Flash: Buttons

Making buttons in flash isn't as difficult as you might think.  You can make a drawing (or even just a circle, square, or other shape) and convert it to a button.

1. Draw the shape(s) that you would like to become the button.
2. Select the shape(s) either by clicking/shift-clicking on them or drag a box around them.
3. Select MODIFY > CONVERT TO SYMBOL (or right-click the selected shapes and choose Convert to Symbol)
4. Select the "Button" option.
5. Notice that the "timeline" has been replaced with 4 squares -- or "button states".  
1. Up: This is what your button will look like when untouched.
2. Over: This is what your button will look like when you move your mouse over it.
3. Down: This is what your button will look like when you click it.
4. Hit: This is the area of the button that is "encounterable".  
6. Adjust your button states to set how your button will appear to users.
7. Do a CTRL+ENTER to test your movie and see how your button works.

Use the instructions below to create a few different 3D buttons.  They should either be different colors or change to different colors when being "moused over".  You might want to try round *and* square buttons using the same technique.

Do a search for "Sound Effects" and "WAV files" so you can add some sound to your buttons.  Here are some examples:

• http://www.wavsource.com/sfx/sfx.htm 
• http://www.wavsource.com/ 
• http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/links/sound-effects.cfm 

If you want to do some 3D-like shapes, you can do so with a gradient fill and ovals [or rectangles].

First we create a basic shape.

Next we Fill the shape with a gradient in the top-left corner.  Notice how it appears rounded or concave.

Then we create a smaller circle and fill it with a gradient in the bottom-right corner.  Notice the way it looks "inverted concave" now.

Create another circle (smaller than the second) and fill it with a gradient in the top-left again.  Now it appears to be a rounded button with a "frame".

Adding a color gradient (green for example)...

and then painting on a little white for reflection makes it a little more "glassy".

Next you select the entire shape and Convert To Symbol, choosing "Button" as your symbol type.

Your button will appear as a single piece with a bright blue border around it.

Double-click your new symbol and you will see the "button instances".

Here you can see the Up, Over, Down, and Hit instances.

The full screen appears like this.

You can right-click on each of the instances (Over, Down and Hit) to INSERT KEYFRAME.  This will copy the Up keyframe so you can start with the same shape and placement. 

Change each "instance" to reflect a different look.

When you do a CTRL+ENTER it creates an SWF wherever you have your file saved and previews the "movie" on top of your Flash window.

Flash: What is Animation?

Traditional animation (Disney cartoons, Spongebob, anime and manga) is an illusion of movement.  You don't actually see things moving -- you see a series of drawings placed one after another [around 24-30 images per second] which makes your brain believe it sees movement.  That phenomenon is called Persistence of Vision.  Traditionally an artist draws/paints 24-30 drawings for every 1 second of animation.  With computers as tools, artists have the luxury of having computers complete the "in-between" frames automatically.  For example, you draw two shapes: a circle in one corner of the screen on frame 1 and then in the opposite corner around 10 seconds later -- and then you tell the computer to figure out the "in-between" (or "tween").

The nice thing about computerized "tweens" is that image one can be a tiny red circle and image 2 can be a large green square, and the computer will gradually morph them from frame to frame.

Here is a sample video:

Over 100 years ago "arcades" were full of machines that people would put coins in and look through the viewfinder as they turned a crank which would flip through a series of photographs on a big spool.  More modern examples of this technology is a "flip book".  Typically these are done by rapidly flipping through images to create the illusion of motion.

Here's a great example of using Post-It notes to create a flip book movie:

Here's an example of animation using a MUCH slower "frame rate":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=783uWoSqdX0

And another example using variable frame rates -- or just flipping the page when you need the next frame.  :)

Photoshop: Virtual Makeover / Photo Retouching

Today we are going to explore doing a virtual makeover.  In a previous assignment we took a face with scratches or pimples and retouched it to make it look a little more natural.  Today we are going to go a little further by beautifying someone.  In short, we are going to take a photo of someones face and smooth wrinkles, remove blemishes, adjust colors, brighten teeth and eyes, etc.  We can even try some "virtual makeup".  


Remember that we aren't trying to make anybody into a super model, we're simply trying to bring out their natural beauty.


You can search for "no makeup" on Google Images for some examples.  Click here to see a few: [LINK] or [LINK].


Here are some celebrities [mostly] without makeup: http://www.funzug.com/index.php/celebrities/celebs-without-makeup-portraits.html


Here are some examples of Virtual Makeovers:

If you would like to follow along with a video tutorial, you can check these out:

A Sample Image

Photoshop: Create a Tiled Seamless Graphic

Today we will be creating a graphic that tiles without seams.  It can be used on a web page, a Windows wallpaper, a 3D graphic, etc.

• Begin by finding a graphic that you can use to create a "seamless tiled graphic" from (i.e. grass, pebbles, leaves, geometric shapes, etc.)
• Copy the graphic and paste it into a new Photoshop document
• Select FILTER > OTHER > OFFSET
• Enter a number of pixels to "offset" your image (you should see a distinct line appear on the image where the edges of the picture were)
• Use the Clone Stamp tool, copying/pasting, the healing brush, etc. to make the lines "disappear" as much as possible.
• Offset the picture again to see if any new lines are visible and correct (if necessary).

Here is a YouTube video demonstrating this process: