GDT 260 Animation for the Web: Winter 2003

Notes & Handouts February 18

Download the file needed for the demo:

Masks allow portions of content to be selectively shown and hidden.

A mask is a special layer above the layer containing content to be masked.

Where there is content on a mask layer, masked layer(s) shows through
Where there is empty space on a mask layer, masked layer(s) is hidden
Since masks are invisible in the final movie, they can be any color
Masks can apply to more than one layer at a time, as long as all the layers are directly below the mask
Mask layers can be tweened
Mask layers CAN’T have motion guides
Mask layers can be made up of text, any shape or any symbol
Movie clips on mask layers are static, however animated graphic symbols will play
Movie clips on mask layers CAN’T be accessed or controlled with actionscript
Buttons on mask layers will not work

Contrary to what the textbook states on page 258, masks DO NOT require that everything be converted to symbols in order to work.

Add a new layer above the layer to be masked. Masks are always directly above the layers they are masking
Draw your masking shape. Remember that the positive space of your mask is the area that will be revealed on the masked layers
Control-click on the mask layer, and select “Mask” from the menu. The current layer will be converted to a mask, and the layer below will be automatically masked. Additionally, both layers are automatically locked. Unless both layers are locked, the mask effect doesn’t display within the authoring environment, but always will appear in the exported movie
To add more layers to be masked, make sure they’re directly below the existed masked layer, and Option-click the layer