Flash MX question

[Akaran_D]

Ok, I'm doing something realitively simple. I have an image I want animated.. here's a link to the gif file example.



Given that the gif is almost a full meg, I want to convert it into a simple flash movie. I have Macromedia Flash MX but I have a horrid time using it.

Attempting to set the intiial document size for the flash movie to the gif size doesn't work.. a width of 686 it'll do, but the height (regardless of being set at 85) seems to be more like 8. Then attempting to do a similar motion tween.. it's turning out to be a lot more complicated than I had expected.

Probably because I don't know what I'm doing.


Anyone able to tell me how to properly size the flash movie in Flash MX, then import the two images that make up the above gif into appropiate keyframes (thinking 1, 10 and 20) and then set it to tween them so that they do the above animation?

Thanks. /meh

[Bubba Grizz]

What are you looking for exactly? Are those lines to move in and out or is the size of the movie supposed to shrink and expand? Are you wanting to some alpha fade in/out? Is this only a 2 image item? Can you seperate them out to layers?

[Akaran_D]

I'm just looking for it to fade between the two, the dimensions of the image itself cannot be changed. It's split between 2 layers in photoshop, yes, and also saved into two different image files.

edit: Simply put, I want the above to be a flash movie instead of a gif to decrease file size.

[Bubba Grizz]

This gif has 43 frames in it for doing its animation. You may have to pull each frame out and put them into flash one frame at a time. Don't worry about the tweening.

I pulled your thing up in Image Ready and checked it out. It should be easy enough to pull the frames into a psd file and make each one a graphic.

[Akaran_D]

Ok. Sending you a PM..

[*~*stragi*~*]

whenever that picture scrolls onto the screen IE shits itself

[Vaemas]

Easy-breezy.

1) In Flash, make two layers. Import to the bottom layer the first image. Lock the layer after you position the image where you want it to be.

2) On the top layer, import the second image. Select the image and convert it to a symbol (Modify -> Convert To Symbol, or F8 ). Make it a graphic and call it whatever you want.

3) Once the top image has been made into a graphic symbol, run out to the point in time you want the top image to be faded in and insert a keyframe (F6). Make sure the bottom layer has enough frames so it also exists at this point (F5).

4) Go back to the first keyframe on the top layer and select the graphic symbol on the stage. On the properties panel, change the Color: option to Alpha and drop it to 0.

5) Right-click on that same keyframe and choose "Create Motion Tween."

6) Go out to the frame where you want your top layer to be faded out again and insert a keyframe (F6). Select the graphic at this keyframe and once again drop the Alpha to 0. Go back to the middle keyframe and right-click and choose "Create Motion Tween."

7) Publish and you're done. See links below for finished file (based off your GIF) and for the FLA. Finished SWF is 40k-ish. I've packaged them in a ZIP.

http://www.abbydev.com/files/aka.zip

[Akaran_D]

Bubba, Vae, and Monksorz - thanks to each, appericate the uberfast tutorials on this. I am horridly unskilled at Flash.

[Vaemas]

Sure thing. Oh, one more thing...I forgot to change the compression in the library for each of the two images. Published with the right compression, Photo (JPEG), the finished SWF is 23k.

I replaced the original I had posted. If you're not sure if you're using the right compression on an image, you can open the Flash movie and open the Library (control-L). Double-click the image's icon and check the compression setting. With this type of image, make sure it's using Photo (JPEG).