...Contined from Page 1, 2

This all sounds complicated but isn't really, it just means that almost everything is adjustable relatively simply. This makes it a bit easier to learn from scratch than Flash which requires remembering to insert tweens manually.

Using Styles which come installed in LiveMotion I could have done the spinning and having objects moving in from another point in a much shorter time. Another thing that appears built into LiveMotion is the ability to move an object along a path automatically and have it move in relation to that path. This has to be done manually in Flash.

It is small things like that that make the learning curve in LiveMotion a little less steep. In LiveMotion version 1 the basic actions that can be used, such as, "go to" and "play", from a particular frame are not quite as simple as in Flash, but this can be overcome. Once again, it may just be the program that I got used to. The ActionScripting thing has really been addressed in version 2 I believe.

If it comes to a choice of which animation program is the right one for a beginner to start with, I think that LiveMotion is possibly a bit easier to follow, but has drawbacks in some areas. I suspect that it is just a matter of a very short time before it really competes with Flash as an industry standard so I would advise serious Flash animators and Web developers to have an in depth look at this program. It also has the added advantage of being fully integrated with other Adobe programs and having some very good advanced Web interactive features.

One thing I do have a problem with, and it comes from the developers, is that shortcuts are not consistent over all the programs. One of these as an example is that Ctrl + D in Photoshop clears a selection, while in LiveMotion it duplicates an object. Another one that should be in all Adobe programs is the double click on the desktop that brings up the "open file" box. This doesn't happen in Illustrator or LiveMotion and is rather annoying if that is what you are used to, apart from it being quicker than any other method. Why not keep consistency?

I simplified my Christmas card to be able to bring you a quick view of something that can be achieved easily, and how it was done. I added each letter in sequence which means that it can look like a typewritten note. I could have used masking, but wanted to try this method. It is extremely easy and makes each letter able to be manipulated if so desired.

The sound layer is the green line, it is longer than the others as I wanted some sound to carry the whole way through the animation. Once again, it is easy to just drag the sound you want, from the sound window, and drop it onto the stage for it to be placed. You can then move it to play at any point that you select when the timeline gets to it. You will notice that the other lines are pink, and relate to objects which are opening at different times to create the typewriter effect, in this case they are the individual letters.

In this shot you can also see the two behaviours that I put in to enable replay of the final Shockwave Flash (SWF) file, they are the small dark squares in the behaviours line just above the sound layer. Covering the object lines is the behaviours editing box, where behaviours are added in logical sequences. In this case, I have one to stop the animation, and another one to start it. The start one is triggered by the button on mouse up, while the stop behaviour is automatically applied to stop looping of the animation, thus losing control over the finished product.

Once you have the finished product, and I should stress that as you go along, you make a point of saving your work on a regular basis as soon as you are happy with what you have done, or you will lose all that hard work if something goes wrong.

To export your work you can choose from the options in the export options box. This can have a large effect on the output size of files depending on the compression that is applied. Too much may degrade your finished product, but this sort of choice must be made individually, depending on the desired viewing platform.

Having selected the method of export, just choose File > Export As...

--By Tim Skyrme
http://www.artzend.com