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Mariko Ogawa

Mariko Ogawa

Adobe

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Working with the 3D Rotation and
    3D Translation tools
  3. Setting 3D values in the
    Property inspector
  4. Controlling 3D rotation and manipulating the 3D center point
  5. Animating 3D objects with
    motion tweens
  6. Programming 3D effects
    in ActionScript 3.0
  7. Considerations and best practices
    for 3D projects
  8. Ten 3D tips and tricks
Created:
23 March 2009
User Level:
Beginner, Intermediate
Products:
Flash

Exploring the new 3D features in Flash CS4 Professional

Adobe Flash CS4 Professional includes new 3D transformation functionality that is supported by Adobe Flash Player 10 and later. Flash Player 10 allows xyz translation and xyz rotation of 2D surfaces on the x, y, and z axes. Flash Player 10 also displays the perspective and camera angles you set to create 3D-like effects.

Flash CS4 Professional contains two new tools you can use to add 3D content to your projects: the 3D Rotation tool and the 3D Translation tool. The Property inspector has also been updated to add new fields so that you can set 3D positioning. You can also use the new 3D view settings to adjust xyz positions numerically, as well as control the perspective angle and for objects on the Stage.

Finally, the Transform panel has been enhanced with new settings for xyz rotation and controlling the 3D center point.

This article highlights these cool new features and provides examples of workflows that you can apply to your own Flash application development process.

Requirements

To make the most of this article, you'll need the following software and files:

Flash CS4 Professional

Sample files:

Prerequisite knowledge

A basic understanding of the Flash authoring interface, working with symbols, and the ability to create simple timeline animations is recommended.

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About the author

Mariko Ogawa is a quality engineer for the Flash authoring team at Adobe Systems. After she was a Japanese tester for Flash 8 at Macromedia, Mariko moved to the Flash team, where she became more involved in feature projects, working closely with developers. Her passion for Flash began when she used Flash 4 as a web designer, and it continued to grow. Mariko's areas of expertise include the design features and working with fonts and text.