Adobe Flash CS3 Revealed
CHAPTER 2: DRAWING OBJECTS IN ADOBE FLASH
Chapter 2 Lessons
1. Use the Flash drawing tools
2. Select objects and apply colors
3. Work with drawn objects
4. Work with text and text objects
5. Work with layers and objects
Chapter 2
Drawing Objects in Adobe Flash
 Flash creates and manipulates vector graphics
 Vector format vs. bitmap format

Bitmap graphics are based on pixels

Altering pixels can result in jagged edges
Chapter 2
Vector Graphics
 Represent images using lines, curves
 Can resize without losing image quality
 Generally smaller than bitmap images
 Not as effective at bitmaps for photo-realistic images
Chapter 2
Modifying Vectors
 Objects created using Flash drawing tools have a
stroke, a fill, or both
 Strokes can be segmented into smaller lines
 You can modify the size, shape, rotation, and color
of each stroke, fill and segment
Chapter 2
Flash Drawing Modes
 Merge Drawing Model
 Object Drawing Model
Chapter 2
Flash Drawing Tools

Selection


Subselection


Used to select, drag, and reshape
Free Transform


Used to select an object or parts of an object such as
the stroke or fill, and to reshape objects
Used to transform objects by rotating, scaling, skewing,
and distorting
Gradient Transform

Used to transform a gradient fill by adjusting the size,
direction, or center of the fill
Chapter 2
The Drawing Tools
 Lasso

Used to select objects or parts of
objects
 Pen

Used to draw lines and curves by
creating a series of dots
 Text

Used to create and edit text
Chapter 2
The Drawing Tools

Line


Oval


Used to draw oval and circular shapes
Rectangle


Used to draw straight lines
Used to draw rectangular and square shapes
Polystar

Used to draw polygons and stars
Chapter 2
The Drawing Tools
 Pencil

Used to draw freehand lines
 Brush

Used to paint with brush-like strokes
 Ink Bottle

Used to apply line colors and thickness
to a stroke
Chapter 2
The Drawing Tools

Paint Bucket


Eyedropper


Used to fill enclosed areas of a drawing with
color
Used to copy stroke, fill and text attribute from
one object to another
Eraser

Used to erase lines and fills
Chapter 2
Fig. 1: Flash Tools
Selection
Subselection
Free Transform
Lasso
Pen
Text
Line
Rectangle
(oval,etc.)
Pencil
Brush
Selection
Paint Bucket
Eyedropper
Eraser
Hand
Zoom
Stroke Color
Fill Color
Object Drawing
(deselected)
Chapter 2
Fig. 3: Objects Created with Drawing Tools
Chapter 2
Fig. 5: Setting Anchor Points to Draw an
Arrow
Chapter 2
Fig. 7: Images Drawn Using Drawing Tools
Chapter 2
Fig. 8: Selected Object
Chapter 2
Selecting Objects
 Before you can edit a drawing, you first must
select the object, or part of the objects

Objects are made up of a stroke(s) and a fill

Strokes and fills can be selected independently
 Strokes can have several segments
Chapter 2
Using the Selection Tool
 To select only the fill, click just the fill
 To select only the stroke, click just the stroke
 To select both the fill and the stroke, double-click
the object or draw a marquee around it
 To select part of an object, drag a marquee that
defines the area you wish to select
 To deselect an item(s), click a blank area of the
stage
Chapter 2
Fig. 9: Selected Objects
Chapter 2
Using the Lasso Tool
 Provides more flexibility when selecting an area of
the stage
 Use the tool in a freehand manner to select any
size and shape of area
 Use the Polygon Mode option to draw straight lines
and connect them
Chapter 2
Two Drawing Models
 Merge Drawing Model mode

Stroke and fill are separate

Stroke and fill can be individually selected
 Object Drawing Model mode


Stroke and fill are combined and cannot be
selected individually
Use the Break Apart option from the Modify
menu to separate the stroke and fill
Chapter 2
Object Drawing Model
 In either mode you can turn off the fill or the stroke
when drawing an object
 You can toggle between the two modes using the
Object Drawing icon in the options section of the
Tool panel
Chapter 2
Working with Colors
 Change color of the stroke or fill
 Stroke Color and Fill Color tool


Located on colors section of Tool panel
Click and select a color swatch on the color
palette
 The Color palette

Can type in a six character code that
represents the RGB values
Chapter 2
Fig. 11: Color Palette
Hexadecimal number
showing shade of gold
Chapter 2
Working with Gradients
 A gradient is a color fill that makes a gradual
transition from one color to another
 Apply a gradient with the Paint Bucket Tool
 The position of the Paint Bucket Tool
determines the direction of the gradient fill
Chapter 2
Fig. 18: Gradient Transform Handles
Handles are
used to adjust
gradiant effect
Chapter 2
Copying and Moving Objects
 Objects can be copied and pasted
 You move an object by:



selecting it and dragging it to a new location
You precisely position an object by selecting
it and then pressing the arrow keys, which
move the selection up, down, left, and right in
small increments
In addition, the X and Y coordinates in the
Property inspector can be used to position an
object exactly on the stage
Chapter 2
Transforming Objects
 Objects can be transformed with the Free
Transform Tool


