Frame-by-frame animation



    Create frame-by-frame animations

    Frame-by-frame animation changes the contents of the Stage in every frame and is best suited to complex animation in which an image changes in every frame instead of simply moving across the Stage. Frame-by-frame animation increases file size more rapidly than tweened animation. In frame-by-frame animation, Flash stores the values for each complete frame.

    To create a frame-by-frame animation, define each frame as a keyframe and create a different image for each frame. Each new keyframe initially contains the same contents as the keyframe preceding it, so you can modify the frames in the animation incrementally.

    1. Click a layer name to make it the active layer, and select a frame in the layer where the animation is to start.
    2. If the frame isn’t already a keyframe, select Insert > Timeline > Keyframe.
    3. Create the artwork for the first frame of the sequence. Use the drawing tools, paste graphics from the Clipboard, or import a file.
    4. To add a new keyframe whose contents are the same as those of the first keyframe, click the next frame to the right in the same row and select Insert > Timeline > Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control‑click (Macintosh) and select Insert Keyframe.
    5. To develop the next increment of the animation, alter the contents of this frame on the Stage.
    6. To complete your frame-by-frame animation sequence, repeat steps 4 and 5 until you’ve built the desired motion.
    7. To test the animation sequence, select Control > Play or click the Play button on the Controller (Window > Toolbars > Controller).

    Use onion skinning

    Usually, one frame of the animation sequence at a time appears on the Stage. To help position and edit a frame-by-frame animation, view two or more frames on the Stage at once. The frame under the playhead appears in full color, while surrounding frames are dimmed, making it appear as if each frame were drawn on a sheet of translucent onion-skin paper and the sheets were stacked on top of each other. Dimmed frames cannot be edited.

    Simultaneously view several frames of an animation on the Stage

     Click the Onion Skin button . All frames between the Start Onion Skin and End Onion Skin markers (in the Timeline header) are superimposed as one frame in the Document window.

    Control onion skinning display

    • To display onion skinned frames as outlines, click the Onion Skin Outlines button .

    • To change the position of either onion skin marker, drag its pointer to a new location. (Normally, the onion skin markers move in conjunction with the current frame pointer.)

    • To enable editing of all frames between onion skin markers, click the Edit Multiple Frames button . Usually, onion skinning lets you edit only the current frame. However, you can display the contents of each frame between the onion skin markers, and make each available for editing, regardless of which is the current frame.

    Note: Locked layers (those with a padlock icon) aren’t displayed when onion skinning is turned on. To avoid a multitude of confusing images, lock or hide the layers you don’t want to be onion skinned.

    Change the display of onion skin markers

     Click the Modify Onion Markers  button and select an item:
    Always Show Markers
    Displays the onion skin markers in the Timeline header whether or not onion skinning is on.

    Anchor Onion
    Locks the onion skin markers to their current position in the Timeline header. Usually, the onion skin range is relative to the current frame pointer and the onion skin markers. Anchoring the onion skin markers prevents them from moving with the current frame pointer.

    Onion 2
    Displays two frames on either side of the current frame.

    Onion 5
    Displays five frames on either side of the current frame.

    Onion All
    Displays all frames on either side of the current frame.