Flash Animation 3: Fireworks E-card

Brush Tool Settings

For the fireworks, we’ll use the brush tool to actually draw them individually. The brush tool draws fills without line strokes, so it doesn’t matter what color your stroke is set to. There are a number of settings for the brush tool; the two main dropdowns let you select the brush size, and shape. I’m going to use a smaller brush, left to the default circular. The button to the top left sets the brush mode; the default, Paint Normal, draws...well..normally. You can roll out the button to show Paint Fills (paints only over empty areas or fills, leaving lines untouched), Paint Behind (paints blank areas or “behind” other objects in the scene), Paint Selection (paints only over selected areas, leaving things outside the selection untouched), and Paint Inside (only paints inside fills, leaving lines and blank areas untouched). I’m going to leave mine on Paint Normal. The button to the right of that, which looks like a small flourish, is the Use Pressure button. This only works if you have a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet; I prefer not to use it, because when I use my tablet I draw with light, soft strokes and in Flash it tends to make my lines rather jittery.

• Customizing The Document Settings
• Drawing Basic Shapes for a Skyline
• Using Gradient Fills to Draw Windows
• Populating Multiple Instances of the Window Symbols
• Making Stars by Manipulating Alpha Transparency Effects
• Converting Stars to Symbol and Scattering, Gradient Background
• Brush Tool Settings
• Drawing Fireworks
• Copying a Filled Shape to Make Another Instance of Fireworks
• Changing Fill Color & Conclusion