How to use Flash 5/MX.

You only need to know 10 things in Flash 5/MXto get animating.

1; To make your movie compatible for video go to the Main Menu Bar>Modify>Movie (or Document in MX) (Ctrl + M) and set a frame rate of 25 frames per second and Dimensions of; 768px by 576px.

2; Draw something. This will create a key frame on the first frame of the Timeline.

3; Select the thing that you've drawn and F8 = this will convert it to symbol (save as "Graphic").

4; Ctrl + L = Library (where you will find your symbols). You can drag symbols out of the library at any time and stick them on the stage.

5; Main menu>Insert>Layer (or Insert Layer button) = new layer. If you want a character with more than one layer.

6; Select a frame further up the Timeline and then F6 = Create key.

7; With this key frame selected move the symbol that you've drawn and press the return key on your keyboard to see it jump across the screen.

8; If you want to in-between these two key frames yourself, press F6 to create a key frame on the Timeline in-between these first two keys and move your symbol. If you want the computer to do it for you right click on the area between the two keys and select "Create Motion Tween". This will create a very even movement between the two key positions that you have very little control over.

9; If you want to change the shape of your symbol, select it and press Ctrl + B. This will "break it apart". Manipulate it into a new shape, select it and then press F8 to form it into a new symbol.

10; To output your movie press Ctrl + Return key on your keyboard to create a .swf file (Shock Wave Flash file). This will save to the same place that you are saving your .fla (flash) files. To make it play on it's own, right click on the .swf file and click Open. This will make it play. Go to File>Create Projector. This will create a .exe file that you can e-mail to people to annoy them. To do anything else go to File>Export Movie and select what sort of movie you want to create (.avi, .mov, bitmap sequence etc).

You need to know 5 things in order to import your drawings into flash.

1; To scan your drawings open up the scanning software on your computer and scan as black and white images at 72 d.p.i. and 720 by 576). This will produce an image that is just about a 10 field, 1 south of 12 F Centre (in old money). It may be better to scan through PhotoShop then it is easy to rotate your drawings from portrait to landscape.

2; Save the images as bitmaps (.bmp) files and name them in a sequential manner; name001.bmp, name002.bmp, name003.bmp, etc). Remember where you have saved them.

3; Open up Flash and import your files by selecting the first frame of the level you want the file to be imported into and left clicking in Main Menu>File>Import. In the "Import Window" left click on the first .bmp file in the sequence and a window will come up asking if this is part of a sequence and would you like to import all of the .bmp's. Click "Yes" and all your .bmp,s will be inserted into the time line. (It is possible to rotate your drawings at this point using the rotate tool in Flash [right click object and select "Rotate"] but it's more fiddly than PhotoShop).

4; Convert each image by selecting and left clicking in the Main Menu>Modify>Trace Bitmap. This will turn the image into something you can colour or turn into a symbol. Delete the outside background of the image by selecting it and pressing delete on the keyboard!

Animating/animated symbols in Flash.

This could be used to do a character walking on the spot and then you could pan your character across the screen. Select a frame on the timeline and draw your first man doing a walk cycle. Save as a symbol (doesn't seem to matter if it's a graphic or a movie.) Open up the Library (Ctrl+L) and right click on the symbol in the Library and select "Edit" (you can also double left click your drawing on the stage). This will take you "into" the symbol. It has its own time line and you can do everything to it individually that you could do to the scene that you are creating. Make him walk by creating key frames and changing his position at each key frame until you have a walk cycle. Above the timeline there will be a clapperboard and the words "Scene 1". Click this to go back into the scene, from editing your symbol. Set a keyframe further along the time line and you will now have a man walking on the spot. At frame 1 select the man on the stage and move him to one side of the screen. On the time line, right click the frames between the first keyframe and the second and select "Create Motion Tween" (I HATE THE WORD TWEEN). This will create a smooth movement between the first keyframe and the second, so you should have a man walking across screen.

Animating along a path.

Create a symbol, create a keyframe on the time line (F6), create a second keyframe along the time line, move your symbol. "Motion tween" between the two keyframes (right click and select "Create Motion Tween". This will give you your basic bit of animation. Right click on the word "Layer 1" in the timeline. Select "Add Motion Guide" and another layer will be created, linked to the first layer. Draw a line that you want the symbol to move along. On the "Layer 1" time line select the first key frame and drag the symbol to the start of the line (make sure "Snap" is on). Select the last keyframe on the time line and drag the symbol to the end of the line.

Keyboard shortcuts.

Drawing tools.

V = Arrow tool (the thing you select things with).

N = Line tool.

L = Lasso tool.

P = Pen tool.

T = Text tool.

O = Oval tool.

R = Rectangle tool.

Y = Pencil tool.

B = Brush tool.

S = Inkbottle tool.

K = Bucket tool.

I = Dropper tool.

E = Eraser tool.

View tools.

Z = Zoom.

Ctrl + 1, 2 or 3 = Size stage.

Ctrl + = = Zoom in.

Ctrl + - = Zoom out.

Ctrl + # = Show Grid.

Playback tools.

< and > = Move frame backwards or forwards.

Return Key = play.

 

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