Animation tutorial

The flash sample shown to the right was made with XWD.

Click a new animation option to open a new window.

Build a flash, Save the file, Export the flash piece.

Then use a PLACEHOLDER to insert the code and flash

into your XWD document.

(Quick Tip:  Set your PAGE size to the SAME as your final animation

before you begin to build so when you export, you export the size you

intend!)

 

Samisite.com

The frames with newly

inserted images are set

to .5 to .8 seconds

Frames with full image

are set to 4 seconds!

NAMED OBJECTS:

Both programs require your objects to have a name applied in order to change

that object (rotate, transparency, etc).

If you build animations Xara Xtreme, The NAME GALLERY is a very useful

option. 

This allows you to select a frame and see which of your objects are in use on

that frame.  Active names are shown with red dot. Frame three in the animation

above has only two images.  The third image was not added yet so does not

have the red dot.

The NAME GALLERY is not available in XWD.

The frame properties and settings are the same in XXP and XWD.

DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A

LOOP SO YOUR ANIMATION

IS CONTINUOUS?

Then this first image MUST be

carried forward in each of

your animation frames. 

Leave it visible and cover it

with other objects, or resize it

to make it a bit smaller than

the other images and make it

fully transparent when you do

not need to show it.

At the end of the animation,

you will bring this image back

to the TOP so you end on this

image.

From this point on, use the

COPY button instead of NEW

so your images carry forward

from frame to frame.

Note the frame display

rates for each of these!

You can make your background

the SAME as your images, or

larger.  Your choice.

I sometimes use larger

background so I can display

a caption for each image.

In that case, put your caption

on the frames with longer

display time!

If you turn the tiny image 90%

to the left, your image will SPIN

into view with the next frame!

If you set transparency, it will

bleed into the next frame

Continue to repeat steps 3 and

4 until you have reached your

final image.

The end sequence takes your

animation back to that first image.

If you have used the COPY frame

option, the animation has built up

several layers of images, frame 3

on top of 2, frame 4 on top of 3,

etc.

Like shuffling a stack of cards,

using the ARRANGE > PUT TO

BACK option, move the top image

to the bottom, then move the next

image to the bottom, repeating

until your first image appears on

the top of the stack.

You can trim out used images or

leave them stacked with no bloat

to your flash file.  From Xara:

“When tweening bitmaps or

photos, only one copy of the

bitmap is stored in the Flash

file, so you can perform

transformations of the bitmap with

little overhead. In other words, just

because the bitmap appears on

frames 1, 2 and 3 of your

animation, this does not mean

three copies of the bitmap are

embedded in the Flash file."

Though Xara makes both Xara Xtreme and Web Designer, and they both make excellent animations, there is a

difference.  Xara Xtreme has more options generally.

Other notes about XWD/XXP Animation:

Easy way to find your transparent photos: 

Resize them and make them a bit smaller than the animation.

Use the VIEW QUALITY SLIDER to

easily find the transparent image. 

Set the bar to the lowest setting so only outlines are visible. 

Select the image and change the transparency.  Slide the

view quality bar back to see the image.