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project: Shape Tweening Basics
 
   
 

description: In this tutorial you will learn how to make an animation like the one at right using shape tweening.

Files: The shape_tween_01.fla file is in the fla_files folder.
   
 
   
  step 1: Open a new document and draw a circle (no stroke) on the stage then select your object. (Figure A)
   
  •Tip: Hold the Shift key to constrain the Oval Tool to draw perfect circles.
   
  A
   
  step 2: Window > Align (Command-K) to access the Align Palette and make sure the Align To Stage is selected. (Figure B)
   
  B
   
  step 3: Click as shown to center your circle on the stage (Figures C, D)
   
  C    D
   
  step 4: You should have a circle sitting in the center of the stage. (Figure E)
   
  E
   
  step 5: Click on frame 20 and Insert > Blank Keyframe (F7). (Figure F)
   
  F
   
   
   
  step 6: Now your stage should be empty as you inserted a Blank Keyframe (meaning no content). (Figure G)
   
  G
   
  step 7: Draw a square on the stage (without a stroke) and center it as before with the Align Panel: Window > Align (Command-K). (Figure H)
   
  H
   
  •Note: You can use shapes with strokes next time. I'm just trying to give you extra practice at specifying no stroke.
   
  step 8: Move your playhead to frame 19 and notice that your circle resides in frames 1-19. (Figure I)
   
  I
   
  step 9: Click on the first keyframe. (Figure J)
   
  J
   
  step 10: Change the Tween setting in the Properties Panel from None to Shape. (Figures K, L)
   
 

K

L

   
  step 11: Your timeline should reflect the change. (Figure M) The green color indicates a Shape Tween. (A Motion Tween would be blue.)
   
  M
   
  step 12: Save your work (Command-S) and Control > Test Movie (Command-Return). (Figure N)
   
  N
   
  •Note: The rest of this tutorial deals with makeing the animation loop. If that's not your cup of tea, feel free to jump to the Shape Hinting tutoral now.
   
   
  step 13: To make the movie loop we have to use a different strategy than we used in the Frame-By-Frame 02 tutorial. Control-Click on the first keyframe and select Copy Frames from the contextual menu. (Figure O)
   
  O
   
  step 14: Control-Click on frame 40 and select Paste Frames. (Figure P)
   
  P
   
  step 15: Your timeline should look like this. (Figure Q) (Can you guess the next step?)
   
  Q
   
  step 16: Click on frame 20 and set the Tween to Shape in the Properties Panel. (Figure R)
   
  R
   
  step 17: Save (Command-S) and Test Movie (Command-Return). (Figure S)
   
  S
   
  step 18: Congratulations! You've just created a Shape Tween with seamless looping (and you centered it on the stage). Pretty good start. It does have that odd rotational element though. How 'bout we fix that with a little Shape Hinting?
   
   
   
 
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