1. Adobe Flash CS3 Revealed
CHAPTER 4: CREATING ANIMATION

2. Chapter 4 Lessons Create frame-by-frame animations
Create motion-tweened animation
Work with motion guides
Create animation effects
Animate text
Chapter 4

3. Introduction Animation is an important part of a Web site in
E-commerce
Education
Entertainment
Chapter 4

4. How Animation Works Animation is made up of a series of still images
“Persistence of Vision” is the basis for frame rates in animations
Frames rates of fps generally provide smooth computer-based animation
Frame rates lower than fps often result in jerky images
Higher frame rates may result in blurred images
Flash uses default frame rate of 12 fps
Chapter 4

5. Flash Animation
Animation is one of the most powerful features of Flash
Basic animation is a simple process
Move an object around the stage
Change an object’s size, shape, color
Apply Special Effects, such as zooming, fading, or a combination of effects
Chapter 4

6. Flash Animation Two animation methods Frame-by-frame animation
Tweened animation
Chapter 4

7. Understanding Frame-by-Frame Animations
Created by specifying an object that is to appear in each frame of a sequence of frames
Useful when you want to change individual parts of an image
Depending on complexity, animation can require a lot of time to produce
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8. Understanding Frame-by-Frame Animations
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9. Understanding Frame-by-Frame Animations
When creating frame by frame animation, consider the following:
The number of different images
The number of frames in which each image will appear
The movie frame rate
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10. Creating Frame-by-Frame Animations
Select the beginning frame of the animation
Insert a keyframe on the layer in frame
A keyframe signifies a change in an object
Place the object on the stage
Chapter 4

11. Creating Frame-by-Frame Animations
Insert keyframe where you want change to occur
Change the object
“Onion skinning” helps placement of image series
Chapter 4

12. Fig. 2: The First Six Frames of an Animation
In each frame, the front end of the car is in a different position
Chapter 4

13. Fig. 4: Timeline with Keyframes
Chapter 4

14. Fig. 9: Changing the Frame Rate
Chapter 4

15. Create Motion-Tweened Animation
Motion tweening is less tedious than frame animation
Create a Start and End frame
Flash creates the “in-between” frames
Flash only stores the attributes that change from frame to frame, thus creating smaller file sizes than frame animation
Chapter 4

16. Create Motion-Tweened Animation
Two types of tweening
Shape tweening
A “morphing” effect
One object slowly turns into another
Motion tweening
Used to animate objects which are moved, resized, re-colored, or rotated
Chapter 4

17. Fig. 10: Motion-tweened Animation
Chapter 4

18. Create Motion-Tweened Animation
Select the starting frame
Insert a keyframe, if necessary
Position the object on the stage
Verify that it is selected
Choose the Create Motion Tween command
From the Timeline option on the Insert menu
Chapter 4

19. Create Motion-Tweened Animation
Insert a keyframe in the ending frame of the animation
Move the object and/or make changes to the object
Change the object’s size
Rotate the object
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20. Things to Remember
If you change the position of the object, it will move in a direct line from start position to the end position
If you reshape an object in the ending keyframe, the object will slowly change from the starting keyframe to the ending
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21. Things to Remember
When you select an object and create a motion tween, Flash automatically creates a symbol
You can remove a motion tween animation by selecting a frame within the tween and using the Remove Tween command
Chapter 4

22. Fig. 11: Final Position of First Motion Tween
Starting frame
Ending frame
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23. Fig. 12: Final Position of Combined Motion Tweens
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24. Work with Motion Guides
Creates a path that will guide moving objects around the stage in any direction
Without Motion Guides, animations always travel in straight lines
Animations are placed on their own layer beneath a motion guide layer
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25. Creating Animation with Motion Guides
Two ways to work with motion guides
Insert a guide layer, draw a path, then create an animation and attach the animated object to the path
Create an animation, insert a motion guide layer and draw a path, then attach animated object to the path
Chapter 4

26. Creating Animation with Motion Guides
Second method described
Create a motion-tweened animation
Select the layer the animation is on and insert a motion guide layer
Draw a path using the Pen, Pencil, Line, Circle, Rectangle, or Brush tools
Attach the object to the path by dragging the object by its registration point to the beginning of the path in the first frame, and to the end of the path in the last frame
Chapter 4

27. Fig. 17: Motion Guide Layer
Indented layer containing animation that will follow the path created on the guide layer
Chapter 4

28. Working with Properties
Tween
Specifies motion, shape, or none
Scale
Tweens the size of an object
Ease
Specifies the rate of change between tweened frames
Ease values are between -100 (slow) and 100 (fast)
Chapter 4

29. Working with Properties
Rotate
Specifies the number of times an object rotates clockwise (CW) or counter clockwise (CCW)
Orient to path
Orients the baseline of the object to the path
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30. Working with Properties
Sync
Ensures that the object loops properly
Snap
Attaches the object to the path by its registration point
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31. Transformation Point
Each symbol has a transformation point in the form of a circle (O) that is used to orient the object when it is being animated
The transformation point is also the point that snaps to a motion guide
When attaching an object to a path, you can drag the transformation point to the path
The default position for a transformation point is the center of the object
You can reposition the transformation point while in the symbol edit mode by dragging the transformation point to a different location in the object
Chapter 4

32. Fig. 16: Motion Guide with Object Attached
Transformation point
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33. Registration Point
Objects also have a registration point (+) that is used to position the object on the stage using ActionScript code
The transformation and registration points can overlap—this is displayed as a plus sign within a circle
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34. Fig. 19: Completed Motion Path
Chapter 4

35. Fig. 20: Snapping an Object to the Path
The transformation point of the object attaches to the path
Chapter 4

36. Fig. 22: Setting the Ease Value
Chapter 4

37. Create Motion Animation Effects
Resizing an object
Rotating an object
Changing the color of an object
Chapter 4

38. Resizing an Object Using a Motion Tween
The simplest process for resizing an object during a motion tween:
select a frame as the starting frame
draw or place an object on the stage
and then create a motion tween
You can select an ending frame and resize the object using the resize handles that are displayed when you select the Free Transform tool and the Scale option on the Tools panel
Chapter 4

39. Fig. 23: Snapping an Object to the Path
Chapter 4

40. Rotating an Object Using a Motion Tween
Select the object in the start or end frame, then rotate with options
Rotate Tool option of Free Transform tool
Rotate clockwise or counter clockwise a specified number of turns or degrees through Properties panel
Stipulate an Ease value to cause the rotation to accelerate or decelerate
Chapter 4

41. Changing an Object’s Color with Motion Tween
The most basic change involves starting with one color for the object and ending with another color
The tweening process slowly changes the color across the specified frames
When the movie is played, the colors are blended as the object moves across the stage
Chapter 4

42. Changing an Object’s Color with Motion Tween
More sophisticated changes using the Property inspector
Change the Tint of the object
Change the Alpha of the object
Change the Brightness of the object
Apply Advanced Effects
Chapter 4

43. Using the Onion Skin Feature
Allows you to view an outline of objects in any number of frames
Helps in positioning animated objects on the stage
The Edit Multiple Frames feature is also turned on, allowing you to view the objects in the Keyframes in a non-outline form
Chapter 4

44. Fig. 24: Onion Skin Feature Turned On
Chapter 4

45. Combining Various Animation Effects
Combine motion-tween effects so they occur simultaneously during an animation
Example: airplane object
Enter from offstage and perform a loop
Rotate the plane horizontally to create a barrel roll effect
Grow smaller as it moves across the screen to simulate the effect of plane speeding away
Chapter 4

46. Creating Timeline Effects
You can apply Timeline effects to the following objects:
Text
Graphics, including shapes, groups, and graphic symbols
Bitmap images
Button symbols
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47. Adding an Effect to an Object
To add an effect to an object, you select the object and then choose Timeline Effects from the Insert menu
The Timeline Effects menu has three options that name categories of effects available for the type of object you’ve selected
Chapter 4

48. Fig. 25: Timeline Effects Options on the Insert Menu
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49. Default Settings for Transition Effect
These settings specify the duration of the effect in:
Number of frames
Specify the direction (In or Out)
Specify a motion ease
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50. Fig. 26: Default Settings for Transition Effect Fade In
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51. Editing a Timeline Effect
To edit a Timeline effect, you select the object associated with the effect on the Stage and click Edit in the Property inspector
This displays the appropriate Effects Setting dialog box
Chapter 4

52. Deleting a Timeline Effect
When you right-click (Win) or control click (Mac) an object, a menu opens with options specific to the object you clicked
This menu is used to delete Timeline effects
on the Stage, right-click (Win) or control click (Mac) the object
select Timeline Effects from the context menu
select Remove Effect
Chapter 4

53. Fig. 29: Specifying the Rotate Settings
Rotation will be counter clockwise 1 time
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54. Fig. 31: Changing the Color Settings
Color is determined by mixing RGB values and percentages
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55. Fig. 32: Using the Onion Skin Feature
Drag End Onion Slider to Frame 22
Start Onion Skin slider
Edit multiple frames icon
Onion skin icon
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56. Fig. 35: The Library Panel Displaying the Transition Effect
Play button
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57. Fig. 36: The Completed Transition Dialog Box
Direction
Fade
Motion ease slider
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58. Fig. 37: The Completed Transform Dialog Box
Chapter 4

59. Animate Text Text can be animated like other objects
Resize, rotate, reposition, and change the colors
Create a motion-tween to move text as you would an object
Specify a rotation
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60. Animate Text
Once you create a motion animation using a text block, the text block becomes a symbol
Cannot edit individual characters
Can edit the symbol as a whole
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61. Fig. 38: Examples of Animated Text
Text rotates
Text scrolls from off the stage to the stage
Text zooms
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62. Fig. 41: Examples of Animated Text
This will be the position of the text block at the end of the animation
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63. Fig. 45: Setting the Alpha Amount to 0
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64. Fig. 46: Adding a Button
Chapter 4

65. Fig. 48: Adding a Play Action
Chapter 4

66. Chapter 4 Tasks Create frame-by-frame animations
Create motion-tweened animation
Work with motion guides
Create animation effects
Animate text
Chapter 4