Make your character wave: a first move with blocks

Every move in Jabbertoon is a small program made of blocks: when it starts, lift this, swing that. In this guide you build a wave from two blocks, watch it play, keep it, and give it to a character in your cartoon. It takes about ten minutes, and you need nothing but a web browser.

The block editor works like other drag-and-drop block tools: blocks wait in groups on the left, you drag one into the middle, and it snaps under the block above it. The stage keeps playing your move while you build it, so you see each change.

1. Open the block editor

Go to jabbertoon.com/blocks/. The editor opens with blocks already in it: a finished wave, so you can see one working. You are going to build your own.

2. Start from an empty move

In Start from, pick Empty: just “when it starts”. If the editor asks This changes your blocks (it does when it still holds blocks you changed before), press Open the new one: your own blocks are kept under Share it. The middle now holds one block, when it starts. Every block you put under it runs when the move begins.

3. Open the Body parts blocks

On the left, press Body parts. This group holds the blocks that move one part of the body: an arm, a leg, the head or a tail.

4. Add a lift block

Drag the first lift block out and drop it under when it starts, so it clicks into place. It reads lift arms to 80° in 0.3 s: both arms rise to 80 degrees in 0.3 seconds, a little under a third of a second.

5. Lift only the right arm

In the lift block, open the menu that says arms and pick right arm. Now only one arm goes up, the way a wave starts.

6. Lift it higher

In the same block, click 80 and type 150. An angle of 150 degrees holds the arm up high, above the shoulder.

7. Watch the arm go up

Press Play from the start. The arm rises and stays up. That is half a wave: the hand still needs to move.

8. Add a swing block

The group closed when you dragged the lift block out, so press Body parts again. Then drag the first swing block and drop it under the lift block. It reads swing arms 20° every 1 s: a part swings back and forth, 20 degrees each way, once a second, for as long as the move plays.

9. Swing only the hand

In the swing block, open the menu that says arms and pick right forearm. The forearm is the part from the elbow to the hand, so now the hand waves while the arm stays up.

10. Watch your wave

Press Play from the start again. Your character lifts its arm and waves. The stage shows A person and a dog; the dog has no arms, so it lifts a front leg and waves that instead.

11. Name your move

The Name box at the top says my move. Delete those words and type a made-up name for your move, like Big hello.

12. Keep it

Press Save to My moves. Your wave is now kept in this browser, in My moves, and the studio can use it.

13. Go back to your cartoon

Press Back to my cartoon at the top. The studio opens with your cartoon: the one you were making in this browser, or Sunny and Grump if you have not made one yet.

14. Give the wave to a character

In line 1, open the move menu and pick your wave. The menu is named after whoever says line 1: on a first visit it is Sunny’s move, and with a character you made, it has your character's name. Your wave is in it under My moves, after the ready-made moves.

15. Watch your wave

Press Play. The character in line 1 waves with your blocks while saying the line.

Read your move as text

The Read it box shows the same move as words. Yours reads:

when it starts
  lift right arm to 150° in 0.3 s
  swing right forearm 20° · every 1 s

Every block is one line, and the lines under when it starts are pushed in, like the blocks. Change a number in a block and the text changes with it.

Make it your own

Next, make your own character and give it your wave, or see every ready-made move on the moves page.