Animation is the change of objects through time. The change can include movement across the stage (or onto and/or off the stage), rotation, a change in the color or transparency, or a 3D move as well.
The timing of the Flash animation is done though a series of frames. Each frame is a fraction of a second, based upon the number of frames per second. By default, Flash currently displays 24 frames per second. Previous versions of Flash used 12 frames per second, which meant the animation wasn’t real smooth.
Animation occurs through tweens which happen over a number of frames.
Motion Tweens
Motion Tweens create changes in position, size, color, or other attributes of an object on the stage.
Motion tweens require an object to move.
However, the new motion tween doesn’t require you to define a series of keyframes. Just right click on the layer with the object, and set a motion tween. Then you can move the playback head to a new frame, and drag the object, auto creating the necessary keyframes.
One nice feature is the ability to define the number of rotations for an animation, as well as aligning an object to a path as it animates.
Shape Tweens
Shape Tweens allow you to move and change the shape of an object. The object will need to be a primitive vector object in order for it to work.
One of the interesting things is that you actually move each control point in the vector object. That means that you can morph the object into a different shape. It also explains why you will sometimes get a different effect than you thought you might from the animation.
Classic Tweens
Classic Tweens were the motion tweens of days gone by (older versions of Flash). In that version you had to have an object, like you do now, except you also had to define keyframes, much like the shape tween.
In Chapter 4
When you open Chapter 4’s start file you will notice several layers with some basic animation already. Note that they also have layers in folders to help with the organization of the time line.
You can change the starting point or ending point of an animation by changing the starting/ending frame. More frames = slower animation Less Frames = longer animation.
Hold the Shift Key while sliding the last frame to make the last frame stay visible for a while longer.
Use the “Orient to Path” option in the properties panel to have your item automatically rotate to point in the direction of the movement. Hint: your Registration Point matters here.
Animation timelines in Graphic Symbols are dependent upon the main timeline. Animation timelines in Movie Clip Symbols are independent upon the main timeline.
Introduction to Flash Animation was originally found on Access 2 Learn
