Creating an armature using symbols

Creating an armature using symbols

Let’s start by building a basic armature using symbols.

1. Choose File > New, (under the General heading) select ActionScript 3.0 at the left, and click OK.

2. Use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle on Stage with a solid fill (Figure 2.108).

Figure 2.108

A rectangle drawn on the Stage.

3. Convert the rectangle to a Graphic symbol (F8) named segment.

Chapter 2 Character Animation

4. Drag four copies of your rectangle on Stage so that you have a line of five segments in a row (Figure 2.109).

Press the Option/Alt key to simul- taneously drag and duplicate an element on the Stage.

Figure 2.109 The five instances of the segment symbol will be used to connect the “bones” of the armature you are about to create.

5. Switch to the Bone tool (Figure 2.110).

Figure 2.110 The Bone tool can be found in the toolbar.

6. Click on the center of the leftmost segment instance, drag to the next segment, and release (Figure 2.111).

When you apply the first bone to Figure 2.111 The first bone is drawn from the leftmost segment to its

the first symbol in an armature, that neighbor.

symbol becomes the parent bone by default. All subsequent bones will

This creates the first bone in your armature. be children of the parent bone.

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques

7. Now drag from the second segment to the third and repeat until all the segments are joined (Figure 2.112).

Figure 2.112 The completed armature.

You now have a complete armature.

8. Switch to the Selection tool and try dragging the right- most segment. Notice how the segments are linked like

joints (Figure 2.113).

Figure 2.113 The manipulation of one segment can affect the entire armature.

You can quickly see how an armature could be useful in quickly rigging an animated character.

9. When you begin applying bones to your symbols, Flash will automatically move your artwork to a new Armature

layer. Drag out the first frame of your Armature layer to frame 40 (Figure 2.114).

Figure 2.114 Drag the frame to extend the Armature layer’s Timeline.

Chapter 2 Character Animation

10. Reposition your Armature layer using the Selection tool (Figure 2.115).

Figure 2.115 Reposition the armature on frame 40.

11. Press Return/Enter to preview your animation on Stage.

Congratulations! You’ve just animated an armature! To apply this technique to a character, you would simply need to use your character’s body parts rather than rectangles. In some cases, you may be able to rig a character’s entire body as an armature. This will depend heavily on your character design. In most situations, you will exert more control over your character’s poses if you rig your charac- ter’s limbs separately (Figure 2.116 on the next page). It’s important to note that each piece of your armature serves as a joint, so in many cases, you’ll need to create a dummy symbol to use as a handle at the end of your armature (as illustrated in Figure 2.116).

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques

Figure 2.116 An illustration of a monkey character’s arm rigged using IK. The red circle symbol acts as a handle so that the hand can be manipulated.

Now that you can create an armature using symbols as segments, let’s look at how to create a more fluid armature using a shape.