Lesson 4: Creating

shapes
Flash,like photoshop, includes several drawing tools that work in different drawing
mode.However, the process of modifying shapes that were created using shape tools
such as the rectangle and the oval tools are bit different in the Flash workspace.

There are three drawibng modes that determine how objects interactwith one another
on the stage.By default,Flash uses the Merge Drawing Mode.
 Merge Drawing mode
The default drawing mode automatically merges shapes that you draw when you overlap them. When you draw shapes
that overlap each other in the same layer, the top-most shape cuts away the part of the shape underneath it that it
overlaps. In this way, drawing shapes is a destructive drawing mode. For example, if you draw a circle and overlay a
smaller circle on top of it, and then select the smaller circle and move it, the portion of the second circle that overlaid
the first circle is removed.
When a shape has both a stroke and a fill, they are considered separate graphic elements that can be selected and moved
independently.

Shapes created with the Merge Drawing mode merge

together when they overlap. Selecting a shape and
moving it results in the overlaid shape being altered.
Enter Merge Drawing mode
1.Select the Merge Drawing option in the Tools panel.
2.Select a drawing tool from the Tools panel and draw on the Stage

Object Drawing mode

Creates shapes referred to as drawing objects. Drawing objects are separate
graphic objects that do not automatically merge together when overlaid. This
lets you overlap shapes without altering their appearance if you move them
apart, or rearrange their appearance. Animate creates each shape as a
separate object that you can individually manipulate.
When a drawing tool is in Object Drawing mode, the shapes you create with it
are self-contained. The stroke and fill of a shape are not separate elements,
and shapes that overlap do not alter one another. When you select a shape
created using Object Drawing mode, Animate surrounds the shape with a
rectangular bounding box to identify it.
 Shapes created with the Object Drawing mode remain separate objects that you can
manipulate individually.

Enter Object Drawing mode

To draw shapes using Object Drawing mode, you must explicitly enable it.
1.Select a drawing tool that supports Object Drawing mode (the Pencil, Line, Pen, Brush, Oval, Rectangle, and
Polygon tools).
2.Select the Object Drawing button from the Options category of the Tools panel, or press the J key to toggle
between the Merge and Object Drawing modes. The Object Drawing button toggles between the Merge and Object
Drawing modes. You can set preferences for contact sensitivity when you select shapes created with Object Drawing
mode.
3.Draw on the Stage.
Convert a Merge Drawing mode created shape to an Object Drawing mode
shape
1.Select the shape on the Stage.
2.To convert the shape into an Object Drawing mode shape, select Modify >
Combine Objects > Union. After conversion, the shape is treated like a vector-
based drawing object that does not alter its appearance by interacting with other
shapes.
 Primitive objects

Primitive objects are shapes that let you adjust their characteristics in the
Property inspector. You can precisely control the size, corner radius, and other
properties of the shape at any time after you have created it without having to
draw it from scratch.

Two types of primitives are available, rectangles and ovals.

1.Select the Rectangle Primitive Tool or Oval Primitive Tool from the Tools
panel.

2.Draw on the Stage.

 Practice with the shape tools by making a
simple cylinder.
• A. Select the rectangle tool in the tools panel.
• B. Choose a strokecolor and fill color from the properties inspector.
• C. Draw a rectangle on the stage with a height longer than its width. Measurements are
130 for width and 150 for height.
• D. Select the oval too in the tools panel (press and hold the mouse cursor over the
rectangle tool to access the hidden tools).
• E. Enable the snap to Objects option at the options area in the tools panel to ensures
that the lines and corners of the shapes drawn in the Stage connect to one another.
• F. Click inside the rectangle and drag across it to make an oval inside the
rectangle. Draw an oval near the top of the rectangle and draw another over
near the bottom of the rectangle.
• G. Choose the Selection tool. Click the filled area above the top oval to select it.
Noticed that the shape is highlighted. Apress the [DELETE] key to delete the
shape.
• H. Select each of the three line segments above the top oval and press the
[DELETE] key to delete the individual strokes. Do the same with the filled area
and stroke below the bottom oval shape, as well as the arc inside. The remaining
shape appears as a cylinder.
Modifying shapes
to create more complex graphics, the free transform tools and the Selection tool can be used to modify base shapes drawn
with the Rectangle and oval tools:

a. Select the free transform tool in the tools panel

b. drag the free transform tool around the cylinder as shown in the foolowing figure:

c. Press[CTRL+SHIFT] while dragging one of the lower corners inward. Holding the [CTRL+SHIFT ] buttons makes it
possible to move both corners at the same distance simultaneously.

The bottom of the cylinder is now narrower than the top making it look more like a cup.
 d. Choose the selection tool in the tools panel
e. Move the mouse cursor close to one of the sides of the cup. A curved line appears near the cursor
indicating that the contour of the stroke can be change. Click and drag the stroke outward. Notice the side
of the cup bends. Do the same for the other side of the cup to give a more rounded body.

Changing strokes and Fills

- A shape is made of two components: the fill, w/c is the inside of the shape, and the stroke, w/c is the
outline of the shape. They are independent of each of other, so any modification to either component
does not affect the other.
- To change the properties of any strokes, use the link Bottle tool. The Ink Bottle tool is used to change
stroke colors. To change the properties of any fill, use the Paint Bucket tool. The Paint Bucket Tool is
used t to change to color.
 a. Select the Paint Bucket Tool in the tools Panel.
b. Choose the different fill color from the original one in the Properties Inspector and the click the
surface of the object to change its fill color

.
 c. Select the Ink Bottle tool hidden under the Paint Bucket tool in the Tools panel.
d. Choose a diff. stroke color from the original one in the Properties panel.
e. Click on the edge of the stroke to change the stroke color.
Alternately, select the stroke or fill & change its color using the Properties tool.

- Using Gradient Fills –

- - a gradient is when one color gradually changes into another. Flash can create linear gradients &
radial gradients. Linear gradients go horizontally, vertoically, or diagonally while Radial gradients
are defined from the center of the object.
- By default, a linear gradient moves from one color to a 2nd color. Up to 15 color transitions can be
used in flash. A color pointer determines whre the gradient changes fron one color to the next.
a. Using the Selection tool, select the fill represents the front surface of the cup. In the Color panel,
(Window > Color), choose the Fill color icon & select Linear gradient.
The surface is now filled w/ a gradient going front left to right.
b. Double click the color pointer on the lefr of the color gradient in the Color panel &
choose a diff. color fron the color swatches.
 C. Do the same for the inside surface of the cup. To reverse the direction pf the
gradient, move the color pointers in the Color panel. Now, the cup has a more than
dimensional look because of the gradient fills.