Getting Familiar with Paths in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional > Getting Familiar with Paths in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. Before the introduction of Flash, most popular graphics programs were designed to create and edit bitmap graphics. Flash was one of the first popular programs to rely primarily on vector graphics instead of bitmaps. Tips for Creating Graphics in Flash. The Arrow tool is Flash's selection tool. The Subselection Tool. The difference between the. Total Training for Adobe Flash Professional CS6: Essentials will teach. Modifying Shapes with the Direct Selection Tool. Using the Subselection tool in Adobe Flash Professional you can reshape a motion path by exposing the control points and B. This is a basic tutorial on how to use flash tools in Actionscript 2.0. Getting Familiar with Paths in Adobe Flash CS4. The fundamental difference between them is that the Selection tool is used to. The sub-selection tool in Adobe Flash allows designers to select strokes or. Flash Tools: Sub-Selection Tool. One of the innovations in Flash was a new set of tools that made creating vector graphics as simple and intuitive as creating bitmap graphics. Since then, other programs such as Adobe Illustrator have further simplified the process of making vector graphics, but their tools often work differently from those in Flash. You need to become familiar with the unique ways in which Flash handles vector graphics. The most basic element of a vector drawing is a path. A path can be defined as a series of anchor points connected by either straight lines or curves. Think of the anchor points as a skeleton that gives the path its structure; and think of the connecting lines or curves as skin stretched over the skeleton. Paths can be open or closed. An open path has a beginning and end, marked by anchor points known as endpoints. A closed path completely encloses an area; it has no beginning and no end (see Figure 1). You create paths by using drawing tools such as the Pen tool, the Pencil tool, and the Brush tool, all of which you'll learn about later in this chapter. To do anything to an existing path—such as edit, move, or delete it—you must tell Flash which path you want to work with by selecting it with a tool. The two most important such tools are the Selection tool, represented by a black arrow, and the Subselection tool, represented by a white arrow (see Figure 2). To use these tools, click the item you wish to select. The fundamental difference between them is that the Selection tool is used to select an entire path, while the Subselection tool is used for individual anchor points within a path. A selected anchor point is represented by a filled- in circle; an unselected anchor point is represented by a hollow circle (see Figure 3). One of the innovations in Flash was allowing a user to work with vector paths without always having to pay attention to anchor points. For example, if you wanted to change a straight line into a curve in a traditional vector drawing program, you'd have to select the anchor points at each end of the curve and manipulate them. A small curve appears next to the pointer, alerting you that dragging from this point will reshape the line or curve (see Figure 4). If you position the Selection tool over an anchor point, a small right angle appears next to the pointer (see Figure 5). This alerts you that dragging from this location will change the position of the anchor point itself, rather than reshaping the line or curve that connects two anchor points. In this tutorial I will demonstrate the difference by looking at how Flash Shape. Selection Tool: Copy the Clip Art to. Adobe Illustrator Tutorial – Basic Selection VS Direct Selection. Adobe Illustrator Tutorial – Basic Selection. You will see a slight difference. In Adobe Flash there are four types of selection tools. Selection Tool (V), Subselection. The main difference between these two selection tools is that the. Put the Pencil tool into 'Smooth mode'. Then use the Subselection tool to fix. To use either of these techniques, you have to make sure the path that you want to edit isn't currently selected. Creating Graphics in Flash . In this article you will also see how Flash has some definite similarities and some unexpected differences with the other drawing applications such as Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Free. Hand. This chapter is from the book . If you are familiar with. Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Free. Hand. you'll find definite similarities and some unexpected differences. Flash. offers several drawing tools for creating the graphics for your Flash projects. Flash differs. from those other applications by the way it handles graphics. Flash will join. two items of the same color value if the two graphics intersect. The line or. stroke of an item is also considered a separate element. As you will see in. It's just a matter of getting used to them. As just mentioned, the drawing and handling of graphics in Flash takes a. Figure 3. 1 shows the. Flash 2. 00. 4 toolbar and highlights each tool found in this powerful toolset. The Arrow Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–VThe Arrow tool is Flash's selection tool. If you want to move an item. Of course, you can always use the arrow keys. Figure. 3. 1 The Flash 2. Toward the end of the chapter, when we get into actually creating artwork in. Flash, you'll see how this tool can also be an aid in drawing. The Arrow. tool does have one option: Snap to Objects. Use Snap to Objects to have artwork snap to the grid. This option will also. The Subselection Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–AThe Arrow tool has a counterpart—the Subselection tool (also known as. Remember that Flash is vector- based, so the main job of. Subselection tool is to select actual vector points of an item. This tool. has no options. Again, we'll discuss this tool later in the chapter as we. The Line Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–NWhen drawing with the Line tool, you can create straight lines in any. To start drawing a line, choose the Line tool. Tools panel, click anywhere on the stage, drag the line toward the. The Line tool has no options. However. the size and style of the stroke will determine the appearance of the line. You. can change the stroke's properties in the Properties Inspector when the. Line tool is selected in the Tools panel. You can draw several line segments to make a shape, as shown in Figure. The Line tool can be used to draw a triangle by connecting three different. The Properties Inspector offers options for changing the line's. To change the appearance of the stroke, you can select a color and size from. Properties Inspector. You also have a choice of styles—solid, dashed. Simply click the Custom button in the Properties Inspector with. Here's an explanation of each style option: NOTEFlash does not offer a way to save custom style settings. Also, all units for. You can access the Stroke Style. Custom button in the Properties Inspector. When. you click the button, the dialog box will appear, as shown in Figure. Hairline. This stroke style draws one- pixel- wide strokes and. Often, when a document. This is not an option in the dialog box but is available through. Properties Inspector. Solid. This option is for drawing solid lines and strokes. The. only adjustable attributes are the thickness, color, and sharp corners of the. Dashed. This choice generates a stroke with dashed breaks within. To change the length of the dash and the gap space between dashes. Stroke Style dialog. Color, thickness, and sharp corners are also adjustable. Dotted. Choose the dotted style if the desired effect is to have a. This style has an option for. Color, thickness, and sharp corners are. Ragged. The ragged style creates random wavy lines with dotted. The Stroke Style dialog box offers options to change the pattern. Color, thickness, and sharp corners are also. Use a combination of all these styles for unlimited. Stipple. This choice creates a stroke style to resemble that of an. Dot size, dot variation, and density. Color. thickness, and sharp corners are also adjustable attributes. Hatched. The hatched line style resembles an artist's. The thickness attribute determines the thickness of the. You also have. options for spacing, jiggle, rotate, curve, and the length of the hatched lines. If you use the Eyedropper tool to sample the stroke appearance of any. Flash, after the sample has been made, the Eyedropper tool will. The Ink. Bottle does not have any options, but you can choose the color, thickness, and. Properties Inspector in conjunction with one of. The Eyedropper Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–IUse the Eyedropper (or Dropper) tool to select color values on the screen. If. you are drawing a new object and prefer for the fill or stroke color to appear. Eyedropper tool to. When you click the color value, it's automatically. Ink Well tool in the Tools panel. If you choose a. stroke color, all attributes of that stroke (including size, color, and style). If you are using the Eyedropper tool from the Tools panel, you. If you are using the. Dropper tool built into the Swatches panel, you can sample a color from any. The Pencil Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–YWhen drawing with the Pencil tool, you'll notice it uses a stroke color. You can change its stroke appearance by choosing a. Properties Inspector. The Pencil tool has some interesting. These options are detailed. Figure. 3. 4: Straighten. Choose this option if your goal is to draw a perfect. The sensitivity of how Flash determines. Preferences dialog box. You can access these preferences. Edit, Preferences. For more information on preferences, refer. Chapter 2, . Generally this option will smooth out any curvy. Ink. This choice is for freehand drawing without Flash making. Figure. 3. 4 Pencil tool options. Figure. 3. 5 A circle drawn with each style. TIPWhen you're drawing with the Ink option selected, it may look as if some. Flash. isn't making any adjustments to the curviness or straightness of the line. After the line has been drawn, you may feel that it needs to be smoother or. This may aid in the visual appearance of the stroke, and you might. To make a. line straighter, follow these steps: Click the line with the Arrow tool. The line will be selected. With the line selected, in the Options portion of the toolbar, as shown. Figure 3. 6, choose the Straighten. Figure. 3. 6 The Arrow tool's options. Click the Straighten button as many times as needed to get the desired. The same method will work when smoothing a line. The Rectangle Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–RThe Rectangle tool is used to create squares and rectangles. To create a. perfect square, hold down the Shift key to constrain the drawn object's. One option the Rectangle tool has involves. If you click the Round Radius. Options section of the toolbar (or double- click the Rectangle tool. In the text field, type in a numeric. TIPSometimes it is difficult to gage how much roundness you will want to put on. Drawing and Coloring Rectangle Shapes. Here are the steps to follow to draw and color a rectangle shape: Choose the Rectangle tool from the Tools panel. In the Color portion of the Tools panel (or the Properties Inspector). If no stroke is desired, choose the first box in. Figure 3. 7. Figure. Choosing the No Stroke option. If you would prefer to use a custom color, something other than a Web- safe. No Stroke button to bring. Color Picker. Inside the Color Picker are many different ways to. Choose a fill color. All the same techniques in terms of color selection. To create rounded edges, click the Round Rectangle Radius button in the. Options section of the Tools panel. Place the cursor in the stage; then click and drag until the rectangle. If the goal is to create a perfect square, hold down. Shift key. NOTEIf you choose Snap to Objects from the options when you draw a rectangle, you'll. Figure. 3. 8. Figure. Drawing a square with Snap to Objects selected. CAUTIONThe higher the value entered in the Round Rectangle Radius dialog box, the. Avoid very large numbers, especially for. If you do use a large number, you run the risk of turning. When using the Rectangle tool, you may notice some unusual behavior when it. This is discussed in detail in the . To create a perfect. Shift key. This will constrain the drawn object's. If Snap to Objects is selected in the options. The Paint Bucket Tool. Shortcut: PC and Mac–KThe Paint Bucket is used to fill an item with a color or gradient. To choose. a color or gradient, click the Fill Color tool of the fill swatch in the Tools. Properties Inspector. After you select the fill color, move the Paint Bucket tool over an object. In the Options area of the Tools panel, notice that the Paint Bucket tool has. Gap Size option as displayed in Figure. The Paint Bucket options. Select the first choice, Don't Close Gaps, if there are certain areas in. The Close Small Gaps, Close Medium Gaps, and Close Large Gaps options all. If you have complex drawings that need to be filled, you. If you have Close Large Gaps selected. The last option in the Tools panel is Lock Fill, which allows you to apply a. Using Lock Fill to Apply a Gradient Across Multiple. Objects. Here are the steps to follow to use Lock Fill to apply a gradient across. Draw four squares on the stage and align them using the Align. Space them out so that the entire stage is being used, edge to. Choose the Paint Bucket tool in the Tools panel and be sure to. Click the Lock Fill button in the Options portion of the Tools. Fill the first square, then the second, third, and fourth. Then click one of the items. You'll. notice the gradient has applied color across more than one item. The effect. however, looks a bit different when compared to the Lock Fill effect. If you want to fill the squares with a bitmap, choose File, Import. Import to Stage and search for the image on your computer. When the image is in. Flash, highlight it and choose Modify, Break Apart. This tool is used to draw multisided. To select this tool, you click and hold down on. Rectangle tool in the toolbar. Then a submenu will appear as shown in Figure. Select the Poly. Star tool from there. There is no shortcut key for. Mac or the PC. When you select the Poly. Star tool, there is only one option in the Options.
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