Flash Lessons/ Tutorial
Ok, hello. im hellraiser, and i decided to make this tutorial for those people who are new to flash. i will teach you the basics and a few other things you may need to know to start getting better at flash and make you become a good aniamtor as time goes on.
I have been using flash for about 2 1/2 years now, and i know what im talking about. i may have a low B+ Batting Avereage, and i may not be to good at flash, but i sure do know alot about it.
Ok, lets get Started
Getting Started
OK, this tutorial is for any flash version, from the origional (Damn thats old) to the latest version MX 2004. i would preffer Flash MX (6).
Ok, open up flash, and go to 'File > Save As' save the name of the movie you are trying to pruduce such as 'Battle.fla'
(i would make my own folder, on my desktop or documents, and name it flash files, so i can save all of my flash movies here. and be organized)
ok, the big white box you see is the stage, it is where your animation is going to be seen in the .swf format (Export, will teach later) to change the defualt background color, click on the stage and goto properties (if you have MX, MX2004 it will be on the bottom) for older versions, goto 'Windows>Properties'. it will show a color diologue, change the color from white to any color u want the default background color to be.
Also, you must learn 'Layers' ok, layers are for each like thing u draw, one layer can be for the Music, Bakcground, Charector Arm, Buildings, Scenery. Etc. to add a layer go to 'Insert > Layer' thats about it.
Just mess around with flash a little bit, try to get the hang of drawing, (a good practice is FBF, i will get to that shortly"
Ok, to make a flash movie, F5 (Frame) F6 (Keyframe) F7 (Blank Keyframe)
When you are making a movie, u can use F5 for specific tweening and just adding fames without an animation, you can find an example of F5 (Frame) Here .
F6 is to go to the next frame, but it will be the same thing u see on the previous frame, you can edit the second one, press F6 again, and edit the third one, thats a good way to practice animation. This is an example of what a F6 (Keyframe) should look like, Here .
ok, last F7, which is good for using in FBF (Frame By Frame). F7, adds a blank keyframe, which means, 'it has nothing in it, besides the stage in the background' An example of F7, Here .
FPS (Frames Per Second)
FPS (Frames per second) means how fast the movie will go, if you go 100 frames per second, the movie will run extremely FAST. if you have it on 1, it will goo really slow. 12 is the starting defualt FPS, the more fps you have, the smoother the animation is. i prefer 24 Fps. Great quality and speed, eay to get used to.
To change your FPS (Frames per Second) go to 'Modify > Document' and you will see 'Frame Rate', change it from 12 to 24 or whatever speed you want it to be, Example .
Tweening
Tweening is the most important and most used thing to be used in flash. its unbelievable how useful it can be. i am going to teach you the basic 'Tweening'
Motion Tweening
ok, motion tweeining is bar far the most used tween. heres an easy way to learn how
ok, Draw a Circle, (shape/size/color dont matter). when you are finished, select it with the mouse shown Here . ok, select it and press F8, then select Graphic. Example .
when u are done, (make sure theres nothing else on the frame, just the graphic symbol of the circle) press F5 about. like 10 times, so it geos up to 'Frame 10'. then hit F6. click in the middle frame of the gap, and goto the properties, then on tween, select 'Motion', then on the last frame move the circle graphic to the other side of the Stage. so you should be seeing This , the movie should be looking like this .
Shape Tweening
Same exact thing as the motion tween, except only works with fills, do not use any symbols like graphic symbols or groups to use a shape tween.
Easing
This, i would be happy to teach you, i recently learn this and it can make cool effects like starting clow in tweens then ending fast, such as making a tween in something like This . see the way it starts slow, ends fast, then starts fast then slows down, thats what easing deos.
ok, to 'Ease'. you do the same thing as the tween, follow the directions of the Motion tween, except, when you go to 'Properties > Tween > Motion' theres easing underneeth it where it says motion (after u select motion) change it from 0-100. Example .
ok thats about it for tweens, many good flash artists use tweens for movement, make each part of a charectors body a Graphic or Movie Clip and put it on their own layers, then use motion and easing.
Music
ok, this is how you add music to your movies, in order to get a Song into your flash library, you have to go to 'File > Import to library' then it will show all of your folders and everything, Flash can only import .mp3's and Wavs (that i know of). find the folder of your music and import it.
Go to a frame, (dont f6 each frame, F5 it all the way) and goto to properties and add the music under sound. But it will show its under Event Mode, so change it to 'Stream' and it will play with the frames.
Compressing Music
to compress music, you go to your library, right click the song, select Export Settings then select Mp3 (or whatever file the song is). select the size, then hit ok.
FBF, Frame By Frame
FBF is one of the most simple things to do for animating, u can use the F7 key, and use it for every frame. draw something, press F7 then draw the enxt think u want it to do, if you try this. i suggest u use the 'Onion Tool'
More will be posted when time comes
FBF Continued!! ->
