Live Effects in Macromedia
Fireworks
~ by Sara Froehlich, Northlite Designs
With Fireworks by
Macromedia, you can create and animate great web graphics using a full
set of both vector and bitmap editing tools. They can be exported to
Dreamweaver or other HTML editors, and you can launch Fireworks from inside
Dreamweaver or to edit images. One of the really nice features of Fireworks
is Live Effects, which allows you to use the native filters shipped with
Fireworks as effects, or use third party filters, like Alien Skin's EyeCandy
or Xenofex, or AutoFX Dreamsuite. So what is a live effect? I'm glad you
asked...
Live Effects let you apply effects to the image and edit them later, as
long as you save the native png file. (After they are exported to a web
format they aren't live anymore so if in doubt, keep the png too.) Fireworks
provides some, including shadows, bevels and embossing. They also support
many third party filters like AlienSkin Eye Candy. In fact, a limited
version of EyeCandy 4000 installs with Fireworks.
Let's try it.
Open Fireworks and start a new image, any size
since we are just experimenting. Drag out an ellipse to play with and apply
any fill you wish.
Effects are applied via the Effect Panel. Open
it if it isn't open already (it is probably a tab in the same group as the
Fill panel) by going to Window > Effect. Make the image you were
working on before active. When you open the Effect panel it will be empty
like this one on the right. Click the arrow by None to open the menu.
The top of the menu is None. No effects
are applied or available.
Use Defaults adds a list of set of
effects to the effects panel without applying them. You can then turn them
on and off with the check boxes.
The next section are saved presets you've previously saved.
Adjust Color through Sharpen are Fireworks filters.
Loading Third Party Filters
The bottom section contains installed third party filters that are
supported by Fireworks. Not all third party filters work with Fireworks so
you can point Fireworks to your plugin folder and it will load the ones it
can use. File > Preferences > Folders >Tick the Photoshop Plugins box and
browse to your plugins folder. Use these the same way as applying other
effects: for instance, choose EyeCandy 4000 LE > Bevel Boss, and Eye Candy
opens normally. Choose your settings and click OK to apply it.
In the dropdown list, the filters are arranged
in groups according to what they do. Choose Bevel and Emboss > Inner
Bevel
These are the inner bevel options. Each bevel
or emboss has its own settings.
The first dropdown menu is the type of
bevel. Try each of these and use different sizes of bevels with each by
using the number below it. Higher numbers increase the bevel.
Try all the different presets as well.
Open the Outer Bevel, Inset Emboss and raised
Emboss options and look at the settings. Play with them and see what they
do, and when you're done pick the setting you like the best of all of them
and apply it to the shape.
If you want to see the options applied or
change something, click the i in the blue circle to open the info for
the bevel and make changes, To delete the effect from the image, highlight
it and drag it to the trash at the bottom of the effects window.
Here's the one I saved>>>>>
Adding a Drop Shadow
Shadow Effects can be applied just as easily. Keep your shape selected and
in the drop down list choose Shadow and Glow > Shadow.
Use the color well to choose shadow color.
Distance sets how far from the object the shadow falls.
Set the opacity, softness, and angle with the controls on the right.
The controls are similar on the other effects.
Check them all out and apply whatever you like to your image, including any
third party plugins you want to use.
The effects you create can also be
saved as styles to be used again on future images. This can save a lot of
time when, for instance, you need to create web buttons.
This is a very small portion of lesson 2 of my
course Intro to Fireworks 4 at
Eclectic Academy.
We have classes in many different subjects, and all courses are $20 for a 6
week class. Learn at your own pace in your free time! Come see how much fun
distance learning can be. You can also
contact me for more info.
Sara Froehlich of
Northlite Designs
is an instructor with Eclectic Academy, where her online courses include
Expression: Beyond the Basics, 4 levels of Photoshop Elements classes,
Photoshop Pizzazz!, a special effects Photoshop class, Fireworks, FreeHand,
and various filters. Go to
http://www.eclecticacademy.com to enroll in one of her classes.
She also is an instructor at LVS Online, where she
teaches intermediate Adobe Illustrator classes, FreeHand, Fireworks and
Intro to Dreamweaver. Go to
http://www.lvsonline.com
to enroll in one of her classes there.
For more information on all of the classes Sara
teaches, go to
http://www.northlite.net/classes.htm
Expression Tips and Tutorials:
http://northlite.50megs.com/expr
Illustrator Tips and Tutorials:
http://northlite.50megs,com/illus
All tutorials are listed at
http://www.northlite.net/tutes.htm
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