Please wait until the picture loads.
Move the mouse over the picture, the mask will follow the mouse.
THE FAKE
MASK
This is a simple effect. I'm not sure what kind
of application can benefit from it, but what the .... This
effect doesn't actually use mask; it simply overlay a transparent
image on top of the real image.
BASIC
STEP BY STEP
Create a new movie, set size to 200x200 pixels just
for the sake of this example.
Import an image, position it so that all the images
are visible. If it's too small, stretch it to
fill the whole movie canvas.
Make another layer above the image layer, name it
Mask Layer.
Draw a large black rectangle, size it 600x600 pixels.
(This size is 3 times the size of the movie canvas - the
reason for using this size will be explained later.)
Use object property to position the rectangle so
that its center point is exactly at the center of the
canvas. (You can use object property to set
position to x=100, y=100 , don't use center point.)
On top of the rectangle, draw a circle. The
center point of the circle must be in the middle of
the canvas. Fill the circle with a gradient
color which converges to transparent. Below, I
use black color which converges to transparent white
(Alpha=0%).
Select the rectangle and the circle (click on the
layer), and convert to symbol. Name the symbol
"CoverSym," set Behavior to Movie Clip.
One the main scene (Scene 1), name the instance of
the "CoverSym" symbol "Cover."
On the first frame of the main scene (Scene 1)
timeline, put the following action: Start Drag ("/Cover", lockcenter)
Test the movie.
What is going on:
When the movie starts, the "StartDrag"
command causes "Cover" object to be
dragged. This object simply draws over
anything below it. However, since the circle is transparent,
whatever is below the circle will show
through.
lockcenter is used so that the circle will
always be centered on the cursor position.
The size of the cover is set to 3 times the size of
the movie. This is so that the circle will
always cover the picture, no matter where the circle
is positioned within the canvas. (If you know the exact size of the
"circle," then this can be set to: 2 x
movie size + circle radius.)
If the movie runs fine, then one should understand the basic idea. To create variations
such as shown in the example above, add tweens, and
use semi- transparent colors.