This tutorial will introduce you to several of the drawing tools in Flash CS3 which you can use to create objects for your Flash movies. First we need to discuss a few basics. If you have used graphics software before, you probably have already encountered these terms. However, Flash has its own way of doing things and its drawing tools behave a little differently from other graphics programs.

Stroke and Fill

When you draw a shape in Flash, it will have two parts; Stroke and Fill. The Fill is what is "inside" the shape and the Stroke is the "outline" of the shape. By default, Flash has the Stroke color set to black and the Stroke height/width set to 1 point. The Fill is set to a blue color. Also by default, the Stoke and Fill are not connected together, as in other graphics software. If you click and drag on the Fill of a shape to drag it to another position, only the Fill part will be moved and the Stroke will still be in its original position. To move both, you must select both the Stroke and Fill of an object.

Flash Drawing Tools

You will find most of the drawing tools grouped together in the Tools Panel. From top to bottom, they are the Pen, Text, Line, Rectangle, Pencil and Brush tools. If you click on the small arrow next to the Rectangle tool, you can see that there are several other tools hidden underneath. They are the Oval, Rectangle Primitive, Oval Primitive and PolyStar tools.

Let's draw a simple rectangle.

1. Select the Rectangle tool.
   
   
2. At the bottom of the Tools Panel, you will find the Object Drawing Icon. Click on the icon to turn OFF the Object Drawing mode, if necessary.
   
   
3. Click and drag on the Stage to draw a rectangle.
   
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