Many animators use Macromedia Flash for detailed vector-based animation. One
of the strengths of Flash is its versatile workflow and production process. I
have developed some custom techniques that can help you create and manage the
various moving parts of a complex animated character. In this article I
reveal some of my best-kept Flash secrets while taking a single character
from pencil sketch to fully animated Flash cartoon.
Drawing in Flash
Macromedia Flash offers several drawing tools for creating cool characters
and more. Each tool differs from the others and yields different stylistic
results. Some tools create larger file sizes while other tools result in
smaller files. As you become more familiar with these tools, you will learn
to choose the tool that best suits the artistic style you want and any file
size requirements you may have to abide by. It's simply ... (more)
Macromedia Flash is everywhere. No seriously, it is everywhere. Not only is
Flash used for online and offline movies, websites, games, and applications
but it's also used for DVDs and broadcast television.
In fact, my first few years working with Flash (versions 3 and 4) were
dedicated to authoring content for several broadcast animated series.
Exporting from Flash to video formats so I could import and edit them on an
Avid workstation was my only authoring requirement of Flash. I didn't need to
know about Flash for the web, ActionScript, optimization, preloaders, or even
button... (more)
Flash Basic 8 and Flash Professional 8 offer several ways to include
animation and special effects in your document. For example, you can create
tweened animations using the Timeline and Flash workspace, automated Timeline
effects (by making selections in a dialog box), or ActionScript code.
To create tweened animations, you create starting and ending frames and let
Flash create the animation for the frames in between. Flash varies the
object's size, rotation, color, or other attributes between the starting and
ending keyframes to create the appearance of movement. You can also cr... (more)
By tweening shapes, you can create an effect similar to morphing, making one
shape appear to change into another shape over time. Flash can also tween the
location, size, color, and opacity of shapes.
Tweening one shape at a time usually yields the best results. If you tween
multiple shapes at one time, and want them to morph together, all the shapes
must be on the same layer. Otherwise, for some effects, you should shape
tween each shape on separate layers if you do not want them to affect each
other. Each rectangle‹the curtain effect in the background and the
rectangle ... (more)
Chris Georgenes is a full-time freelance artist, animator, and all-around designer for the web, CD-ROM, and television. His clients include Pileated Pictures, LucasArts, Universal Records, Plot Developers, and AOL, among others. He maintains www.mudbubble.com as his online portfolio and www.keyframer.com as his Flash tutorial website. Chris is also a member of Team Macromedia.
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