Apply filters and blends

Apply a blend to the 9ball movie clip

The first task you must perform in the starter file is to apply a blend effect to an instance of the 9ball outlines movie clip to make its colors combine with the colors of the 9ball movie clip. This achieves a realistic shiny pool ball look.

1. Open the Library panel (Window > Library).

2. Drag the 9ball movie clip from the Library panel to the lower-right corner of the Stage.
   
   This creates an new instance of the 9ball movie clip on the Stage.
   

3. Double-click the new 9ball instance to enter symbol-editing mode.

4. Drag the 9ball outlines movie clip from the Library panel onto the Stage so that it perfectly covers the 9ball instance.
   
   You can use the Arrow keys to make fine adjustments to the placement of the 9ball outlines instance.

5. With the 9ball outlines instance still selected, go to the Property inspector and select Multiply from the Blend menu.

6. Double-click outside the Stage to exit symbol-editing mode.
   
   The 9ball instance should still be selected on the Stage.

7. Open the Transform panel (Window > Transform).

8. In the Transform panel, click the Constrain check box.

9. Double-click the Width text box and enter 140.

10. This makes the 9ball instance appear larger than the 8ball instance on the Stage.

11. Reposition the 9ball instance so it slightly overlaps the right edge of the 8ball instance on the Stage.

Apply a filter

The next step is to apply a blur filter to the 9ball movie clip to make it appear out of focus, as if it is in the foreground of the Stage.

1. With the 9ball instance still selected, click the Filters tab in the Property inspector.

2. In the Filters tab, click Add Filter and select Blur from the pop-up menu.

3. Drag the BlurX slider until the BlurX and BlurY value is 19.
   
   The BlurX and BlurY values are constrained to each other by default. Click the lock icon if they are not.

4. Click the Properties tab of the Property inspector.

5. In the Property inspector, enter the following values in the W, H, X, and Y text boxes:
   
   W: 210
   
   H: 235
   
   X: 315
   
   Y: 155

6. Click outside the Stage to deselect the 9ball instance.

Apply filters and blends to the cue ball

The last step is to use a color effect and a filter to make the cue ball appear to be in the background of the Stage.

1. Drag the CueBall movie clip from the Library panel to the upper-left corner of the Stage.

2. With the new CueBall instance still selected on the Stage, go to the Transform panel and enter 70 in the W (Width) and H (Height) text boxes.
   
   This makes the CueBall instance appear smaller than the 8ball instance.

3. With the CueBall instance still selected on the Stage, go to the Property inspector and select Brightness from the Color menu.
   
   A Brightness Amount slider appears to the right of the Color menu.

4. Drag the Brightness Amount slider until the value is -48%.

5. Enter the following values in the W, H, X, and Y text boxes:
   
   W: 105
   
   H: 115
   
   X: 95
   
   Y: 105

6. With the CueBall instance still selected on the Stage, click the Filters tab in the Property inspector.

7. Click Add Filter and select Blur from the Filter pop-up menu.

8. Drag the BlurX slider until the BlurX and BlurY values are each 13.

9. These text boxes are constrained to match each other by default. Click the lock icon if they are not.

10. Click outside the Stage to deselect the CueBall instance.

You have now applied the graphic effects to create a realistic look of depth.

For more information about using filters and blends, see "Using Filters and Blends (Flash Professional only)," in Flash Help.