Appendix A. Shapes You Can Make in Merge Drawing Mode

Flash 8 added a drawing mode called Object Drawing that you learned about earlier in the book. This appendix shows you how you can create several shapes by using the other draw mode called Merge. These are just a few examples of how you can sharpen your drawing skills. They are not necessarily the only ways to achieve the desired results.

When you're in Merge drawing mode (that is, not Object Drawing mode) Flash has some very unique drawing capabilities including selection (anything you can see, you can select), the Snap to Objects option, grouping, and shapes that eat away at one another because they're all in the same level. These are all discussed in Hour 2, "Drawing and Painting Original Art in Flash," and Hour 5, "Applied Layout Techniques." You'll now explore these capabilities further by using them in practice. Before you get started, be sure to have Snap to Objects turned on (via View, Snapping), Object Drawing turned off (unclick the button in the options area for any draw tool such as the Oval tool), and select a different color for fill than for stroke.