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Animated Ball Shadow |
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Written by Rawpulse
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Saturday, 15 April 2006 |
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Learn how to add an animated shadow to a bouncing ball!
This is a great shadow effect to add to a bouncing ball. Initially you should know how to bounce a ball in Flash. If you don't, follow this tutorial first.
To view the finished effect of what we will be creating, click here. Let's begin.
Once you have completed your bouncing ball animation, you should have it all on one layer. Create a new layer for the shadow. You can rename it if you like. Ensure that the shadow layer is underneath the ball layer. If it is not, simply click and drag the layer until it moves beneath the first layer.
On frame 1 of your shadow layer, draw a new circle, the same size as your ball. Alternatively, double click your ball and then copy it, then return to Scene 1, and paste it on the shadow layer. We need to change the color of the new ball to a light grey. Position it underneath the ball.
Now we need to reshape the shadow, because it doesn't look too realistic. So to do this, make sure your shadow is selected, the select the Free Transform Tool from the Tools menu. You should see various boxes around your shadow. We need to flatten the shape, so select the middle box along the top of the shadow, and drag it down.
Release the mouse button and it should now look something like this, once you have shaped it correctly.
Now you need to position the shadow so when the ball bounces, it is underneath it. To make sure it is in the right place, go to frame 15 on your shadow layer. You should see the ball at the bottom of the stage. Position the shadow so it is in the following position.
Now, insert a keyframe on frames 15 and 30 on your shadow layer, by right clicking the frame and selecting "Insert Keyframe". Once you have done this, create two motion tweens. Between frames 1 and 15, and the other between 15 and 30. Do this by right clicking and selecting "Create Motion Tween". Your timeline should look like this:
If you test your movie now, the shadow will be present, but it will not get smaller as the ball moves away from the ground. To make the shadow smaller, go to keyframe 1 on your shadow layer. Select the Free Transform Tool again. Reduce the size of the shadow by pulling either the left or right hand side handles inwards. You should reduce the shadow to around the following size.
Now you need to do the same for keyframe 30. Reduce the size of the shadow to the same size as the shadow in keyframe 1.
Once you have done that, test your movie by pressing Control + Enter. You now have a great shadow effect on your bouncing ball. Experiment with this by adding Alpha effects to make the shadow fade out slightly. You could also try a blur. If you had a problem with this tutorial, tell us on the forum, and we'll help you out.
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Tutorials 
