- Setting Selection Preferences
- Selecting Lines with the Selection Tool
- Selecting Fills with the Selection Tool
- Using a Selection Rectangle
- Using the Lasso Tool
- Deselecting Elements
- Repositioning Elements Manually
- Repositioning Elements Numerically
- Basic Editing Tasks: Cut, Copy, Paste
- Editing Existing Elements with Assistance
- Moving End Points with the Selection Tool
- Moving Points with the Subselection Tool
- Reshaping Curves with the Selection Tool
- Reshaping Curves with the Subselection Tool
- Converting, Removing, and Adding Points
- Reshaping Fills
- Changing the Size of Graphic Elements
- Reorienting Graphic Elements
- Distorting Graphic Elements
- Changing the Envelope of Selected Elements
- Modifying Strokes
- Using the Eraser Tool in Normal Mode
- Using the Faucet Modifier
- Modifying Fill Colors
- Creating Solid Colors: Color Mixer Panel
- Creating New Gradients
- Creating Color Sets
- Putting Gradients to Work
- Modifying Applied Gradients
- Applying Attributes of One Graphic Element to Another
- Converting Lines to Fills
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Creating Solid Colors: Color Mixer Panel
You can define new solid colors for fills and strokes in the Color Mixer panel. You can do so visually (by clicking a graphic representation of a color space—all the available colors in a given color-definition system) or numerically (by entering specific values for color components). Always choose the type of color—fill or stroke—before you start defining. Flash updates all the related color boxes with the new color. If you define a new fill color, for example, that color becomes the setting for all the tools that use fills. You can also set a color's transparency in the Color Mixer panel.
To access the Color Mixer panel:
If the Color Mixer panel is not open, from the Window menu, choose Design Panels > Color Mixer (Figure 3.78) or press Shift-F9.
Figure 3.78 To access the Color Mixer panel, choose Window > Design Panels > Color Mixer.
The Color Mixer panel appears.
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To access solid-color attributes in the Color Mixer panel:
- Open the Color Mixer panel.
- From the Fill Style menu, choose Solid.
- To choose a color space, from the panel's Options menu, do one of the following:
- To define colors as mixtures of red, green, and blue, choose RGB.
- To define colors by percentage of hue, saturation, and brightness, choose HSB (Figure 3.79).
Figure 3.79 The Color Mixer panel lets you choose a color from the color-space bar or enter values directly to define a color in the RGB or HSB color space. Choose the desired color space from the Options pop-up menu.
- To determine where Flash applies the new color, do one of the following:
- To set a new stroke color, click the pencil icon.
- To set a new fill color, click the paint-bucket icon.
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To define a new color visually in the Color Mixer panel:
- With the Color Mixer panel open, choose a color space.
- Position the pointer over the desired hue in the color-space window.
Click.
The crosshair cursor appears, and Flash selects the color within the crosshairs (Figure 3.80).
Figure 3.80 In its default, expanded mode, the Color Mixer panel displays a color-space window, a preview window for the new color, a luminosity/ lightness slider, and a text field for entering the precise hex value of a color. Click in the color-space window to choose a new color visually.
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TIPS
- If you have trouble clicking exactly the right color, click and drag around within the color-space window. A preview of the new color appears along side the old color in the preview window. When the color you want appears, release the mouse button. Flash enters the values for that color in the appropriate fields.
- If you are mostly choosing colors from the pop-up swatches or by entering RGB/HSB values, save some space on your desktop by collapsing the Color Mixer. Click the small triangle near the bottom-right corner of the panel; some of the color specification options disappear and small color-space bar replaces the full color-picker window (Figure 3.81).
Figure 3.81 To save screen real estate, click the triangle in the Color Mixer's bottom right corner to collapse the color-space window. Dragging the cursor within the color-space bar displays new colors in the color chip for stroke or fill, whichever is currently selected. To expand the panel, click the triangle again.
- To match the color of something outside Flash, such as a color from an image file that's open on your desktop, pick up the color with the color box's eyedropper. In the Color Mixer, click the fill- or stroke-color box, and hold down the mouse button. Then position the eyedropper over the area that shows the color you want. Release the mouse button. Specs for that color appear in the Color Mixer panel.
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To define a new color numerically in the Color Mixer panel:
- With the Color Mixer panel open, choose a color space.
- To define a new color, do one of the following:
- For RGB colors, enter values for red, green, and blue in the R, G, and B fields (Figure 3.82).
Figure 3.82 Enter RGB values to specify the amount of red, green, and blue that make up the color. Enter HSB values to specify the color by hue, saturation, and brightness. The new color appears in the selected color box.
- For HSB, enter values for hue, saturation, and brightness in the H, S, and B fields.
- For RGB colors, enter values for red, green, and blue in the R, G, and B fields (Figure 3.82).
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To define a color's transparency:
- With the Color Mixer panel open, define a color.
Enter a value in the Alpha field (Figure 3.83).
Figure 3.83 Enter an Alpha value of less than 100 percent to define a transparent color.
A value of 100 (100 percent) results in a completely solid color; a value of 0 results in a completely transparent color.
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After you define a new color, you may want to add it to the Color Swatches panel so that you can use it again. (For more information about the Color Swatches panel, see "Creating Color Sets" later in this chapter.)
To add a color to the Color Swatches panel:
- Use any of the techniques described earlier in this section to define a new color in the Color Mixer panel.
From the Color Mixer panel's Options menu, choose Add Swatch.
Flash appends the new color to the solid-colors section of the Color Swatches panel. (To access the Color Swatches panel if it is not open, choose Window > Design Panels > Color Swatches.)
TIPS
- You can add new colors to the Color Swatches panel even if it is closed. But if you want to get the feedback when you add a swatch, open the Color Swatches panel in its own window. Resize the panel so that a bit of space appears below the existing swatches. You'll see the new swatch come in.
- If the Color Swatches panel is open, you can add your newly defined color with a single click. Position the pointer over the gray area at the bottom of the set of swatches in the Color Swatches panel. The pointer changes to the paint-bucket tool. Click anywhere in the gray area, and Flash adds the new color swatch (Figure 3.84).
Figure 3.84 Positioning the pointer over the blank area in the Color Swatches panel brings up the paint-bucket icon. Click the blank area to add a swatch for whatever color is currently defined in the Color Mixer panel.
- You can also delete swatches from the Color Swatches panel. Select the swatch you want to delete. From the Color Mixer panel's Options menu, choose Delete Swatch.
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