- Getting started
- About animation
- Understanding the project file
- Animating position
- Changing the pacing and timing
- Animating transparency
- Animating filters
- Animating transformations
- Editing multiple frames
- Changing the path of the motion
- Swapping tween targets
- Creating nested animations
- Easing
- Frame-by-frame animation
- Animating 3D motion
- Exporting your final movie
- Review questions
- Review answers
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Creating nested animations
Often, an object that is animated on the Stage will have its own internal animation. For example, the wings of a butterfly moving across the Stage may flap as the butterfly moves. Or the alien that you swapped with the rocket ship could be waving his arms. These kinds of animations are called nested animations because they are contained inside the movie clip symbols. Movie clip symbols have their own timeline that is independent of the main timeline.
In this example, you’ll give the alien his own independent movement so he can wave as he flies across the Stage.
Creating animations inside movie clip symbols
We’ll animate some of the symbols that make up the alien’s body to allow him to wave.
In the Library panel, double-click the alien movie clip symbol icon.
You are now in symbol-editing mode for the alien movie clip symbol. The alien appears in the middle of the Stage. In the timeline, the parts of the alien are separated in layers.
Select the Selection tool.
Select the alien’s left arm and choose Create Motion Tween.
Animate converts the current layer into a tween layer and inserts 1 second’s worth of frames so that you can begin to animate the instance.
Select the Free Transform tool.
Move the mouse pointer near the corner transformation handle until the pointer changes to the rotation icon. Drag the corner handle near the hand to rotate the arm upward to the alien’s shoulder height.
A keyframe is inserted at the end of the motion tween. The left arm rotates smoothly from the resting position to the outstretched position.
Move the playhead back to frame 1.
Create a motion tween for the alien’s other arm. Select his right arm and choose Create Motion Tween.
Animate converts the current layer into a tween layer and inserts 1 second’s worth of frames.
Select the Free Transform tool if it’s not selected already.
As you did for the left arm, drag the corner transformation handle near the right hand to rotate the arm upward to the alien’s shoulder height.
Animate inserts a keyframe at the end of the motion tween. The arm rotates smoothly from the resting position to the outstretched position.
Select the last frame in all the other layers and insert frames (F5) so that the head, body, and feet all remain on the Stage for the same amount of time as the moving arms.
Click the Scene 1 button in the Edit bar at the top of the Stage to exit symbol-editing mode.
Your animation of the alien raising his arms is complete. Wherever you use the movie clip symbol, the alien’s nested animation will continue to play.
Preview the animation by choosing Control > Test, or use the Test Movie button in the upper-right corner of the Animate interface.
Animate opens a window showing the exported animation. The alien moves along the motion path while the nested animation of his arms moving plays and loops.
Save your project and close it. You’ll return to your previous animation in the next section.
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