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Multi-Layered Background
Now that I had my UFO flying around, I decided to add
a multi-layered background: a sky that goes from blue to
black and several mountains. I create my sky background as
a symbol. I go - Insert - New Symbol. A new stage appears.
I build a sky using a gradient fill with black at the top
and blue at the bottom. I also make it twice as high as the
height of my stage. I select layer 1, which is the bottom
most layer. I drag the sky symbol in at frame 1 and position
it so the blue section of the gradient is visible. With the
sky still selected I go - Modify - Animate - Animate Selection...
I enter 43 frames (the total number for this project) and
input 60 px movement at 270 degrees. This will animate the
sky from day to night.
The next step is to create some mountains.
I created one mountain and used two instances of it. On layer
2 frame 1, I dragged two mountains, one on the left and one
of the right. I then clicked the arrow in the frame palette
and chose 'copy to frames' and selected 'All Frames.' The
mountains will now appear in every frame. I select the fourth
layer, which is the top foreground layer. I add a third mountain
and position it off center. By putting this mountain on this
layer the UFO will look as if it is flying around it. I export
again to Shockwave.
Live Effects
Fireworks has added 'Live Effects' when creating animations. Live Effects are
effects that can be applied to existing objects. These effects include, blurring,
glows, bevels, color and any number of third party effects like those from
'Eye Candy.' To demonstrate I added a yellow glow to my UFO. I select the
UFO symbol in my library palette, select 'edit symbol' from the drop down
menu. I then go to the 'Effects' palette and find 'Shadow and Glow' from
the drop down menu. I try various settings and click the Enter key. Now the
UFO has a cool glow effect as it swoops across the stage.
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