2D Design and Animation

Introduction to Flash IT2D102

WHAT IS FLASH ?

 Flash is a multimedia platform.

is used to create advertisements and
games.
is a tool for RIAs
(Rich Internet Applications)
can add animation, video and
interactivity to web pages.

 It can manipulate vector and raster

graphics for animation.
It supports bidirectional streaming of
both audio and video

 It can capture user input via mouse,

keyboard, microphone, and camera.
It
contains
Object-Oriented
Programming
Language
called
ActionScript
It can also create mobile applications
using Flash Lite
It can create amazing presentations
far better than powerpoint.

HISTORY OF FLASH

 It was originally developed by

Macromedia
Introduced in 1996
Successor of Future Splash (1995)
From Smartsketch
> Future Splash
> Macromedia Flash
> Adobe Flash

VERSIONS OF FLASH

Future Splash Animator (1996)

Macromedia (1-5) (1996-2000)
Flash MX (2002)
Flash MX 2004 (2003)
Macromedia Flash 8 (2005)
Adobe Flash CS3 (2007)
Adobe Flash CS4 (2008)
Adobe Flash CS5 (2010)
Adobe Flash CS5.5 (2011)
Adobe Flash CS6 (2012)
Adobe Flash CC (2013)

STARTING FLASH

The first time you start flash, you will

see a Welcome screen.
Choose -> Start -> All Programs -> Adobe
CS6 Flash.
Choose File> Open. It will open n open
dialog box.

WELCOME SCREEN

CHOOSING ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0

Choose File > New. The new document
dialog box opens.

Under general tab, choose ActionScript

3.0

LIBRARY PANEL
Stores symbols as well as assets; images,
sounds, and video files that youve
imported or created inside your Flash
document.
Manages librarys contents.
Lets you view, sort, edit, and return
information on symbols.
a. Importing an Item to the
Library Panel
b. Adding an item from Library Panel
to the Stage

Drawing Environment
Flash features a complete set
of drawing tools to handle
intricate
illustration
and
typography.
Flash is a native vector
drawing application where you
can create rich, detailed, and
scalable digital illustrations.

 Flash now supports Illustrator and

Photoshop files in their native file
formats, .ai and .psd, making it
easy to work with your favorite
applications.
All the content you create in Flash
or these other programs can be
brought to life through animation
and interactivity.

Animation
Flash creates lightweight animation
that incorporates images, sound, and
video,
and
can
be
quickly
downloaded through the web.

Animation

Flash animation is featured on web

sites, CD-ROMs, and interactive
games, and has become very
popular for developing interactive,
web-based advertisements.

Animation

Flashs compact files make it the

ideal application for creating
animated content, games, and
applications for mobile phones and
PDAs.

Animation
Flash supports traditional frame-byframe animation as well as its own
method of animation, known as
tweening.

Animation
With tweening, you specify an
object to animate, create starting
and ending frames, and Flash
automatically creates the frames in
between (hence tween) to create
slick
motion,
color,
and
transformation effects.

Layout
The Flash Stage gives you the
flexibility to create extraordinary
web site layouts without the design
restrictions that are typical of
HTML-based web pages.
You can position content anywhere
on the Flash Stage with flexibility
and precision, taking your layouts
far beyond the limitations of static
web pages.

Flash Player VS. Adobe

Flash
The Flash Player is a standalone
application found most often as a
plug-in to such popular browsers as
Internet
Explorer, Safari,
and
Firefox.
While Adobe Flash is the authoring
multimedia platform itself that
publishes SWF files to be played on
the browser by the Adobe Flash
Player.

Flash File Types

.fla (can only be opened within
Adobe Flash)
.swf (compressed movie file
published within Adobe Flash can
be played by the Adobe Flash
Player)

Starting Flash and Opening a

File
Start > All Programs > Adobe Flash CS6
Choose File > Open > Select File
Option to File>Publish Preview > HTML
( it creates an HTML or an SWF file to display)

Creating a New Document

File > New
New Document dialog box opens.

Choose ActionScript 3.0, the latest version of Flashs Scripting language.

It creates a new document configured for playback in a desktop browser
such as Chrome, Safari, or Firefox with flash player.

Creating a New Document

Right-hand side dialog box

This is the selection of the dimensions of the stage by entering pixel values for the width and
height.
FOR STARTER: Enter 800 for width and 600 for height. Ruler units as PIXELS. Keep the rest
of the values in default.

File > Save

Filename: SURNAME_Exercise01_X22

FLASH CS6 WORKSPACE

This is the default display.

CHOOSING A NEW WORKSPACE

Try predefined workspaces. The various panels

are rearranged and resized according to their
importance to the particular user.
RESETTING
(Window>Workspace>Reset)
Reminder:
Workspace

We

will

be

WORKSPACE
using

Essentials

Saving your own workspace

You can create your own workspace to work on.

The Stage

The big white rectangle in the middle of the screen is called the
stage.
Rulers ( View > Rulers)
Grid ( View > Grid > Show Grid)

MORE ON STAGE

Scale the Stage

Changing the Stage properties

DEMO

End of Module 1