From start to finish you need to consider SIZE. As you create images in Photoshop, remember to export for web, consider their actual size, and also think of ways to be creative and create graphics in Flash instead.... The current version of Flash is Flash 8, but we have Flash MX here.

Flash is structured using a Timeline, Layers and a Library. It also has a Toolbar and a Property Manager, and other windows that are similar to programs you have used. Flash also has a useful Help and Tutorials section and there is also help online. Please refer to our online syllabus for the sites, but at the beginning the Flash help and things in class should be enough.

Layers
Layers help you do a number of very important things with your documents:
-organize and easily change images
-create a sense of depth
-create special effects such as guides and layers
-protect imagery that you do not want to alter
-create motion and shape tweening

Importing Photographs and other Files
You can import many different types of files into Flash. Here are the main ones:
Photographs can greatly increase your file size, but can be very necessary. Just be wary of using tons and also change the size in Photoshop prior to importing them.
To manipulate photos you can do the following:
Modify > Break Apart: Once you do this you can erase parts of you photo using circles, lines, the eraser, etc. You can also use the dropper to select your photo and then the paint bucket to dump it into empty shapes.
Modify > Trace bitmap. This turns your photos into vector graphics and gives them a cartoony look.
Illustrator:
When importing Illustrator files, Flash brings them in as one large image. Use Modify>Break Apart to uncover your Illustrator layers. Once you do this you can >Cut and >Paste in Place on another layer, which would allow you to animate and alter the different layers of your drawing. Be careful with newer versions of Illustrator- sometimes they do not import.
Quicktime:
-You can import video into Flash. Remember to give yourself enough frames to see the entire video. You will need to export your Flash movie as Quicktime. Flash 8 has new video features.
Sound:
It is imported just like the graphics. Drag and drop it into place from your Library. Sound takes up lots of memory so trim before importing and use wisely.

Shape Tween: Shape Tween is animation that morphs one shape into another.

Shape tween exists with objects that are not grouped. You can tell if an object is grouped if it has a line around it. Another way is by looking under Modify and scrolling down to Break Apart. If you can Break Apart, your object is grouped together and you are unable to do a shape tween. And finally if you click on your object and the entire thing appears hatched with dots, that means it is also already broken apart.
So remember- shape tween only exists with broken up objects!
And shape tween should be done on its own layer to control the tween better. You can, though, have multiple objects.
To shape tween, create an object on your first layer. Go to the next desired keyframe and Insert>Keyframe (f6). Either add onto your previous object or delete it and create another.
Go back to the first keyframe and click on it so that it is dark. Go to the Panel that has the Frame tab. Click on the scroll bar and select <shape>.
Motion Tween: Motion Tween can be used when you have one grouped together object.
There should only be one per layer! It will not work if you try to motion tween multiple objects on one layer. Therefore, be sure to use layers by clicking on the plus button at the bottom of your layers box (in the timeline). Name these layers by double clicking on the current name (usually Layer 1, 2, etc.). With Motion Tween you can have more advanced movement. The most useful seems to be tweening the alpha level of your object. This makes it fade in and out. Guides are also used with motion tweens.
To motion tween, create an object on your first layer. Turn this object into a symbol. Insert > Convert to Symbol. Be sure you select Graphic. Place or alter this graphic as needed (larger, rotated, etc.) Go to the next desired keyframe and Insert>Keyframe (f6). Now you can alter your graphic as needed, but you cannot add another one- only alter the one currently on the stage. Go back to the first keyframe and click on it so that it is dark. Go to the Panel that has the Frame tab. Click on the scroll bar and select <motion>.

Organizing your files on the web for web animation:
Although Flash can be used directly in the Flash Player or also exported as stills and QuickTime, the main use of Flash is for the web. Whether cartoons or traditional website layout, you can present your files in a few different ways:

1. Each Flash Page has their own url.
This would mean that you would use a more html-traditional approach. Each can be in their own webpage and you can navigate between them using the 'get url' command in the actionscripts. This is in some ways the easiest although I think the clunkiest. On the plus side you can create each page as their own "creation" and sometimes this can mentally be a good thing (especially if you are used to painting or more traditional art forms).

Example: http://www.fhsh.de/xyz/xyz.htm

2. You can construct your entire project in one Flash document.
These examples go from the most simple to the most complex:
• a really complex main Scene with buttons telling the user to go to different frames (not a great way to go for anything beyond the most simple sites)
• many movie clips which are accessed like different html pages. these would also use buttons but the buttons would "talk" to the different movies.

3. You can use multiple Flash documents.
• Yes, you can load and unload .swf files from a single webpage! This means you would not need to load a new window and could instead retain that singular viewing field that seems to help retain a viewers attention. This option is best used when you have a fair amount of data that can be divided up into different subsections. For example, if you had a site with many movies or animations, rather than have the viewer load ALL of them, you could have them load the one selected. This saves the viewer from downloading unnecessary data.

4. HTML and Flash mixed
• And then, of course, incorporating straight html pages with any of the above it just fine. Sometimes using html really does work well. It doesn't all HAVE to be Flash. Think about using slices and having one slice replaced with a Flash file, for example.

But with all of these keep in mind:
• the unity or disjuncture of the design experience (both can work well if used thoughtfully)
• what "type" of site you are presenting. Is is more informational? More experimental? More artistic?
• It is always a good idea to try to do a design on paper first. Think about how you want your information structured and what kind of site you are designing. A site can become complicated very quickly.

Check out sites like Flashkit.com (tutorials) for help.