Adobe Flash Lesson- How to Create a Growing Animation

By Matt Fussell

Often times, the need arises for an animation that appears to be growing.  It could either be just for decoration or to mimic the growth of some type of plant life.  It is easy to create simple animations in Adobe Flash CS4. However, creating a growing animation can be somewhat perplexing to some animators.

In this video art lesson, I show you how to create a growing animation in Flash CS4. It is very simple to do.  First create a new drawing or import a vector shape from Illustrator. Name that layer-"mask".  Create a new layer.  Name this layer something like-"artwork". Pull the "mask" layer so that it is above the "artwork" layer.  Right click on the "mask" layer and select "mask" from the menu.  Make sure both layers are unlocked.  Click the outline box in the "mask" layer.  Next, go to the "artwork" layer and use a brush to color just  a bit. Then hit the "F6" key to go to the next frame and color a bit more.  Repeat these steps until the entire image is filled in.  Then export to see your growing animation.

The following video art lesson shows you how to create a growing animation in Adobe Flash CS4...