Animated Text

Flash allows the creation of some nice text effects. In this exercise you will explode a word and then have it reform.

1. Place the word EXPLODE! in the center of your stage.

2. Break the word apart so each letter is its own symbol.

3. Distribute each letter to its own layer by selecting the letters and then selecting Insert > Timeline > Distribute to Layers from the pull down menu. You can also use the shortcut keys of Ctrl + Shift + D.

4. Click in the top letter layer in frame 30 and drag down to the last letter so all layers now have frame 30 selected. Insert a keyframe.

5. Pick one letter at a time in the last frame and move the letter off the stage. Repeat this for every letter moving them to random locations off the stage.

6. Select all the layers with all of the letters and then insert a motion tween. This time click on the Rotate option and choose counter clockwise and 6 rotations. Now not only will the text move off the screen it will also rotate as well.

7. Test out your movie. Add more complexity by changing the colors and sizes of the text.

Here an example: