"Flat" artwork vs. dimensioned/beveled

[eilerc]

My Flash artwork is flat for the most part. I know if I use a radial gradient on a circle, I will get some "dimension" to the circle, but most of the Flash sites I see now include artwork I thought only possible using Fireworks, Photoshop, etc.

I believe this stuff is made within Flash, not imported .png or .psd. If so, how is this accomplished? Is there a "trick" in using layered images or tricky gradients?

Any hints greatly appreciated.

[phacker]

You just need to practice using the tools in Flash. I know I trained with Illustrator, and Draw--and at first the tools in Flash seemed really tame. But, since the advent of Flash 5, I don't think I am going to upgrade either Illustrator or Draw, unless I am forced. I made the "Lambretta" and "Dragon" pics in the gallery completely with the Flash tools. Sometimes my nose is pressed right up to the monitor. What you see in the gallery are jpgs, so realize the vectors in Flash are a lot crisper.

I've found when you create in Flash the use of gradients doesn't really add a lot of bit weight. But if you bring something in and recolor, it does add up. I have also found that some of exported jpgs I've made with Flash come out a lot better than those in Adobe, or Corel.

[eilerc]

Thanks - but, for instance, where would I start? For example, suppose I want to make a "beveled" rectangle. Do I play around with different gradients? Or do I make a number of rectangles and put them on top of one another?

What's the starting point?

[phacker]

Can you sketch on paper, or do you want a electronic device to do it for you? You should know basic perspective and shading techniques. Even if they design a device to do it, sometimes it just isn't right--you have know when to step in and adjust. With a bevelled rectangle, all you need to know is where to put your put your miter, and which angle the shading (or light) is coming from.