Clip Art & Vector Images: Shape Tween	Home • Food • Mates • Members • Tutorials • Forum • Buy Templates • Contact Us

Importing Clip Art, Bitmap & Vector Images
For Shape Tweens & Other Uses

Free Flash Tutorial

The aim of the tutorial is to learn how to import Clip Art and other forms of Computer Graphics and Vector Images. It is important to understand the difference between the two types of images: Vector and Bitmap images. This is because Flash handles these different images formats differently. In this tutorial I will demonstrate the difference by looking at how Flash Shape Tweens the different image types:

Click by Click: If you would like to view this tutorial without all the notes: Click by Click

 

Shape Tweens:

 

Both these Shape Tween animations are the same except for how the images have been imported:

 

Bitmap Image Shape Tweened	Vector Clip Art Shape Tweened

In the above examples both Movies use the same Clip Art file but they have been imported into Flash using different methods. In one case Flash converts the image to a Bitmap image and in the other the Clip Art retains its original Vector File Format.

It is usually better to import images as Vector based images as they tend to be smaller files. Here are some of the things you should be aware of when importing images:

• Vector is Flash's Native format.
• Vector images are usually faster to download than Bitmap images.
• A Vector image has distinctive and different properties to that of a Bitmap image and vise versa.
• Flash converts some vectors into bitmaps on import (which this is avoidable).
• Flash never converts a Bitmap into a Vector Image on import.

  Note: It is quite difficult to convert a Bitmap image into a Vector image and if you need to you would normally use a specialist program. These programs are usually referred to as Trace programs. Some image programs may have Trace type filters.

This Tutorial Covers:

• The first step is to understand what a Bitmap images is.

Quick Links: Bitmap Images

• Next I will look at what a Vector Images is and I will cover some basic techniques in editing Vector Shapes:

Quick Links: Vector Images

• I will then look alternative ways if importing Vector based Clip Art so that it retains it's Vector properties and or how to import Vector Clip Art as a Bitmap. I will also look discus Graphics Programs which are designed to create and edit Vector Images.

Quick Links: Importing Vector Images into Flash

• I will then show you how to create the Shape Tweened animation:

Quick Links: Shape Tweening Vector Art


Vector based Shape Tween.