Drawing a Starry Sky with Varying Star Sizes in Python

When creating a starry sky in Python, it’s essential to add variety to make the image more realistic and visually appealing. One way to achieve this is by drawing stars of varying sizes. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to use Python to draw a starry sky with different-sized stars.

The Approach

To draw stars of varying sizes, we’ll need to generate random values for the star size in addition to the position and color. We can achieve this by modifying the code discussed in previous posts and incorporating a random size generator.

Here’s an updated code snippet that includes varying star sizes:

pythonimport turtle
import random

# Set up the canvas
screen = turtle.Screen()
screen.bgcolor("black")
star_turtle = turtle.Turtle()
star_turtle.speed(0)

# Function to draw a star
def draw_star(turtle, size):
    angle = 144
    for _ in range(5):
        turtle.forward(size)
        turtle.right(angle)

# Generate and draw random stars with varying sizes
num_stars = 100
for _ in range(num_stars):
    x = random.randint(-300, 300)
    y = random.randint(-200, 200)
    size = random.randint(2, 10)  # Random star size between 2 and 10
    color = random.choice(["white", "yellow", "orange", "blue", "purple"])

    star_turtle.penup()
    star_turtle.goto(x, y)
    star_turtle.color(color)
    star_turtle.pendown()
    draw_star(star_turtle, size)

# Keep the window open until closed manually
turtle.done()

Discussion
Random Star Sizes

In the updated code, we modify the random.randint() function for the size variable to generate random values between 2 and 10. This ensures that each star will have a different size, creating a more realistic starry sky.

Color Variety

Additionally, we’ve increased the color options for the stars to include blue and purple. This adds even more variety to the final image.

Star Density

The num_stars variable controls the number of stars drawn. You can adjust this value to increase or decrease the density of stars in the sky.

Customization

You can further customize the code to achieve different effects. For example, you can change the background color, adjust the range of random values for size and position, or experiment with different star drawing algorithms.

Conclusion
Drawing a starry sky with varying star sizes in Python is a great way to explore graphics programming and create visually stunning images. By incorporating random size generation into the code, we can add realism and variety to the final product. Experimenting with different settings and customizations allows you to create unique and beautiful starry skies that are truly your own.