CIS 421 ›Flash> Drawing in Flash
Drawing in Flash CS3
Flash CS3 Professional provides different ways to draw elements on the Flash stage or in Flash graphics or movieclip symbols
Vector & Bitmap Graphic Formats
Vector graphics
- Describes images by using lines and curves, called vectors
- vectors include color and position properties.
- When you modify vector graphics, you modify the vectors, so they scale up in size smoothly.
- They are small to download, becuase they are computer algorithms.
Bitmap graphics
- Describe images using pixels or dots of color, arranged in a grid.
- When you edit a bitmap graphic, you modify pixels rather than lines and curves.
- Bitmap graphics are resolution dependent, because the data describing the image is fixed to a grid of a particular size.
- resizing a bitmap graphic to make it bigger can make the edges of the image jaggy as pixels and make the image look pixelated or spotty.
Displaying a bitmap graphic on an output device that has a lower resolution than the image itself also degrades its quality.
Flash Drawing Models
Merge Drawing Model
- The default drawing model
- automatically merges shapes that you draw when you overlap them.
- If you select a shape that is merged with another, and move it, the shape below it is permanently altered.
- the portion of the second shape that overlaid the first shape "eats" the first shape that it overlapped when you remove the second shape
Object Drawing model
- Shapes drawn as separate objects --do not automatically merge together when overlaid.
- overlapped shapes do not alter in appearance moved apart, or rearranged.
- each shape is a separate object
- Flash surrounds the shape with a rectangular bounding box when selected.
- Use Pointer tool to move the object by clicking the bounding box and dragging the shape to a position it on the Stage.
Geometric Shape Tools
Prebuilt Simple Drawing Object shapes in tool panel that pops out:
- line -
- oval -- hold down shift key to draw a circle
- rectangle -- hold down shift key to draw a square
Modify Primitive Shapes in Property Inspector
- Rectangle & Oval Primitive Shape tools create dynamic shapes adjusted by controls in Property Inspector
- Convert to simple drawing objects to edit shapes in document window.
- No longer have options available in property inspector
Primitive oval tool shape modifications
- Draw an circle using the Oval Primitive tool (pop-out available from rectangle drawing tool in tool panel)
- In the Property Inspector for the Oval Primitive, change the
parameters to equal the examples above
- Start angle
- End angle
- inner radius
- Try the same settings with close path unchecked
- Hidden Settings Dialog box for Oval Primitive tool supplies more settings.
- Select Oval Primitive Tool
- Hold down ALT key & click on document window
- can set width, height & draw from location (center is default)
Primitive Rectangle tool shape modifications
- only need to set one corner radius and the other 3 get set automaticlly
Drawing Stars with polyStar tool
- Select the PolyStar tool from
the Rectangle shape pop-up menu.
- Select Window > Properties > Properties and select stroke and fill attributes.
- Click Options and do the following:
- Style select Star.
- Number Of Sides: enter a number between 3 and 32.
- Star Point Size: enter a number between 0 and 1 to specify the depth of the star points.
- A number closer to 0 creates deeper points (like needles).
- If you are drawing a polygon, leave this setting unchanged.
- Click OK.
- Drag on the Stage.
Enable the object drawing model
- Select a drawing tool that supports the Object Drawing model (the Pencil, Line, Pen, Brush, Oval, Rectangle, and Polygon tools).
- Select the Object Drawing button from the Options category of the Tools panel, or press the J key to toggle between the Merge and Object Drawing models.
- The Object Drawing button toggles between the Merge and Object Drawing models.
- Set preferences for contact sensitivity when you select shapes created by using the Object Drawing model.
<--- object drawing button
Convert Merge created shape to Object Drawing model shape
- To join two or more shapes into a single, object-based shape, use the Union command.
- Select the shape on the Stage.
- Click Modify > Combine Objects > Union.
- After conversion, shape is treated like a vector-based drawing object that does not alter its appearance by interacting with other shapes.
