TechNote (Archived)

Resources for creating and troubleshooting tweened animations

Use tweening to create animations

Flash can create two types of tweened animation. In motion tweening, it is possible to define properties such as position, size, and rotation for an instance, group or text block at one point in time, and then change those properties at another point in time. In shape tweening, a shape is drawn at one point in time, and then the shape is changed or a new shape is drawn at another point in time. Flash interpolates the values or shapes for the frames in between, creating the animation.

Tweening resources

There are many resources available that can help you learn how to using the tweening feature to create animations. To see step-by-step instructions on motion and shape tweening, see the Tweened Animation lesson, which is included with Flash. From the pop-up menus, select Help > Lessons > 08 Animations to access the section on Tweened Animations.

Note: It is recommended that you begin with Lesson 01 and work through each section, in order to understand all the features discussed.

Also, see pages 254 - 263 of the Using Flash 5 manual. This portion of the book gives examples on how to create both shape and motion tween. If desired, the PDF version of the Flash 5 manual is available to download.

To learn how to create a motion tween along a path, refer to the online tutorial How to add and use a motion guide (TechNote 14133).

See Motion path animation doesn't follow path (TechNote 4104) for troubleshooting problems with motion path tweening.

Animating color is another excellent tool for creating exciting animations. See How to create a color fade effect in Flash (TechNote 12686) to learn how this is achieved.

Troubleshooting

If attempts to create animations are unsuccessful or produce unexpected results, please read the following tips. These facts may help with troubleshooting the animation.

Motion tweening can only be applied to objects. You cannot tween between two drawn graphics unless they are first grouped or made into a symbol.

Objects are defined as the following:
- Symbols
- Groups
- Text boxes
- Imported bitmaps
It is best to use symbols when using motion tweening, because your file size will be a little smaller than if you simply use a grouped object. This is especially important for imported bitmap images or complex graphics.
There must be a keyframe containing a single object at the first frame of the tween, and another keyframe at the last frame of the tween. Motion tweening can be used to change the following properties of an object: position, scale, rotation or color effect.
If you are tweening more than one object in the animation, each one requires its own layer. Do not tween more than one object at once on a single layer.