variables every iteration using the “change by” Variable blocks:

Drag in two “change by” Variable blocks and place them below the “translate” block in your “repeat” block.
In each “change by” block use the drop down menu to select the variables you just created: width and height.
Change the values in each “change by” block to 10.

A New Variable

Make a variable for increment:

In the block library you will find a “make a variable” button. Click on it to make your first variable.
When the “Variable name” window pops up type in increment.
Click “OK” and a increment variable will appear.

Setting Increment

Set Increment to 10 at the beginning of the script:

Drag in two “change by” Variable blocks and place them below the “translate” block in your “repeat” block.
In each “change by” block use the drop down menu to select the variables you just created: width and height.
Change the values in each “change by” block to 10.
Click me if you're stuck.

Changing Variables with Variables

Use the “increment” variable you created in each of the width and height “change by” blocks to control the rate of change:

Find the “increment” Variable blocks that you just create and drag it into the “change by” height and width blocks.

Making Smooth Arcs

Change increment every iteration by adding a “change by” increment block to your loop:

Drag in one “change by” blocks and place them below the other “change by” blocks in your “repeat” block.
In the “change by” block use the drop down menu to select the variables you just created: increment.
Change the values in each “change by” block to -3.5.

Traditional Wigwaam

Challenge! A Traditional Wigwaam:

You have done a great job getting to this point. Try using what you just learned to make a traditional wigwaam like structure, similar the structure in the picture to the right:

If you want to duplicate a part of your script, right click the section you want to duplicate and select “duplicate”.
If you want to point the middle of one of your arcs up, change the “point at angle” by 180 degrees.
Click me if you're still stuck.