You’ll save a lot of hair-pulling if you work in layer folders, separating costume pieces by tops, bottoms, accessories, shoes, wings and capes, etc. (Don’t forget to place all of the layer folders except for the one with things like wings and capes above the layer with the doll base, while the one with wings, capes, etc. go underneath the doll base.) That way you can hide and unhide the entire group at once, and collapse the folders to make your list of layers much more manageable. Don’t forget to name your layers, as well, so you’re not guessing what’s on each one. If you only have ten to fifteen pieces, it’s not so bad – but since I was working with 46, I’d have been lost without naming my layers.
Flash Halloween Costume Dress-Up Doll I: Artwork & Setup
By Adrien-Luc Sanders, About.com Guide
Start dragging the graphics onto the stage, and positioning them on top of the doll so that they fit as they would were the doll dressed in that particular costume. Put each one on its own layer; you may want to think ahead in your layering, working out what can be mixed and matched and therefore what should be underneath or on top of what. (Example, albeit a fashion disaster: placing the superhero tights & boots on a layer underneath the schoolgirl skirt, so that the skirt can be worn over the tights and boots – or placing the superhero top on a layer underneath the devil pants so that the pants can be paired with the leotard feasibly.)
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