What is a sprite in Scratch?
How sprites work
Think of a Scratch project like a stage play. The backdrop is the scenery, and sprites are the actors. Each actor follows their own script independently. One sprite can be a player character moving left and right, another can be a falling obstacle, and a third can be a score counter — all running their own code simultaneously without interfering with each other.
Costumes and movement
Each sprite can have multiple costumes — different images that swap out to create animation. Flip between two leg positions fast enough and the sprite looks like it's walking. Sprites can also grow, shrink, rotate, show, hide, and glide across the screen, all through blocks in their code.
Sprites vs the backdrop
The backdrop is the one thing in Scratch that isn't a sprite — it's the static (or switchable) background behind everything. Backdrops can trigger code too, but they can't move or be controlled the way sprites can. Everything that acts, reacts, or animates is a sprite.
