How to Make a Moving Stick Figure in Flash
From a game of hangman to the old Mr. Bill cartoons, stick figures can be more animated than one would think. A stick figure can come alive with animation software programs, such as Adobe Flash. In Flash, you can control where your stick figure walks, glides, jumps or slides. Watch as your custom stick figure literally takes the stage and gets moving in Flash.
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Instructions
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1
Launch Adobe Flash. Click the “Flash Document” link in the middle column of the Start screen. Click the paintbrush icon in the “Tools” section. Select a color for the stick figure in the “Colors” box, or leave it as black.
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2
Position the cursor in the top left corner of the Stage and draw the stick figure. When sizing the figure, you’ll need room on the Stage for the stick figure to move. Draw a circle head and five lines for the body, arms and legs. Add facial features and any other accessories.
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3
Right-click a frame on the timeline, such as "20." The higher the number, the more frames between spots on the timeline. More frames means the stick figure will move more slowly. Select “Insert Keyframe” from the menu. Nothing changes on the Stage, but a new black dot is added to the keyframe in the timeline.
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Repeat the “Insert Keyframe” process for as many “moves” as you want the stick figure to perform.
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Click frame "20" in the timeline that has a black dot in it, or the second added to the timeline. Click the “Selection Tool." Draw a rectangle around the stick figure, which becomes selected.
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Drag the stick figure into a new place on the Stage. If you want to create a video clip of the stick figure moving from left to right, drag the figure a few inches from the left into the middle of the Stage.
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Click the third dot added to a keyframe in the timeline. Drag the stick figure from its original spot on the Stage to the new place. Select the spot that is best to perform the desired animation.
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8
Repeat the process to locate the stick figure for each keyframe in the animation. Click one of the small, white vertical rectangles on the timeline, which appear to the left of each of the black dots except in frame 1. Click the “Tween” menu on the “Property Inspector” below the Stage. Select “Motion.” Repeat this for all the rectangles. The timeline is now blue, split into different sections with arrows.
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Drag the timeline indicator back to frame "1." Click the “Control” menu and select “Play” to watch the stick figure move. You can also drag the timeline indicator to play the clip.
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Tips & Warnings
To make the stick figure's limbs move, alter the position of each limb for each keyframe in the timeline. Click the eraser tool in the sidebar and erase one of the figure’s legs or arms. Redraw the limb in a different position.
