Drawing the driver’s mustache and hair

Drawing the driver’s mustache and hair

The mustache, like the previous parts of the character, is initially drawn as a basic shape and then can be manipu- lated into more complex artwork.

1. Lock and hide your previous layers so that you can see only the sketch layer underneath. Create a new layer

named hair.

2. Switch to the Rectangle tool with a black fill color and no stroke. Draw a rectangle in the area of the mustache

(Figure 2.37).

Figure 2.37

A simple

rectangle is all that is needed to begin the mustache shape.

3. Use the Selection tool to pull the corners of the shape into the basic shape of the mustache in the original

sketch (Figure 2.38).

Figure 2.38 The Selec- tion tool is used to pull the mustache into its general shape.

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques

4. Use the Selection tool to alter the edges of the shape to create rounded corners and curves (Figure 2.39).

Figure 2.39 The Selection tool is used to curve the edges of the shape.

5. Use the Selection tool to drag a selection at the bottom edge of the mustache shape (hint: Start your selection

below the mustache and drag up) (Figure 2.40).

Figure 2.40 The Selection tool is used to select a portion of the shape.

6. With this small section selected, press the Delete key (Figure 2.41).

Figure 2.41

A piece is now removed from the shape.

7. Use the Selection tool to pull the corners of the cutout piece to create the suggestion of points on the mustache.

Chapter 2 Character Animation

8. Repeat the last few steps (5–7) to create as many indi- vidual points as you desire (Figure 2.42).

Figure 2.42 The mus- tache now contains a couple of points.

9. Use the Ink Bottle tool to add a dark grey (#333333) outline color to the mustache. You can then use the

Brush tool (with the dark gray fill) to extend the out- line in some areas to suggest a slight amount of depth (Figure 2.43).

Figure 2.43 The outlined mustache.

10. Select the entire mustache and choose Modify > Shape > Optimize. In the Optimize Curves dialog box,

adjust the Optimization Strength to achieve as much optimization possible while retaining the integrity of the original drawing (Figure 2.44).

Figure 2.44 The Optimize Curves dialog box allows you to reduce the number of vec- tor points needed to render the mustache.

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques

11. Use the Selection tool to select the entire mustache shape and group it together (Command+G/Ctrl+G).

Show your other layers and use the Free Transform tool to position and scale the mustache (Figure 2.45).

Figure 2.45 Place the mustache into position on the face.

12. Hide all layers except the hair and sketch layers. Use the Brush tool with a dark grey fill (#333333) to draw

the outline of the driver’s hair (Figure 2.46).

Figure 2.46 The outline of the driver’s hair.

13. Use the Paint Bucket tool to fill the outline of the hair with black (Figure 2.47), and then select the entire

shape and group it together.

Chapter 2 Character Animation

Figure 2.47 Fill in the hair outline with black.

14. Move the hat layer above the hair layer so that the hair appears underneath the hat.

15. Show all of your layers. Create a new layer named grit. On this layer, use the Brush tool to add some darker-

colored (#BE984C) grit to this hard-working driver’s face (Figure 2.48).

Figure 2.48 The driver’s face is completed with a little bit of grit.

16. Now that the facial features are complete, let’s move all the elements into the driver_head symbol for easy

manipulation later. Unlock all layers except the sketch layer. Select the frames in the grit, hat, hair, and eye layers that you created. Ctrl-click/right-click on the selected frames and choose Cut Frames.

17. Switch to the Selection tool, and double-click on the driver_head instance to edit the symbol.

Animation with Scripting for Adobe Flash Professional CS5 Studio Techniques

18. Create a new layer, Ctrl-click/right-click on that layer’s first frame, and choose Paste Frames.

19. With the artwork still selected, drag the set of features into place within the symbol. Note that your driver_head

Timeline has retained the grit, hat, hair, and eye layers.

20. Return to the main Timeline by clicking Scene 1 at the top-left, and delete the empty layers. Your main Time-

line should now have only a head layer and a sketch layer (Figure 2.49).

21. Save your document.

Figure 2.49 The driver’s head is now in one symbol, and the main Timeline is nice and clean.

Now that the driver’s head is complete, you can start work- ing on the rest of the body.

Chapter 2 Character Animation