Create a Shape Tween in Flash
with
Don Schechter
You don't need to be David Copperfield to turn a square into a circle. By creating a shape tween in Flash, you can make one shape morph into another.
Transcript: Create a Shape Tween in Flash
Hi, I'm Don Schechter for About.com Computing. Today I'll show you how to create a shape tween in Adobe Flash.What is a Shape Tween?
A shape tween is when you turn one shape into another. In this video I'll show you how to make a square morph into a circle.What's great about a shape tween is that you only have to specify what the beginning of the animation looks like and what the end looks like. Flash takes care of everything in between.
Create the Starting Point of the Animation
Once you have Flash open, go to the circle. Make sure that you are at your first keyframe. Click on the square.I'll change the colors, and then drag out a square. This will be the starting point of the animation.
Insert a Blank Keyframe
Now I need to decide how long the animation is going to be. I'll click on a keyframe and insert a blank keyframe.It's important that you don't choose to insert a regular keyframe. If you do, Flash will look back to the previous keyframe and copy the square into this position.
We want a circle to show up here, so we'd have to delete it, draw the circle, and do a bit more. A blank keyframe keeps the stage empty at this time.
Go up to 'Insert,' 'Timeline,' and 'Blank Keyframe.'
Draw a Circle on the Stage
Notice my playhead is now over my final keyframe. I'll select the oval tool and play with the colors.I'll draw a circle on my stage. Notice that all my frames before this one contain the square.
Turn On Shape Tweeing
To make the square morph into the circle, I need to turn on shape tweening by clicking on the first frame in the animation.In the properties inspector, I need to choose 'Shape' from the tween dropdown menu. Notice the change in my timeline.
All the frames between my first and last keyframe are tinted and there is an arrow that appears.
Check the Animation
Now we can see the shape tween by dragging my playhead through the timeline. I can preview the animation and watch the effect.Thanks for watching. For more information please visit us online at computing.about.com.