Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
In Adobe Flash, the character should be placed in the main scene. Avoid converting
it inside symbols, especially Movieclips, because they utilize their own timeline,
which cannot be seen for the Export function. The graphic symbols are safe, but the
length of the main timeline must be equal to that of the symbol's timeline. The dimen-
sions of the movie scene have to be identical to those of the animation frame you've
chosen before. By default, all graphic elements of the character are situated on a
single graphic layer, they should be separated. The rule is quite simple: each mov-
ing part has to be turned into a graphic symbol and should have its own layer. The
process can be easily automated: simply convert the parts into symbols and click on
Separate image to layers in the context menu. The application will lay out the ele-
ments on the layers, not changing their positions on the screen.
Once the animation is ready, carefully tested, and has an attractive look, the frames
can be exported as separate PNG files via File | Export Movie... . After that, they can
be used to form a sprite sheet. In Adobe Illustrator, you create a document using a
canvas of specified dimensions; the frames are imported inside it (by drag & drop ).
It is important to note that the images should be linked, not embedded. Generally,
Adobe Illustrator collects imported files in a stack because it does not know where
each of them must be set, so you need to arrange them in the correct order. The final
document is now ready for export and the sprite sheet can be easily generated by
navigating to File | Save for Web & Devices .
Note
If some frames are a little blurry, turn on the Snap to Pixels option and check the
coordinates of these files. The values could be fractional.
In an exceptional case, either Adobe Flash or Adobe Illustrator alone can be used
to work on sprite sheets. Adobe Illustrator has no helpful tool to create animations,
but each frame can be created manually and placed on individual layers. By rule of
thumb, all you need to do is move each detail in an animated image. The process
canbecontrolledusingtestSWFfiles,whichcanbegeneratedviathe Save for Web
& Devices window (don't forget about the Layers to SWF frames option). As far as
the animation is successfully tested and works well, images inside the AI document
can be rearranged into a sprite sheet. Adobe Flash can be used for the purposes of
illustrations, animation development, and sprite sheet export. Its drawing vector tools
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