Specifications
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16
CHAPTER 16
Creating Graphics:  
Apply Graphic Filters and Blends 
(Flash Professional Only)
This tutorial guides you through the process of creating eye-catching 
graphic effects using some of the authoring features in Macromedia Flash 
Professional 8 (Filters are not available in Flash Basic). By using the graphic 
filters and blend modes available in Flash, you can transform ordinary 
graphic objects into much more visually compelling content.
A graphic filter is a method that processes the pixels of a graphic object to 
produce a specific effect. For example, you can apply a blur filter to an 
object to make its edges appear softer, or you can apply a drop shadow filter 
to an object to make it appear with a shadow behind it.
A blend mode is a method of making the colors of a graphic object interact 
with the colors of other graphic objects beneath it. For example, by using 
the Lighten blend mode, you can make the parts of an object appear lighter 
in color to varying degrees depending on the colors of the objects 
beneath it.
If you have not already done so, Macromedia recommends that before you 
take this tutorial you read Chapter 2, “Flash Basics,” in Getting Started 
with Flash.
You can print this tutorial by downloading a PDF version of it from the 
Macromedia Flash Documentation page at www.macromedia.com/go/
fl_documentation.
In this tutorial, you will complete the following tasks:
Review your task  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Open the starter document  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Apply filters and blends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195










