Motion tween on alpha isn't working

[pablocruz23]

I'm a long-time user of Flash, hoping for a similar experience with Animate. I just need a few pointers.

I'm trying to do the most basic thing: getting an element to fade in. Here are my steps:

1) Put the item on the stage (in this case, it's a bitmap image)

2) Convert it to a graphic symbol

3) Create a new keyframe on that layer

4) In the first keyframe, set alpha at 0.

5) Select both the 1st and 2nd keyframes and go Create Motion Tween.

The expectation is that between keyframes 1 and 2, I will see my element fade in. However, that doesn't happen. The element is at 0 alpha up until it hits keyframe 2, at which point alpha is 100.

It would appear that alpha and tweening do not work together. However, I've found documentation insisting it does, and the same thing was possible in Flash 20 years ago. So I believe it should work in Animate.

Any tips?

[n. tilcheff]

Hi mate,

"Pronoun trouble" as Daffy Duck famously says. 🙂

It's just their deceptive use of terminology!

What used to be called Motion Tween is now called Classic Tween.

Just un-tween and then go Classic Tween and all will be like you want it.

You can explore Motion Tweens at some stage, but the consensus among animators is that they are mostly unusable and a waste of time.

Good luck!

[ClayUUID]

This thread reminds me of how Adobe describes the two types of tweens on one of their official pages:

https://helpx.adobe.com/animate/using/differences-between-motion-and-classic-tweens.html

Motion tweens: Simple to create
Classic tweens: Complex to create

Just... wow. I assume someone had a gun pointed at their head when they wrote that.

[pablocruz23]

Yes, I saw that page. My decision to go with Motion Tween was based 99% on their whole "simple to create/complex to create" description.

Unfortunately, they seem to have gotten those backward.

[pablocruz23]

Thanks for that! Yes, Classic Tween actually works whereas Motion Tween does not. That should have been the main distinction listed on the page explaining the difference.

However, there appears to be one other big difference: Classic Tweens don't allow easing. Is that correct?

Honestly, all this was figured out in Flash 20 years ago. How did we get back to this point?

[n. tilcheff]

Hi again, mate,

Classic Tweens allow everything that they allowed 20 years ago. 

Just click on the tween span and then find 'easing' in the corresponding section of Property Inspector.

[pablocruz23]

Awesome. That totally worked! Thank you!