Flash application for creating animation. Creating flash animation

A free program for creating Flash animation using ready-made applets.

Many of you, I think, have ever tried to create your own websites (and maybe you even own a very popular portal).

One way or another, everyone has encountered the problem of effectively designing their web pages. And, as static HTML code is gradually becoming a thing of the past, many today are turning their attention to such popular technologies as JavaScript and Flash. They allow you to create beautiful animated dynamic pages with advanced functionality.

It won’t be difficult for a specialist to make a small animated flash banner, but what should the rest of the uninitiated do? If a thorough study of programming languages ​​is not part of your immediate plans, then you can, as always, resort to the help of specialized software. Today we will get acquainted with the basics of working in the program Advanced Effect Maker.

This utility allows you to create all kinds of Flash and JavaScript effects, both your own “from scratch” and based on ready-made templates! Advanced Effect Maker exists in several editions, which differ in the number of ready-made effects and the degree of user freedom. Let's compare the maximum and free configurations:

Comparison of the free version of the Flash editor Advanced Effect Maker Free Edition with the commercial version Commercial Edition

The biggest drawback of the free version of the program is the presence of a kind of pre-apploder, which allows you to view some ready-made effects only after clicking on the created banner. This is where all the differences basically end :).

Program installation

Installation of Advanced Effect Maker occurs in a standard way, so let’s move on directly to working with the program:

When we first launch, we will be asked to read the license agreement. To accept it, click the “I agree” button. After this, you can begin to study the utility interface:

Interface and working with the editor

Despite the English language, everything here is simple and clear. The Advanced Effect Maker window is divided into two parts. On the left there are only two large buttons: the first is for entering the gallery of available effects, and the second is for adding additional applets (this is if you want to buy them;)). On the right side we see a catalog of available templates with subsections and a preview window, as well as an effect editing area.

To start editing the desired template, just click on its image, and if you just want to see how it works, then click “Preview” under the image:

When opening the desired effect, a message may appear indicating that the file already exists. If this happens, then simply ignore it by clicking the “Ok” button:

If the template opened successfully, we will be able to see several tabs that contain all kinds of settings:

Program settings and animation creation

The first tab is “General”. This contains general project settings. Usually these are dimensions (width - width and height - height), name (file name), quality of the future file (quality), and also the window mode of the flash movie (window mode).

The second tab, “Color,” as the name suggests, is responsible for the colors used in the project. Everything is very clear here, so let’s move on to the next one – “Messages”:

Here we have two fields. In the first field (on the left) we enter the text that we need to display with a special effect, and in the second - the link that the user will follow by clicking on our banner. The advantage of Advanced Effect Maker is that we can enter an unlimited number of lines of text (as well as links), but the main disadvantage is the lack of support for the Russian language:(.

The next two tabs are used to manage fonts (Fonts) and animation properties (Others), respectively. One caveat: if you want to use alternative TTF fonts, they will have to be converted first to be compatible with Advanced Effect Maker. To do this, call the “Convert Fonts” tool from the “Tools” menu and, having selected the desired font, click the “Convert” button:

When all changes have been made, we can click the “Create Applet” button. After that, two files will be created in the project destination folder: SWF (direct animation) and HTML (contains instructions for implementing the resulting animation into the code of your page:

Saving work results

However, that's not all. With Advanced Effect Maker you can create your own effect based on an existing one, or completely from scratch! To do this, go to the “Tools” menu and activate the “Plugin Maker” item:

Here you will first need to set a name for the new project, as well as some other parameters (optional). After this, you can click the “Create Applet” button, and we will go directly to the effects editor window:

There are several buttons here that allow you to enter some standard functions into the future effect script. The only problem is that you will have to enter all the necessary variables and values ​​manually yourself, and this requires some programming skills in ActionScript or JavaScript :(.

conclusions

Advanced Effect Maker may appeal to novice web designers, as it allows you to effortlessly create pretty impressive banners, animated menus, slideshows, and even small games (like tag). The shortcoming in the form of a pre-apploder (if it is present in the selected effect) can be eliminated using special SWF file decompiler programs (including free ones) ;).

Good luck to you in all your endeavors and creative success!

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

Have you ever wondered what lies behind the beautiful animation of banners on the Internet? Or the newfangled cartoons created with the help of computer technology? Most often they are based on “flesh”, or more precisely, this is how the name of the Flash technology is translated from English. Today we will talk about flash animation for the website:

Flash technology

The multimedia framework was developed by Macromedia. But after its absorption (merger), all rights to the technology were transferred to the new owner - Adobe Systems.

Area of ​​modern application of Adobe Flash:

• Creating web applications is a fairly new direction. Implies full or partial use of Flash to create websites. When partially applied, this technology creates individual design elements: various interactive menus, animated buttons, etc.

Compared to conventional HTML-based resources, Flash sites have some features that limit their use. These include the high cost of development, demands on server resources, long loading times with a slow Internet connection, and some other aspects:

• Implementation of multimedia capabilities - to listen to audio and play video on websites, media players created based on Flash are often used. Their development includes the use of one of the scripting languages ​​(usually JavaScript):

• In online advertising, technology is most often used to create animated banners. They imply not only the playing of multimedia advertising, but also some kind of interaction with the user on a game basis.

Flash Development Basics and Tools

To create flash animation, traditional tools from Adobe are most often used:

• Adobe Flash Professional – a program for creating interactive animation (animator);
• Adobe Flash Builder – an environment for creating web application interfaces;
• Adobe Flash Player is a browser-integrated player for playing Flash.

In addition to it, a number of third-party applications can play multimedia content of this type. The most popular ones are Gnash, QuickTime and some others:

This technology allows you to display any type of graphics ( raster, vector, 3D). It also supports streaming relay of audio and video data. A lightweight version of Flash Lite was developed specifically for mobile devices.

The main standard for Flash files is the SWF extension. The abbreviation stands for Small Web Format. Video recorded in Flash has the file extensions FLV, F4V.

The development of interactive animation in Flash is based on vector graphics. It is thanks to this that it was possible to implement support for a multimedia platform and independence of animation quality from screen resolution.

The flash application file size is the same for all users, regardless of screen technical characteristics (resolution).

Interactive animation in Flash is based on morphing (vector type), in which there is a slow flow between key frames. To play back the data, a Flash player is used, the operation of which is in many ways similar to the operation of the JavaScript virtual machine. The software component of the technology is implemented using the ActionScript language.

The disadvantages of the technology include the following points:

• Heavy load on the central processor of the client machine. This is due to the low efficiency of the Flash virtual machine, which is built into the user’s browser along with the player;
• High probability of errors - playing Flash animation may occur with a high probability of errors. Moreover, failures in Flash playback negatively affect the operation of the entire client application (browser). This is due to insufficient control over the fault tolerance of the program code when creating Flash applications;
• Failure to index - All text content displayed in Flash content is not indexed. This limitation is especially problematic for those resources that are created on the basis of this technology.

Review of third-party Flash creation software

Sothink SWF Quicker was taken as a prototype application on which we will demonstrate the basics of creating Flash. According to many professionals, the program is the most understandable and easiest to learn.

In addition to creating and editing, the flash editor “can” work with all other types of web animation (GIF, HTML and other standards):

After installation, go to the user-friendly interface of the program. Unfortunately, after wandering through all the nooks and crannies, we did not find an interface language switch.

In order to understand how to make flash animation in this application, we will use the built-in templates. The “New From Template” dialog box appears immediately after starting the program. In addition, it can be called through the main menu item “File". Among the offered options, we chose to create a banner:

In the next wizard window, from the drop-down list you need to select a template according to which the animation will be created. Below it is a small frame in which the selected template is played:

In the next steps, you need to set the dimensions of the banner and enter 5 phrases of text that will be played in the animation. In addition, you must specify the address of the resource to which the user will be led by clicking on the banner:

After compiling the project and closing the wizard window, you can view the resulting video in the built-in player. To do this, click on the green arrow at the top:

After closing the player, let's take a closer look at the application interface. Please note that it consists of two main windows: the top one is for editing the time period of the video, and the bottom one is a regular graphic editor. Each of the elements is located on a separate layer, which can be modified using standard tools located on the sidebar.

On this web page we present to your attention programs for creating and editing flash animation. With their help, you can implement your own ideas into animated videos for your website.

Flash editor is a program for creating flash animation and editing ready-made flash videos.

FLA format is the source document of your clip. By opening it, you are taken to the Macromedia Flash program and can further edit the clip.

SWF format is an executable Flash file; when you click on it, you have the opportunity to view the clip using the Macromedia Flash Player program.

Animation using Adobe Flash Professional

Adobe Flash Professional CS3– the advantages and functionality of this program can be described for a very long time. This program is the undisputed leader in the flash technology environment. Adobe Flash Professional is used by both professional Web site developers and flash designers.

With the help of this program, you can realize even the sickest fantasy in flash. In general, if you decide to create professional animated Flash files, then Adobe Flash Professional is exactly the program that you cannot do without.

The volume depends on the version from 500 Mb.

At the moment, Adobe Flash Professional CS5 is a new version of the program for working with animation and multimedia.

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Screenshot of the program:

download Adobe Flash Professional CS3

Perhaps for a novice web master, creating flash animation using the Adobe Flash Professional program will seem somewhat complicated and out of reach.

