Tutorial on Flash Animations

Making a basic shape move is the foundation of animation in Flash.

Adobe Flash is a software suite that lets users animate graphics, create interactive web pages, programs and games. Flash is not a software program that can be learned overnight. It is a sophisticated piece of software that requires practice and a general knowledge of the program's functions and abilities. Flash animation ranges from a simple morphing of one shape to highly complex animations with multiple elements. There are some basic techniques that are used in all animations and the principles can be applied to more complex projects. Such as using keyframes in the timeline to make changes in the animation.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Flash

Instructions

1. Open Adobe Flash and open a new document by clicking "File" then "New." Bring the timeline indicator to the beginning of the timeline or first frame. Import a graphic image to be animated by clicking "File" "Import" then "Import To Stage." Or draw a graphic image by using any of the drawing tools in Flash.

2. Click on the new image (object) on stage and press "F8" on the keyboard. This will convert the object/image into a symbol that can be manipulated. When you press F8, a pop-up window will appear asking the user to name the symbol. Write in a name and click "OK."

3. Move the symbol by left-clicking the mouse and holding it. Drag the symbol to the area on the screen where the symbol should first appear. Move the keyframe time indicator in the timeline forward to a future frame---for example, frame 20. Now move the symbol to where it should end up at the end of the animation. Press "CTRL" and "Enter" to preview the animation.

References

• Entheos: Timeline Motion Animation in Flash
• Smart Webby: How to create simple flash animations using Motion
• Tutorialized: Animation Tutorials