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Draw with Python (Turtle Power)

Learn how to use turtle to draw shapes and patterns.

We'll cover the following...

Let’s do something fun and creative—use Python to draw pictures.

We’ll use a built-in Python module called turtle to control a pen on the screen.

Introducing the turtle

Try this:

import turtle

pen = turtle.Turtle()
pen.forward(100)
Creating a turtle and drawing a line 100 pixels long

  • Line 3: pen = turtle.Turtle() brings a turtle onto the screen that you can control. We are giving it a name: pen. You can call it anything you like. From now on, whenever we say pen, Python knows we’re talking about that turtle.

  • Line 4: pen.forward(100) tells the turtle (referred to as pen) to move forward by 100 steps (pixels). The turtle draws a line as it moves, like dragging a pen on paper.

A turtle appears on the screen and draws a line that is 100 pixels long!

Add more movements

We can move the turtle around with different commands:

import turtle

pen = turtle.Turtle()
pen.forward(100)
pen.right(90)
pen.forward(100)
pen.right(90)
Drawing a square one side at a time using basic movement commands

Keep going—you’re drawing a square one side at a time.

Use loops to draw shapes

Loops make it easier to draw repeated patterns:

import turtle

pen = turtle.Turtle()

for _ in range(4):
    pen.forward(100)
    pen.right(90)
    
turtle.done()
Drawing a perfect square using a for loop

This is the beginning of turtle-powered geometry.

Color and style

We can make our drawing more visually interesting:

import turtle

pen = turtle.Turtle()

pen.color("blue")
pen.pensize(3)
pen.speed(2)

pen.forward(150)
Customizing the pen’s color, thickness, and speed

Change the pen color, thickness, and speed!