How to Create a Comic With Flash

Flash prints comics may come as a surprise to artists who consider it to be an animation or multimedia tool. Software designed for making comics will offer more flexibility, but if you already own Flash you can save the cost of additional software by using Flash's storyboard feature as a comic layout tool.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Create the Flash Document

1. Create a new Flash document. Make sure to create a Flash file, not a presentation or form.
2. Decide on the panel size. Panels with a ratio of 1.25 to 1 will print four panels (two rows and two columns) on a vertical 8.5 by 11-inch page. Single-page, three-panel comics can reduce to any printable size.
3. Choose “Document” from the Modify menu. Set the stage properties to match the panel size ratio.
4. Add keyframes for each cartoon panel. Select the first frame then open the Insert Menu and choose “Timeline" then “Keyframe.” Flash will place a circle in the frame. Repeat for each panel (you can add or remove frames later).
5. Add the artwork for each panel to its corresponding frame. You can draw your artwork using Flash's drawing tools. To import artwork, select a frame then open the File Menu and choose "Import" and then "Import to Stage." The artwork will appear in the frame.

Print Your Comic

6. Set your page orientation for the printer. Multi-page comics usually print in portrait format; three-panel, single-page comics print with landscape orientation.
7. Choose "Page Setup" (Windows) or "Print Margins" (Mac OS) from the File menu.
8. Check the "Center" boxes for the left/right margins and top/bottom margins.
9. Select "All Frames" from the Frames pull-down menu and "Storyboard Boxes" from the Layout pull-down menu.
10. Enter the number of frames you want to print horizontally in the "Print Across" field. Flash will calculate the number of frames printed top to bottom automatically.
11. Accept the changes and print your file.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't mistake "frames" for "keyframes." Insert keyframes for comic panels. Keyframes allow the artwork to change from one frame to the next.
• If your system software allows you to print PDF files, you can print your comic to upload to the web.
• You can experiment with frame size and the number of frames per page before you settle on a final document (frame) dimensions. Add 10 or more empty frames to your document then print your empty document as a PDF file. Continue to change the document dimensions until your PDF file prints with the number of frames you want per page.
• This method only allows you to create evenly sized and spaced panels. If you want to vary the panel size and shape, set up the stage to your page size, and draw the individual panels with the line tool (or buy comic creation software).
• Earlier versions of Flash may not print panels as storyboards.

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