| Flash Animation 5: Creating a Complex Character of Movable Parts | |
| Step 10 - Expanded Explanation |
Here we go. Now that we've got a bit more space to write in, let's explain this whole "nested symbols" thing. We're going to make our various major parts into sets and subsets of editable movie clips.
To do that, we'll unlock the three layers that comprise the left arm, then use the shift key to select all parts before converting them to a single symbol called "Left Arm". Set your symbol as a movie clip, as animation of individual parts will take place inside your symbol, while animation of the symbol as a whole will take place on your main timeline.
That's not the end of it, though. We're going to make a nested symbol out of this; that is, a symbol inside a symbol. Double-click on the symbol to edit it; you'll see the rest of the scene grayed out except that one limb. This time you'll select only the forearm and hand, and then group those into a Movie Clip symbol called "Left Forearm". This way you can rotate the arm from the elbow without having to move the hand separately. Moving the hand separately would take place inside the editing stage for the Left Forearm movie clip.
Repeat this for the right arm, and then for the entire head, with the head, hair, and all facial features selected as your main movie clip and then the facial features set as a separate movie clip nested inside the main one. You may want to go a step further with this and make separate movie clips (a third layer of nesting) for individual facial groupings: left eye, right eye, and lips + open mouth.
Once you're done, your character will be ready to start animating in the next lesson. In my instance, I have Lex who, in the words of a friend of mine, "works the cutely stupid like woah".