Select the object, then the tool to display the
eight square-shaped handles and center
circular transformation point
Rotate and Skew, Scale, Distort, Envelope
Chapter 2
Resizing an Object
 Objects can be enlarged or reduced in size
 Use the Scale option of the Free Transform tool


Drag corner handles to resize the object
without changing its proportions
If you drag one of the middle handles, the
object will be reshaped as taller, shorter,
wider, or narrower
Chapter 2
Rotating and Skewing an Object
 Select the object, click the Free Transform tool,
click the Rotate and Skew option
 Use the Distort and Envelope options to reshape an
object by dragging its handles
Chapter 2
Fig. 20: Using Handles to Manipulate and
Object
Chapter 2
Reshaping a Segment of an Object
 The Subselection tool can be used to reshape a
segment of an object
 The Selection tool can be used to reshape the
edge of an object



When you point to the edge, the pointer
displays an arc symbol
You can drag the edge of an object by using
the Arc pointer
If the selection tool points to a corner of an
object, the pointer displays an L-shaped
symbol
Chapter 2
Fig. 21: Using the Selection Tool to Distort an
Object
Chapter 2
Flipping an Object
 You can use a Flip option on the Transform
menu to flip an object horizontally or vertically
 The Remove Transform Command allows you to
restore an object to its original state
Chapter 2
Fig. 26: Using the Transform Panel to Rotate
an Object
Chapter 2
Work with Text
 Flash provides a lot of flexibility when formatting
text

Typeface (font)

Size

Style (bold, italic)

Color (including gradients)

Transformation
Chapter 2
Entering Text and Changing the Text Block
 Text is entered into “Text Blocks”
 Text Blocks expand as more text is entered
and may extend beyond the edge of the
stage
 You can adjust the size to a fixed width by
dragging the handle in the upper right
corner
Chapter 2
Fig. 35: Using the Text Tool
Chapter 2
Changing Text Attributes
 The Properties panel allows you to change
the font, size and style of a single character
or an entire text block
FIGURE 32 The Properties Panel when a text object is selected
Chapter 2
Fig. 36: Properties Panel When Text Object Is
Selected
Chapter 2
Working with Paragraphs
 Flash acts similar to a word processor
 You can align paragraphs

Left, Right, Center, Justified
 Use the Properties panel to:

Set margins, indents, and line spacing
Chapter 2
Transforming Text
 Text is an object, and can therefore be transformed
like other objects in Flash

The entire text block gets transformed
 Use “Break Apart” command to transform individual
letters
Chapter 2
Fig. 41: Skewing the Text
Chapter 2
Fig. 42: Reshaping a Letter
Chapter 2
Learning about Layers
 Two types of spatial organization

Position of objects on the stage

Stacking order of objects that overlap
 Layers are used on a timeline as a way to organize
objects
 Placing objects on their own layer makes them
easier to work with
Chapter 2
Six Types of Layers
 Normal (default layer type)

All objects on these layers appear in the movie
 Guide (Standard and Motion)


Standard guide layers serve as a reference
point for positioning objects on the stage
Motion guide layers are used to create a path
for animated objects to follow
Chapter 2
Six Types of Layers
 Guided

A layer that contains an animated object, linked to a
Motion Guide layer
 Mask

A layer that contains and reveals portions of another layer
 Masked

A layer that contains the objects that are hidden and
revealed by a Mask layer
 Folder

A layer that can contain other layers
Chapter 2
Fig. 44: Layer Properties Dialog Box
Chapter 2
Working with Layers
 Using the Layer Properties dialog box allows you to:

Specify the type of a layer

Name a layer

Show/Hide a layer

Lock a layer

View layers as outlines
Chapter 2
Fig. 44: Layers Section of the Timeline
Chapter 2
Using a Guide Layer
 Used to align objects on the stage

Use the Layer Properties Dialog box to set the
layer as a guide

Turn on “Snap to Guides”

Drag the desired object to the guide line
Chapter 2
Fig. 46: A Guide Layer
Guide layer
Chapter 2
Distributing Text to Layers
 Used when text blocks are made up of more than
one character
 Distributes text to its own respective layer
Chapter 2
Fig. 48: Distributing Text to Layers
Chapter 2
Using Folder Layers
 Allows you to organize layers by creating folders
and grouping other layers in them
Chapter 2
Fig. 49: A Folder Layer
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Tasks
1. Use the Flash drawing tools
2. Select objects and apply colors
3. Work with drawn objects
4. Work with text and text objects
5. Work with layers and objects
Chapter 2