How to Create a Rotating Globe Effect in Flash.

Flash is one of the most popular graphic and web design software programs for the Internet. In Flash a user is limited only by their imagination. While some creative effects look very complicated, with a little practice it is relatively easy to create spectacular effects. One of these effects is the rotating globe effect. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Open the Flash program and begin by drawing a blue ball in the center of the Flash window. Make sure the outline of the ball is a bit darker than the face of the circle. Also make sure the outline of the circle is a bit broader than the minimum setting of 1. You want to be able to distinguish between the main part of the circle and the edge. Click on the small padlock to lock this layer. Move out to about frame 50 and press F6 to set a new key frame point.
2. Create or import a map that you want to have as the land masses of the globe. Make sure this is on a second layer and define it as a movie clip. You will want to draw an outline of the land masses so that the edges of the land masses are distinguishable.
3. Position the map at the place you want it to begin on the circle which will be the globe. Select the Frame bar to be one second and hit F6 to set a new key frame on the second layer, which is the land layer.
4. Select the twentieth (20) frame, press F6 to set a new key frame and position the land mass layer at the place you want the first rotation of the globe to end.
5. Click in between the two key frames on the land layer and right click to select "Create Motion Tween." Now if you move the time bar across the frame pointers you will be able to see the land picture move from one side to the other. Now set another key frame by pressing F6 at frame 21.
6. Select the land mass picture and copy it (Ctrl-C) and then paste it at the end of the first land mass picture (Ctrl-Shift-V). Move the picture to the right until the two copies are lined up to follow one another.
7. Select the 40th frame and create a new key frame by pressing F6. Position the end of the second copy of the land mass picture. Move the time bar across the region of frame 1 through 40 and see that the land mass and copy of land mass picture move across the face of the globe.
8. Pick the extra frames from 41 to 50 and delete them by pressing Shift-F5. Now test the animation by pressing Ctrl-Enter. Check that the animation of the land mass moving over the globe looks about right.
9. Place a mask on the globe layer. Lock the land layer, click the button to create a new layer and then unlock the globe layer.
10. Select the fill of the circle by clicking anywhere inside the circle. Now press Ctrl-C to copy the fill area and re-lock the globe layer.
11. Move to the new layer and past the fill of the globe into this layer by pressing Ctrl-Shift-V. This is pasted in with the frame counter at frame 1. Select a new color for this item, yellow. This is the mask for the area outside the edge of the globe.
12. Rename the new layer, "Mask." Then lock the Mask layer. Now right click on that layer and select "Mask." It will now mask anything underneath it.
13. Move the frame bar across the bar and watch to see that everything looks right and finally check by pressing Ctrl-Enter and watch the animation. When everything looks right, select File and Save As to save your Rotating Globe Effect.

Tips & Warnings

• As with every piece of software the best teacher is to play with the effects that it can produce or things that it can do until you are comfortable with them. Then your speed can pick up in the creation process.

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