3.03 Make a mandala

Create more patterns to make a mandala!

Right click on your define pattern block and choose Edit to add more parameters.

You can start by adding a size text label and a size input. Then, add a move label and input, and use these parameters in the blocks below.

Test: See what your pattern looks like by clicking the green flag to run your program. It doesn’t look like a mandala yet! Can you think of how you might make the pattern circular?

To make your pattern circular and look even more like a mandala, add another input.

Add another input called turn. Then, as well as moving your clone, you can turn it as well.

Mandalas are often complex — they can have many different rows that follow similar patterns. You can create a base pattern for the rest of the mandala rows to build on.

Try playing around with different numbers in your pattern. You can reset the position and size of your sprite anytime you like.

Now that you have a basic pattern, you can use your pattern a number of times to make a repeating pattern, or mandala ‘rows’. By using the same code over and over again, you make a program that has been optimised.

Beneath your when flag clicked block, add in a few more calls to your pattern.

Test: Click the green flag, and see what pattern is produced. You can change the numbers to experiment with patterns that you like, or even add in more calls to your pattern.