In this case, you shouldn’t despair and quit what you started. Try your flash ideas with the Swishmax program.

Swishmax – flash editor

SwishMAX is an alternative program with a friendly and simple interface for creating flash animation, which is less functional than the previous one, but still allows you to get a good quality result. The main advantage of the bottom flash editor is its ease of use. Even a novice user, having video lessons at hand, will be able to create professional flash videos with its help in a short time.

Volume: 9.27 MB.

The interface language is Russian.

Operating system: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP

Screenshot of the program:

download Swishmax

Alligator Flash Designer

The following flash program is even simpler, both in functionality and in interface content. The capabilities of this flash editor make it easy to create a flash banner for a website in a matter of minutes.

There are more than 130 effects: disappearing, zooming, rotating. Animated pictures, shapes or text, and even sound can be easily added to your Flash animation.

Here you can also specify OnClick or OnOver.

Volume: 5.3 MB.

The interface language is Russian.

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Screenshot of the program:

download Alligator_Flash_Designer_7.0

Another program that is not a flash animation editor, but its capabilities are necessary for a novice web designer.

Flash Decompiler Trillix

Flash Decompiler Trillix - the main purpose of this program is to export SWF files back to FLA format with one click. Extracts all Flash objects from a SWF file and saves them into a FLA file, which can later be edited in Flash.

The advantage of Flash Decompiler is editing sounds, images, colors, gradients, lines, dynamic texts and links without converting to FLA.

Volume: 7.27 MB.

The interface language is Russian.

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Screenshot of the program:

download Flash Decompiler Trillix

October 13, 2014

We constantly come across flash animation – on the Internet and in television broadcasts. Creating a simple Flash animation using Flash technology is quite an easy task as Flash offers many useful tools that make the whole process easier. If you want to create a flash animation or cartoon, you can sketch it in just a couple of hours.

Steps

Part 1

Frame-by-frame flash animation

Stop-motion animation basics. This method is considered the main method for creating "traditional" animation, in which each subsequent frame includes the same, but slightly modified image. When all frames are played back, the image “comes to life”. This is the same method used by hand-drawn cartoon animators and is more time consuming than twinning (see next section).

• By default, Flash plays at 24 frames per second (FPS). This means that 24 frames will be shown in one second, but not all of them need to be different. You can change this setting (if you want) to 12 frames per second, but at 24 frames per second the animation will play more smoothly.

1. Install Flash Professional. There are many programs for creating Flash animation, but the most powerful is Adobe Flash Professional CC. You can try this program for free or use another product (if you don't want to sign up for Adobe Creative Cloud). The rest of this article describes how to use Flash Professional.

   Since frame-by-frame animation requires multiple images (which are slightly different from each other), you need to create these images manually. To do this, use Adobe Flash Professional or draw images in any graphics editor.

   • If you want your images to be easily resized without losing quality, create your images in vector graphics rather than raster graphics. Vector images will redraw themselves as they are resized (meaning you will avoid pixilation or anti-aliasing). Raster images are traditional images, such as photographs, drawn pictures, and so on. If you try to enlarge such images, you will end up with a highly distorted image.

2. Create the first frame. The first time you launch Adobe Flash Professional, you will see a blank canvas (layer) and a blank timeline. As frames are added, the timeline will fill in automatically. You can work with layers just like you do in Photoshop.

   • Before you add an image, create a basic background for your animation. Rename "Layer 1" to "Background" and then pin it. Create a second layer and name it whatever you like. This will be the layer on which you will create the animation.
   • Add a drawing to the first frame canvas. You can import the drawing from your computer, or you can use the drawing tools to create the drawing directly in the program.
   • The first frame is the “key” frame. A key frame is a frame that contains an image and forms the backbone of an animation. You will create a new keyframe every time you change the image.
   • Keyframes in the timeline are indicated by a black dot.
   • You don't need a keyframe on every subsequent frame. Create a keyframe every four to five frames to make a good animation.

3. Convert the image to a symbol. In this case, you can add the image to the frame several times. This is especially useful if you need to quickly add several similar images into one frame (for example, fish in an aquarium).

   • Select the drawing. Right-click on the picture and select "Convert to Symbol". The image will be added to the library, making it easier to use in the future.
   • Delete the drawing. Don't worry - you can add it to your frame by simply dragging it from the library. This way you can add the same drawing to a frame several times.

4. Add empty frames. Once your first keyframe is ready, insert blank frames and then start creating your second keyframe. Press F5 (four or five times) to add blank frames after the first keyframe.

   Create a second keyframe (after you've added some empty frames). There are two different ways to do this: you can copy an existing keyframe and make small changes to it, or you can create an empty keyframe and add a new image to it. If you are using a drawing created in another program, use the second method. If you are inserting an image created using Adobe Flash Professional drawing tools, use the first method.

   • To create a keyframe using the contents of the previous keyframe, press F6. To create a blank keyframe, right-click the last frame in the timeline and select Insert Blank Keyframe.
   • Once you've created the second keyframe, you need to make changes to its image to make the animation come to life. If you used Adobe Flash Professional drawing tools, select the Transform tool to select an element of your drawing (such as a character's hand) and change it.
   • If you insert a new image at each keyframe, make sure it is in the right place (according to the logical sequence of frames).

5. Repeat the process. After creating two keyframes, repeat the process - add a few blank frames between each keyframe and make sure that the animation plays smoothly.

   • Make small changes. The smaller (more subtle) the changes, the smoother the animation will be. For example, if you want a character to raise their hand, the second keyframe should not include a drawing of the character with their hand already raised. Instead, use multiple keyframes to transition from a lowered hand to a raised hand. In this case, the animation will be smoother.

6. Transform the drawing. If you have created keyframes and a path, you can transform the image so that it changes smoothly as you move along the tween's path. You can change the shape, color, tilt, size and any other aspect of the image.

   • Select a frame in which the drawing will be transformed.
   • Open the drawing properties panel. To do this, press F3.
   • Change the settings in the drawing properties window. For example, you can change the shade or color, add filters, change the size.
   • You can also use the Free Transform tool to change the drawing however you like.

7. Add the finishing touches. Test the created animation by pressing Ctrl + Enter. Make sure that the drawing (character) changes correctly and that the animation plays at the correct speed. If the animation plays too fast, reduce the FPS value or increase the duration of the tween.

   • The default FPS is 24, so try reducing this value to 12. Change the FPS value in the properties panel. However, at FPS = 12, the animation may not play smoothly enough.
   • To change the duration of a tween, select the layer containing the tween and use the slider to change the duration of the tween. If you want to double the duration of the twin, move the slider to 48 frames. Remember to insert the background into the empty frames so that the background doesn't disappear in the middle of the animation. To do this, select the background layer, click on the last frame of the animation (on the timeline), and then press F5.

Part 3

Adding sound effects and music

1. Record or download sound effects and music. You can add sound effects to your animation to make it more impactful. Music makes animation more exciting and can turn a good animation into a great one. Flash supports a variety of audio file formats, including AAC, MP3, WAV, and AU. Choose a format that guarantees high quality sound in a minimum file size.

   • The MP3 format guarantees high sound quality with a minimum file size. WAV files are large in size.

2. Import audio files into the library to quickly add sounds and music to your animations. Click "File" - "Import" - "Import to Library". Locate the audio file on your computer. Make sure the audio file has an easy-to-remember name so you can find it quickly.

   Create a new layer for each audio file. This is not necessary and you can add audio to existing layers, but pasting the audio file onto a separate layer will give you more control over the animation's audio track.

   Create a keyframe that will start the audio playing. On the sound layer, select the animation frame from which the sound will begin to play. Press F7 to insert an empty keyframe. For example, if you want to insert an audio file that will play throughout the animation, select the first frame on the audio file layer. If you're adding a character's voice, choose a shot where the character begins to speak.

This article will show you how to get started with Adobe Flash CS5 in simple steps. The topic of the lesson is simple animation, we will create it without delving into the complexity of the interface and program.

Creating a new flash document

Open the program and create a new document “ActionScript 3.0”.

Let's draw an object for subsequent animation

Now let's draw a circle. Select the “oval” tool in the right panel and, holding down the left mouse button and the “shift” button on the keyboard, draw a circle on a white background.

Using the Selection Tool, select the newly created object by clicking on it with the mouse or capturing it in a square selection.

Converting an Object to a Symbol for Simple Animation

For further work, you need to convert the object into a symbol. Since the circle is already selected, press the right mouse button and select “Conver to Symbol” in the context menu.

From the “Type” list, select “Graphic”

A blue square should now appear around our object.

Create a classic animation (Classic Tween)

In order to create an animation, you need to designate a “key frame”.

On the bottom panel there is an animation scale, select the twenty-fifth frame and press the right mouse button, in the context menu that appears, select “Insert Keyframe”.

Select the circle and, holding down the left mouse button, move it to the right.

Select the first frame on the animation scale and in the main menu at the top, in the “Insert” item, select “Classic Tween”.

View the created animation

Now we can watch the animation. In the main menu, in the “Control” item, select “Play”.

Let's add a circle "disappearing" effect. To do this, select the object again and in the right panel in the “color effect” menu, select “alpha”, set the value to “0”.

Let's see what happened. Go to “Control” and select “Play”.