I Need Flash Help!

[Citizen Unicron]

Flash Masters,

I need help with something I've never been able to do, but I would think would be very easy to achieve. I need to animate a line. It has to start at a point and grow along a path. I've attached a picture that will hopefully explain what I mean. I'm using Flash 4. Thank you for taking the time to help.

-Colby

[Daniel Poeira]

Let me think... what if you... created a mask with the spiral design... then create a layer below it... and fill it with the brush, frame by frame?

[Citizen Unicron]

Thanks Daniel. I've used that method before, but it's too time consuming. Especially since the animation lasts for 5 seconds at 30 fps. It's too much hassle to do it frame by frame.

-Colby

[megatoon]

There are really no easy methods for this in Flash 4 or 5. It can be done using ActionScript in Flash MX with the new line functions.

http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/mx/flash/articles/precision_drawing.html

[Citizen Unicron]

Thanks Megatoon!

I guess I'll just have to do it in some roundabout time consuming way. :(

-Colby

[Animated Ape]

Hey Colby,

There is an easier way. Draw out the whole swirl you want. On a layer above, create a blob of color and make it a symbol and a mask. Create a line matching your swirl on another layer and make it a guide or a path. I'm not sure which. Then motion tween your mask symbol too the path. There is a way to animate it to the path. I'm at work, but I can figure it out for you when I get home. I hope that made some scence.

[Citizen Unicron]

Animated Ape- Thanks for the help. I'm not sure if that method works though. I don't think a layer can be both a guided layer and a mask layer. And if it was possible, I think it would only make the part with the blob above it visible. And I need the part of the line that the blob would've already passed over to be visble as well.

Let me know where I might be mistaken. I'd really like to be able to do this. Thanks again.

-Colby

[Animated Ape]

Hi Colby,

It's alittle more involved than I explained. Shoot me off an email at anim8edape@hotmail.com and I can email you a better explination and maybe some visuals tonight.

[Citizen Unicron]

Ape- E-mail sent.

[Graphiteman]

Ape's reply is the best explanation. It is the recurring how do I make it look like its writing itself. I didn't use a path but I used the mask function to do the writing trick.

http://www3.telus.net/drard/turkey.html