drawString

I am sure that if you drop the word 'String' from the drawString call, and put the double quotes around 'Hello World', you would have better luck. However, Greenfoot has a drawString method of its own that works on GreenfootImage objects. There is also another way to create an image with text drawn on it; it is one of the GreenfootImage constructors. Check out the Greenfoot API. BTW, the GUIs put the types of the parameters in the method calls statements to let you know what type of object needs to be inserted there. You do not actually put the type in the call statements when you use them.

You have a few misunderstandings here, but one of the critical ones is that if a method requires a String parameter, it means that you must supply a String when you call the method. You do not need to include the word "String"; that is part of the method signature - just like you don't need to put 'int' in front of numbers. It sounds like you tried this: Graphics.drawString(String "Hello World", 400, 300); However, a better try would have been this: Graphics.drawString("Hello World", 400, 300); It still wouldn't have worked, because you're using a method from an interface without any target object. You can't call any method just by putting the "ClassName.methodName()" - you need to have an object reference, and then you use "object.methodName()" (the exception is 'static' methods, such as Greenfoot.playSound()). What this boils down to is that you need a Graphics instance before you can call the drawing methods, otherwise it's not clear what you're actually trying to draw on. Getting a Graphics instance isn't impossible but it's an advanced technique; it's better to use the Greenfoot API as danpost suggested.

I tried using the "GreenfootImage.drawString" and it told me it cannot be used in a static method, so I'm wondering how I can put it into a "instance" method? which I believe is the opposite of a static method. Thanks!

First: What he is saying, is that the methods are already designated as static (or not). What this means is: if the method is static, you can call it with "ClassName.methodName()"; if it is not, then you need an object for the method to work on (an instance of that class), with "Object.methodName()". Since drawString() is a non-static method in the GreenfootImage class, you need an instance of a GreenfootImage object to call the method on. If you look at almost any non-amateurish code, you will probably find examples of code that you could learn from and re-apply. Plus the Greenfoot tutorials and the Java trails have an abundance of educational information included in them.