Flash Animation

Publish + animation - how best to do this

[contentmaster]

I am comparatively new to flash mx....have been using flash 4 for most of my animations.
I have 2 questions

1) I need to create a short flash banner in which i need to have a ball coming from one side at a fast speed and a hand at the other end catching that ball...once this is done I need to have some text appear in the backsgound----- how do i do this...if i import suitable pic of a ball and a hand how do i give it proper movement such that the hand actually catches the ball......I'm not a very good artist so find it difficult to create my own image......how do i make the hand and fingers actually grab the ball! Should i use follow path or something? :O

2) Once i manage to create such an animation (hopefully with all your help!) do i need to publish the movie selecting flash version as 6 if i am using flash mx...so that the movie doesn't need a flash player installed on the viewers system!

I hope i have been able to put my doubts accross....need urgent help!

[benihana]

i would try to create the hand and ball in flash - this will help keep the file size down and help with the animation of the hand. if you decide to use photogrphas for the hand you would need to cut them up in something like photoshop to allow you to move the fingers sepeately.

you can use a normal motion tween to move the ball across the stage.

for the animation of the hand, i would keep the movement minimal or it will probably look artificial. you will likely need a combination of motion and shape tweening and a lot of keyframes.

fading text in will be pretty straight forward.

your viewers need the flash plugin to view the movie, but with the type of animation you describe, you should be able to publish as version 5 or maybe even 4, so less people will be required to upgrade.

ben

[contentmaster]

Thanks Ben!

Please let me know...

if I create the hand in flash...i need to create each finger as a separate graphic and then tween them separately to get the motion of the fingers actually catching the ball?

if i use photoshop...each finger is a separate image but how do i move them so that they look like they are catching the ball! I'm lost!

[benihana]

either way - with the hand created in flash or photoshop, the animation will be the same.

turn each finger into a graphic symbol, and then do a slight motion tween on each to kind of rotate it a little to grip the ball.