Shape Tweening

By tweening shapes, you can create an effect similar to morphing, making one shape appear to change into another shape over time. Flash can also tween the location, size, and color of shapes.

Tweening one shape at a time usually yields the best results. If you tween multiple shapes at one time, all the shapes must be on the same layer.

Flash cannot tween the shape of groups, symbols, text blocks, or bitmap images. Use Modify/ Break Apart to apply shape tweening to these elements. Or select the object and use CTRL+SHIFT+G to ungroup a grouped object.

To control more complex or improbable shape changes, use shape hints, which control how parts of the original shape move into the new shape.

To tween a shape:

1. Click a layer name to make it the current layer and select an empty keyframe where you want the animation to start.
2. Create the image for the first frame of the sequence.
   Use any of the drawing tools to create a shape.
3. Create a second keyframe the desired number of frames after the first frame.
4. Create the image for the last frame of the sequence. (You can tween the shape, color, or position of the image created in step 2.)
5. Choose WINDOW / PANELS / FRAME.
6. For Tweening, select Shape.
7. Click and drag the arrow next to the Easing value or enter a value to adjust the rate of change between tweened frames:
   
   To begin the shape tween gradually and accelerate the tween toward the end of the animation, drag the slider down or enter a value between -1 and -100.
   To begin the shape tween rapidly and decelerate the tween toward the end of the animation, drag the slider up or enter a positive value between 1 and 100.
   By default, the rate of change between tweened frames is constant. Easing creates a more natural appearance of transformation by gradually adjusting the rate of change.
   
8. Choose an option for Blend:
   Distributive creates an animation in which the intermediate shapes are smoother and more irregular.
   Angular creates an animation that preserves apparent corners and straight lines in the intermediate shapes.

Angular is appropriate only for blending shapes with sharp corners and straight lines. If the shapes you choose do not have corners, Flash reverts to distributive shape tweening.