Learning Guide for Flash CS4 Professional: Frame-by-frame animation

A frame-by-frame animation changes the contents of the Stage in every frame and is best suited to a complex animation in which an image changes in every frame instead of simply moving across the Stage. This type of animation increases the file size more rapidly than tweened animation because Flash stores the values for each keyframe.

To create a frame-by-frame animation, you define each frame as a keyframe and create a different (typically modified) image for each frame. Each new keyframe on a layer typically contains the same contents as the keyframe preceding it because the contents of a frame are copied to the next keyframe when you select a frame and press F6. By selecting a frame and pressing F6, you can modify each new keyframe in the animation incrementally.

Creating frame-by-frame animations

To create a frame-by-frame animation:

  1. Create a new file and call it framebyframe.fla.
  2. Select Frame 1 of Layer 1. This is where the animation will start.
  3. Create a graphic using the drawing tools, such as the Rectangle, shape, or Brush tools. You can also paste a bitmap from the Clipboard or import a file (such as an Adobe Illustrator illustration).
  4. Select the next frame on Layer 1 and create a second keyframe (F6). The contents of Frame 2 are the same as Frame 1 at this time.
  5. Alter the contents of this frame on the Stage to develop the next increment of the animation. You might select the graphic and move it a couple pixels to the right, add some new lines to your drawing, or bend a line on a shape.
  6. To complete your frame-by-frame animation sequence, repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you’ve built the motion you want.
  7. To test the animation sequence, select Control > Play or Control > Test Movie. Or just scrub the timeline using the playhead (this means drag the red toggle above the frames back and forth).

In Flash CS4 you can use various tools to edit your animations, such as commands to insert frames, modify keyframes, onion-skinning tools, and the ability to move your animations around timelines. After you create a keyframe or a frame, you can move it elsewhere in the active layer or to another layer, remove it, and make other changes. Only keyframes are editable. You can drag items from the Library panel onto the Stage to add the items to the currently selected keyframe.

Tip: To display and edit more than one frame at a time, use onion skinning and/or Edit Multiple Keyframes, covered next in “Onion skinning and editing multiple frames.”

To insert frames in the Timeline, do one of the following:

  • To insert a new frame, select Insert > Timeline > Frame.
  • To create a new keyframe, select Insert > Timeline > Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame where you want to place a keyframe, and select Insert Keyframe from the context menu.
  • To create a new blank keyframe, select Insert > Timeline > Blank Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame where you want to place the keyframe, and select Insert Blank Keyframe from the context menu.

To delete or modify a frame or keyframe, do one of the following:

  • To delete a frame, keyframe, or frame sequence, select the frame, keyframe, or sequence and right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the frame, keyframe, or sequence and select Remove Frames from the context menu. Surrounding frames remain unchanged.
  • To move a keyframe or frame sequence and its contents, select the keyframe or sequence, then drag to the desired location.
  • To extend the duration of a keyframe, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) the keyframe to the final frame of the new sequence.
  • To copy a keyframe or frame sequence by dragging, select the keyframe or sequence, then Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Macintosh) to the new location.
  • To copy and paste a frame or frame sequence, select the frame or sequence and select Edit > Timeline > Copy Frames. Select a frame or sequence that you want to replace, and select Edit > Timeline > Paste Frames.
  • To convert a keyframe to a frame, select the keyframe and select Modify > Timeline > Clear Keyframe, or right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the keyframe and select Clear Keyframe from the context menu. The cleared keyframe and all frames up to the subsequent keyframe are replaced with the contents of the frame preceding the cleared keyframe.
  • To change the length of a tweened sequence, drag the beginning or ending keyframe left or right. To change the length of a frame-by-frame sequence, see the previous section, “Creating frame-by-frame animations.”
  • To add a library item to the current keyframe, drag the item from the Library panel onto the Stage.
  • To reverse an animation sequence, select the appropriate frames in one or more layers and select Modify > Timeline > Reverse Frames. There must be keyframes at the beginning and end of the sequence.