Issue with symbol transparency in rendering

Question

Hi! I've been working on a webshow with a very small team of people, however I'm the only animator. Every so-often in I render an MP4 to check if animated symbols are showing properly since they don't play in previews, and that's all fine! But the problem comes in when it comes to one specific asset.

On it's own in the program, the symbol looks like this:

This is great to me. It looks exactly as it should and is the proper level of transparency.

However, when I actually render it into a video, the symbol shows like this.

At first glance it appears to have made one of my layers completely solid, but that isn't the case.

It's still transparent, just much less so.

Now, I'm still relatively new to Animate, I've only been using it for about 6 months, so I'm not sure if this is user error, a problem with Animate itself, or something else.

If this helps at all, the symbol's layers themselves look like this:

The problem layer in question is layer 5. Layer 7 is fine, despite also using layer opacity adjustments for transparency.

I also have several other symbols with transparency in them that use the same method, and they have had no problems whatsoever.

If anyone could give me pointers on what could be the issue here, I'd appreciate it as I do have a deadline.

n. tilcheff · Accepted Answer

The fastest way to add transparency now, when you already have some animation completed is to go inside your symbols and change the alpha value of the fills and strokes. This way you can have full control over what is semi-transparent and what is opaque.

If you prefer to do it to the symbol instances instead, lock all layers with the exception of the ones you would like to adjust the alpha for, enable Edit Multiple Frames for your whole timeline, Select All and from Properties > Color Effects choose Alpha and give those keyframes a value smaller than 100%.

(I'm very doubtful that using Graphic Symbols will increase the lag. Not being able to see what you do when scrubbing just makes your life more difficult. The best way to preview animation is to hit Ctrl+Enter and watch the SWF.)

n. tilcheff · Answer

Hi mate,

I see two major problems in your post.

1. The layer transparency you have used is for View/Preview purposes only. It is to make your workflow easier and does not render. Instead, use either a Color Effect for the Symbol (Alpha value of less than 100%) or semi-transparent colours.

2. You say: "... to check if animated symbols are showing properly since they don't play in previews". This probably means that you are using Movie Clips and not Graphic Symbols. For animation, always use Graphic Symbols and they will play in timeline preview. You can switch the instance type easily from Properties, but you need to do it for every existing Keyframes. (Movie Clips are for interactive projects only and are meant to be controlled by code.)

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded