Building logos and odd shapes in Flash with primitives

1.      Start with a new document, with size set to 400x400.  On the stage, draw a rectangle by pressing ‘R’ or clicking the Rectangle Tool.  Make the box about 200x200px by holding the ‘Shift’ key while dragging.  For this example, set the colors to red fill and black line (see Fig 1).  Double click the area inside the box to select the fill and lines if needed.

FIG 1

2.      Deselect the box by clicking on any area outside the box.  We are going to go over some functions in Flash that can be used to create all kind of shapes and logos.  These techniques can be used for just about any project you may have with Flash.  For starters, we are going to look at the Curve or Bend Tool.  Move your cursor to the far right outside line of the box.  You will notice that the cursor changes to add a curved line next to it.  This means you are in Bend mode for that line.  Click the line, while still in Bend mode, and move the cursor to the left (see Fig 2).  This can be used to have curved edges or lines.

3.      Next I am going to show you how to add points within a shape.  Move the cursor to the far left line on the box until you enter Bend mode.  Find a midpoint on the line and hold the ‘Alt’ key while clicking the line.  Move the cursor to the right and you will notice that instead of a bend, the line has a point now forming a straight edge (see Fig 3).

FIG 3

4.      If you press the ‘A’ key then ‘Ctrl-A’ you will notice that the box now has little boxes on all the points (see Fig 4).  This is the Path Selection Tool.  With this you can see the arranged points that form the workings of vector images.  Later, I will show you how these little points can be used to create a lot of interesting and complex graphics.

FIG 4

5.      Deselect the box and press the ‘Q’ key to return to Selection Tool.  Move the cursor to the upper right top of the deformed box.   You will notice that the cursor adds a little L or right angle to the cursor.  This is another way to select the points.  By clicking and moving the cursor around you can alter the box even more (see Fig 5).

FIG 5

6.      Another useful option is that you can select just the fill or a line and move it.  Click the red fill area and move it to the left outside the lines (see Fig 6).  This can come in handy often.

FIG 6

7.      With the fill area still selected, you should see a box formed around the fill with 8 points around it.  Move your cursor to the bottom left point around the fill.  You will see the cursor change to a semi-circle.  This is the Rotate Tool.  ‘Shift-Click’ and rotate the fill.  With the ‘Shift’ key active, the fill will snap to keep alignment (see Fig 7).

FIG 7

With these functions you can make just about any shape within Flash.  This is important if you plan on making vectors within Flash, as keeping the paths properly formatted you won’t run into problems later.