Flash CS4 Professional

This Flash CS4 Professional tutorial covers creating graphics, working with layers, and adding motion, sound, and text to your Flash CS4 Professional document.

Work with the Pencil Tool and the Paint Bucket Tool

When working in Flash, you can use the Pencil tool to draw freehand shapes and the Paint Bucket tool to fill enclosed areas with color. In this exercise, you will use both of these tools to draw the tree trunk and treetop you will use later to create a tree.

Create the Tree Trunk

1. Choose View > Grid > Edit Grid from the menu.
2. Deselect Snap to Grid. This will enable you to draw freely.
3. Click OK.
4. Choose the Pencil tool .
5. Activate the Property inspector.
6. Click the Stroke color box and then choose brown as the stroke color.
7. On the Modifier panel, if Object Drawing is selected, deselect it.
8. On the Modifier panel, choose the Smooth option. This option rounds the corners of your drawing.

9. Draw the tree trunk. Make sure the starting point and the ending point connect.

Note: While drawing, you may want to use the Eraser tool . Double-click the Eraser tool to erase everything on the Stage. Use the Eraser Shape modifier that is located in the modifier area of the Tool panel to select the size and shape of your eraser. Make sure the Eraser Mode is set to Normal, and then wipe over the area you want to erase.

10. Choose the Paint Bucket tool.

11. Click the Fill color box in the Property inspector and then choose brown as the fill color.
12. Click inside the trunk to fill the trunk with color.

Note: If your tree trunk does not fill with color, you probably have gaps. To close the gaps, click on the Gap Size modifier that is located in the modifier area of the Tool panel and then choose Close Large Gaps.

Create the Treetop

1. Choose the Pencil tool .
2. Click the Stroke color box and then choose green as the stroke color.
3. Draw a treetop like the one shown here.

5. Choose the Paint Bucket tool .
6. Click the Fill color box in the Property inspector and then choose green as the fill color.
7. Click inside the treetop to fill the treetop with color.

Create the Tree

1. Choose the Selection tool.
2. Double-click the treetop fill. Double-clicking the treetop fill selects both the treetop stroke and the treetop fill.
3. Drag the treetop over the tree trunk.

Group Objects

Flash CS4 Professional views the tree as two objects, the treetop and the tree trunk. In the next exercise you will group the treetop and the tree trunk to cause Flash CS4 Professional to view the tree as a single object. Then you will turn the tree into a symbol.

Group Objects

1. Choose the Selection tool.
2. Click and drag to create a rectangle around the tree. This selects the tree.
3. Choose Modify > Group from the menu or press Ctrl+ G to make the treetop and the tree trunk a single object.
4. Choose Modify > Convert to Symbol from the menu. The Convert to Symbol dialog box appears.
5. Type Tree in the Name field.
6. Choose Graphic as the type.
7. Click OK. Flash places a copy of the tree in the Library.
8. Press the Delete key to remove the tree from the Stage.