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In This Chapter
Introducing color basics
Working with Flash color
Organizing the Color Swatches panel
Creating and importing custom color sets
Using the Color Mixer panel to modify colors
Adding transparency to strokes and fills
Making and applying gradient fills
Selecting bitmap fills
Before we get into the specifics of applying color with Flash, we want to discuss some of the fundamental theory behind working with color that's destined for display on the Web. Limited color displays are not as common as they were in the early days of Web graphics, but it is useful to have a basic understanding of the various contexts and limitations of digital color. This chapter introduces some resources that may be helpful to you for Flash work and as references for color issues that may come up in other productions. Whether you're designing corporate graphics or creating a photo album to share online, consistent and accurate color is a key factor in the quality of your projects. An overview of the reasons and methods for using Web-safe color will get you on good footing. We then explore the options available in Flash for choosing and modifying your color palette using the Color Swatches panel and how colors can be accessed from the Tools panel. We also show you how to work with the Property inspector menus, Color Swatches panel, and Color Mixer panel to select, change, mix, and apply solid colors, gradients, and even bitmap fills.
| Cross-Reference |
Flash symbol instances can be tweened so that they will change color over time. Although this involves color, the selection of colors for the original symbol used in the keyframes of the tween is merely a rudimentary application of fill and line color, as we describe in this chapter. We discuss applying the Color Effect controls available in the Property inspector to symbol instances in Chapter 9, "Modifying Graphics." We cover methods for controlling color with ActionScript and the Flash Color Object in Chapter 25, "Controlling Movie Clips." |
| New Feature |
We cover the new Filters and Blend modes available in Flash Professional 8 in Chapter 12, "Applying Filters and Live Effects." You can use these new features to modify the color and appearance of symbols, but they do not replace the basic color tools (described in this chapter) used to modify text, shapes, and Graphic symbols. |
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