Resources

There’s so much out there nowadays - and some of it’s clickbait rather than actually helpful. If you’re not very familiar with the subject matter, or if you don’t have the time to research yourself, it can be hard to know where to start, so we thought we’d provide some links for people who want to get started or get their kids started alone.

Coding

Coding is one of our most popular topics, and there’s luckily a tonne of stuff out there for people wanting to get stuck in!

Blockcode is a great way for kids to get started, teaching them the basics of how we communicate with computers in a simpler, more digestible way. It can really help adults too, building confidence and getting your feet firmly on the ladder and starting up. Don’t be fooled by the people who look down on blockcode as not being “real” code; plenty of people find it useful for certain applications even if they have more complicated options at their fingertips.

A micro:bit is a great place to start. It’s a microcontroller, and you can buy it and use it to make many projects, some of which are outlined on the site, but the handy (free) editor has a little emulator to the left-hand side so you can get stuck in without the physical item, too. They’re not very expensive, we recommend buying them from Kitronik, but they can be found elsewhere.

For very young children who are unable to read or write confidently yet, ScratchJr is a great option. It comes in app form for Android and Apple tablets, completely free, and uses simple concepts just to teach the very basics of communicating with computers what you’d like them to do.

Slightly older kids can get their teeth into Scratch where they can have a personal account to which to save their projects. These personal accounts are secure and don’t allow for private contact between users. There are almost as many Scratch tutorials as there are stars in the sky, and kids will be surprised at what they can create. They can use their own digital art as backgrounds or sprites, too, so it can be perfect for kids who enjoy art.

The same people have also come up with MicroBlocks, which is very intuitive and will have you up and running in no time.

MakeCode Arcade is a little more complicated, but also allows for more complexity. Kids are, again, able to run a secure account on which they can save their projects, and there are plenty of tutorials available to follow, learn from, and base future games on.

More traditional code is obviously very useful, and which code you use for which project can depend on a huge number of factors. We have some recommendations, but there are really too many options to mention.

Godot is a big step up from MakeCode Arcade, but again a lot of free resources are out there, and the actual engine is free to download and use. Godot is in fairly popular use across all age groups from adult to older child, and once you’re on board there’s no stopping you. It can be trickier for people with dyslexia or visual processing issues, as it does require typing rather than dragging and dropping relevant components, but it’s well worth looking into. They even provide their own project to get you started.

If you’re looking for Unity, Python, and others - Raspberry Pi have a whole library of projects ready for you to get into.

3D Printing

3D printing has been a very popular form of making for a while now, but a lot of people aren’t sure where to start. Some of the software is very good, but can have a steep learning curve. We recommend people get started with TinkerCAD which allows you to make a free (and safe) account on which you can save your designs. TinkerCAD is very intuitive and easy to learn, which can really help you get to grips with the concepts. Makerspaces may have 3D printers you can use so you don’t have to buy one to get stuck in, but designing in 3D is a skill in and of itself. If you’re looking to do 3D design that’s more advanced, and can be used for animation and games design, then maybe Blender is of interest, although it is known for its complexity. Fortunately, they have a comprehensive manual and tutorials can be found on social media under the #b3d hashtag.

Another option is FreeCAD, which offers the ability to design 3D models with parametric features. FreeCAD is quite popular, and tutorials are easy to find.

For lasercutting, or anything else where vectors can be helpful, we always recommend Inkscape. It’s powerful, it’s clever, and it’s open source. It can be a bit of a bear at first, but we recommend just jumping in at the deep end. Remember, if you’re making a file specifically to experiment - you can’t break anything you’re going to need later!

For photo manipulation, we swear by GIMP. It’s effectively an open source alternative to Photoshop, and while again it can take a while to get comfortable with - what software doesn’t? As a little note, when you’ve made a design in Inkscape you can save it as a .xcf, which is the proprietary file extension for GIMP, and which Snoof always uses to maintain image quality in the process.

Krita is Snoof’s top choice for digital painting. It’s again open source, something we lean into to ensure as much economic accessibility as possible and to support the incredible work of the open source community, and it is very powerful. Free brushes of various types are available as standard, and to download as packs from other artists.

If you’re into PCB design, KiCad is an impressive piece of software. You can tell a lot of thought has gone into the functionality of it, and it’s never far from Chris’s mind.

Electronics and Soldering

If you’re new to electronics, Adafruit have a very simple tutorial to get you started. It does start from the very beginning, and is aimed at younger users, but it’s quite a good way to get on the road.

Soldering-wise, there’s an old playlist of soldering lessons on youtube that gets into the nitty gritty of it all. The videos are quite long, but they really demystify the process of soldering, and they’re well worth a watch.

Finding Making Projects

It’s often difficult to find an entry point. You want to do more making, but what? And how? We sometimes contribute to Instructables to help build a rich collection of various projects. Recipes, sewing, welding, coding, lasercutting… The list really is endless. If you come up with your own project, you can easily write a step by step tutorial to make it available to others, too.

Community

The best part of making is often the community. Sharing knowledge, tools, and frustrations can really make or break a project, or your investment into making and/or coding as a whole. The Hackspace Foundation has a non-exhaustive list of maker- and hackspaces around the UK, and we really recommend checking to see if there’s anything near you. Don’t give up if you can’t find anything - some googling may unearth what’s happening near you, and you can always start one if there’s really nothing to be found. A makerspace can allow you to build a community, and use collective funding to obtain equipment that might be out of reach for an individual. It also lets you share what you know, and benefit from what others know.

If you get stuck, let us know, and definitely shout when you’ve made something to show us :)