How to Make Animations With Illustrator CS5

Illustrator can convert layers in animated frames.

Although Adobe Illustrator is not an animation program, many animations begin with vector artwork created in Illustrator. To simplify the process of creating animation between Illustrator and Adobe Flash, Adobe’s animation program, Illustrator contains a feature that allows you to export your illustration as .swf animation file. Each frame must be on a separate layer before you can export the animation.

Instructions

1. Create the artwork that you want to display on the first frame of the animation.

2. Click on the “Window” menu and select “Layers” to open the Layers panel. Click on the “Create New Layer” button.

3. Click on the new layer and create the artwork that you want to display in the second frame of the animation.

4. Continue creating new layers with artwork for each frame of the animation.

5. Click on the “File” menu and select “Export.”

6. Select “Flash (*.SWF) from the “Save as type” drop-down menu. Click “Save.”

7. Select “AI Layers to SWF Frames” from the “Export As” drop-down menu.

8. Click on the “Web Preview” button to view the animation. Press “OK” to save the animation.

Tips & Warnings

• If you draw the artwork on the same layer, you can use the Layers panel flyout menu to release each path to a separate layer.

References

• Adobe Illustrator CS5: Create Flash Animation
• Vecotr Tuts Plus.com; Create Flash Animations Entirely in Illustrator; Cheryl Graham; November 2009