How to Make Fireworks in Flash CS3

Fireworks are popular on holidays and computer screens as well. You can use Flash CS3 to make your own fireworks display and email the SWF file to families and friends on New Years or Independence Day. A simple gradient burst and a mask can make fireworks of any intensity and color.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Draw a circle with a four-color radial gradient on the stage. You can use any four colors you want, but the innermost and outermost colors should have a 0 percent alpha to create a halo effect. Convert the gradient to a graphic symbol (F8). Move it to the top of the stage.
2. Double click on your symbol to switch to the edit window. Create a one-color firework burst shape on a new layer above the color gradient. The burst shape should resemble a series of narrow crescents cascading out from the center. They shouldn't be uniform.
3. Add keyframes to both layers in frame 15, and a second set of keyframes in frame 60. Select the frames in both layers and choose "Create Motion Tween" from the Insert menu Timeline submenu. You should see arrows on both layers.
4. Add transformations to animate your fireworks. Select both objects in frame 1 and use the Transform palette to scale them to 2 percent. Scale the objects in the final keyframe to 30 percent and set the gradient's alpha to 0 percent.
5. Select the layer with the burst shape and right click. Choose "Mask" from the context menu. The burst shape will mask the gradient to create the illusion of an exploding firework. Now select the animation frames in both layers and move them forward in the timeline so that they burst begins in frame 15.
6. Create a new layer for the launch flare. Draw a stroke at the center of your fireworks and fill it with a four-color linear gradient (0 percent alpha at each end). Add one keyframe at frame 15 and another at frame 16. Use a motion tween in the first 15 frames to stretch the stroke from the bottom corner to the center of the fireworks and delete the stroke from frame 16.
7. Select your symbol in the library and choose "Duplicate" from the palette options movie to make copies of your fireworks symbol. Change the gradient color in the different copies. Now you can add an entire fireworks display to different points in your main timeline.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't convert your fireworks to a movie clip symbol or the same display will play over and over again in the timeline.

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