Archive for October, 2010
Candle Animation
by Administrator on Oct.26, 2010, under Animating Tips
In this example we shall use the quick particle effect wizard to create a nice animated candle. The result is:
We used the cylinder tool for the candle itself. We used a modified cylinder for the candle holder. We used a ring shape for the handle. The shine on the candle is simply a circle with a radial gradient where the outer colour opacity is 0%.
To create the flames we used the quick particle creator and used an orange colour. This layer is underneath the shine layer to give the best effect.
Earth Moon Gravity Simulation
by Administrator on Oct.25, 2010, under Scripting
In this tutorial we shall make a basic gravitational simulation with the inverse square law of attraction. It should end up looking like this:
We draw two spheres and group each one as a MovieClip. Using the frame panel we assign a reference name to each one: earth and moon. For the moon we set up the variables by choosing the MovieClip Events > onLoad action from the action menu. And type in:
And then for the MovieClip Events > onEnterFrame we have:
//work out distance from earth to moon
dx = _root.earth._x – _x
dy = _root.earth._y – _y
r = Math.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)
//get the mass of the earth from the other MovieClip
m = _root.earth.mass
//change the velocity according to the inverse square law of attraction
velocity.x += m*dx/r/r/r
velocity.y += m*dy/r/r/r
//change the position with the values of the velocity
_x += velocity.x
_y += velocity.y
We then repeat these actions for the Earth but wherever it says earth put moon. Also, the starting values for the earth MovieClip in the onLoad action should be:

Showing events and references in editor
Other things you might like to add would be a reset button.
Bouncing Ball
by Administrator on Oct.25, 2010, under Scripting
In this tutorial we are going to model a bouncing ball using the equations of Newtonian physics no less! This is the result:
First let us create a new animation with size 400 x 300 using the File > Document Properties menu.
Next we draw the ball with the sphere tool. Next we group the ball as a MovieClip.
Next with the ball selected we go to the Action menu and in the MovieClip Events we choose onLoad to set up some values for when the ball first appears on the screen. In the action box we type in:
gravity = 4
velocity = {x:10, y:0}
This sets the strength of the gravitational force to a suitable number and adjusts it for 24 frames a second animation. It sets the initial velocity to a sideways direction in the x-axis.
We close this window. Then in the MovieClip Events we choose onEnterFrame which tells the ball what to do on every frame. We type in:
//the velocity increases downwards every frame
velocity.y += gravity
//the position of the ball change with the velocity
_x += velocity.x
_y += velocity.y
//if it hits the floor reverse the downward velocity
if( _y + _height/2 > Stage.height){
velocity.y*= -1
_y=Stage.height -_height/2
}
//if it hits the sides reverse the sideways velocity
if( _x - _width/2 < 0 || _x + _width/2 > Stage.width){
velocity.x*= -1
}
Close the action window and preview the result!
(You may notice that when it hits the floor we also adjust the position of the ball so it touches the floor exactly. This prevents unusual behaviour such as the ball bouncing higher then it fell.)
Morphing and Tweening
by Administrator on Oct.22, 2010, under Animating Tips
In this tutorial we shall use simple morphing and tweening methods to create a semi-realistic water droplet effects. The effect is further highlighted with use of transpareny and gradients.
Quickly Create Animated Text
by Administrator on Oct.16, 2010, under Video Tutorials
In this video tutorial we shall create some animated text of the classic words “Hello World”. Watch the video and repeat the steps, pausing the video when you need to.
The steps are very simple.
Step 1
To change the background colour, open the ‘Appearance’ menu and choose ‘Background colour’.
Step 2
To add the animated text go to the ‘Quick’ menu and choose ‘Title Text”. Type the words in you want. (In this case “Hello World”). Adjust the parameters until you like what you see in the preview window. Click OK to add it to the page.
Step 3
Use the blue cursor to move the text into the right place and the resize tool to make the text the right size.
Awesome Animator is Launched!
by Administrator on Oct.13, 2010, under News
Awesome Animator is now go! We have uploaded Awesome Animator to the website so you can download it and use it free for 2 weeks! We are confident you will love this software and wonder how you used your computer without it all this time. We love to hear about people using Awesome Animator, so whether you decide to purchase the software after the two week trial or not send us your comments. Either post them here or email us. Contact details are on our website at awesomeanimator.com. Also, we will be updating our main website shortly so if you have some ideas of things you would like to see let us know.
Crazy Lines Animation
by Administrator on Oct.12, 2010, under Scripting
In this tutorial you will create a crazy effect which is made out of many colourful lines. This is an example of an effect where it is far easy for it to be done in scripting than by doing it by hand.
Step 1
Go to the first frame and from the animation menu choose ‘Add new frames’ and add 2 frames.
Step 2
Go to the first frame and from the actions menu choose ‘Frame Action’. The script window will open and you can type in what’s indicated in bold:
// Set some variables to hold the width and height
W=300
H=300
// Clear the screen
clear()
// Now we will draw 50 lines
for(n=1;n<=50;n++){
// Store some properties in some variables
linewidth = Math.random()*10
linecolor = Math.random()*256*256*256
opacity = 100
// Actually draw the line
lineStyle(linewidth,linecolor,opacity)
moveTo(Math.random()*W,Math.random()*H)
lineTo(Math.random()*W,Math.random()*H)
}
The lines preceded by // are comments and are not strictly necessary but are simply there to remind you what different lines of the script do. The function Math.random() gives a number between 0 and 1 so to give a number between say 0 and 100 this number is just multiplied by 100.
Step 3
Close the script window and go to frame 2. In frame two add a new frame action and type in (or use the quick action menu):
gotoAndPlay(1)
You should end up with this delightful animation: