CREATING ANIMATION
Macromedia Director MX2004 - Design Professional
2Creating Animation Chapter F
Create animation using tweening
Create a circular animation
Record an animation
Animate with a series of cast members
Create a film loop
Chapter Lessons
3Creating Animation Chapter F
Director provides several ways to create animation– Tweening
– Step recording
– Real time recording
– Sequencing cast members frame-by-frame
Creating Animation
4Creating Animation Chapter F
Create Animation Using Tweening
Tweening fills in the difference between two keyframes
Can set as many keyframes within a sprite as there are frames in its span
Changing the number of frames between keyframes controls smoothness of the animation
5Creating Animation Chapter F
Changing Tweenable Sprite Properties
Can change tweenable sprite properties:– On Stage by using Sprite tab in
Property inspector– By using the Sprite toolbar in the Score
Change properties in first keyframe, then select next keyframe and change properties. Director fills in between them
6Creating Animation Chapter F
Creating Effects Using Tweenable Properties
Can create special effects by changing tweenable sprite properties– Rotating in 3D– Fade out– Fade in– Zoom out– Zoom in
7Creating Animation Chapter F
Sprite Tweening dialog box
Sprite tweenable properties
8Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Circular Animation
Can make the path between sprites using 3 or more keyframes follow a curve
Adjust path by dragging any keyframe in the path on Stage or by using Curvature slider in the Sprite Tweening dialog box
9Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Circular Animation
Continuous at Endpoints check box makes animation begin and end at same point
Ease-In and Ease-Out sliders control speed of a sprite at beginning or end
10Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Circular Animation
Smooth Changes option adjusts sprite’s speed gradually as it move between keyframes
Sharp Changes option moves sprite between keyframes without adjusting speed
11Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Circular Animation
Sprite tweenable properties for a circular animation
12Creating Animation Chapter F
Record an Animation
Creating animation using step recording– Manually animate one sprite at a time– Useful for creating complex animation– Provides precise, frame-by-frame
control of the animation– Can use step recording to redefine a
tweened sprite animation
13Creating Animation Chapter F
Record an Animation
Creating animation using real-time recording
– Records the movement of a sprite in real time as you drag it across Stage
– Useful for simulating the movement of a pointer or for quickly creating a complex motion for later refinement
– Can change recording tempo setting in Control Panel
14Creating Animation Chapter F
Record an Animation
Recording an animation step-by-step
Recording an animation in real time
15Creating Animation Chapter F
Animate with a Series of Cast Members
Use onion skinning to create a series of cast members that you can use to create animated sequencesOnion skinning allows you to create a new cast member in Paint window while viewing one or more existing cast members as reference imagesReference images are not altered in the process
16Creating Animation Chapter F
Using Onion Skinning
Non reference image on
top
Reference images
dimmed in background
Onion Skin toolbar
Non reference image cast
member
Reference image cast members
17Creating Animation Chapter F
Animating with a Series of Cast Members
Can create a sprite that displays multiple cast membersCan use frame animation to create an animated sequence that consists of a series of cast members by using multiple cast members in the span of a sprite
18Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Film Loop
A Film loop combines many sprites and effects over a range of frames into a single cast memberFilm loops make it easy to develop and work with large and complex animations by combining them into a single cast memberCan create a film loop using other film loops
19Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Film Loop
Do not delete or modify the cast members from which you create a loop; Director needs them to play the film loopFilm loops animate only when movie is playedIf you change size of a sprite that contains a film loop, you will change the number of times the film loops
20Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Film Loop
To apply ink effects to a film loop, you must apply the ink effects to the individual sprites before they become part of the film loopFilm loop sprites cannot be rotated and their registration points cannot be moved from the middle
21Creating Animation Chapter F
Create a Film Loop
Sprites that make up the film
loop
Film loop
22Creating Animation Chapter F
Chapter F Summary
Tweening occurs between two keyframes that contain the before and after property settings of a sprite
Change tweenable sprite properties to create animation
Create effects using tweenable properties
23Creating Animation Chapter F
Chapter F Summary
Create a circular animation by adjusting path
Use step recording for complex animation
Use real-time recording by dragging sprites on the Stage
Use onion skinning to create a series of cast members
24Creating Animation Chapter F
Chapter F Summary
Animate with a series of cast members
Create a film loop