# Help! -- Using a Grpahic as a Mask

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-using-a-grpahic-as-a-mask/110741>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [May 19, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-using-a-grpahic-as-a-mask/110741 "2004-05-19T06:49:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dsmystic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@dsmystic](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/dsmystic)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/help-using-a-grpahic-as-a-mask/110741/1 "2004-05-19T06:49:50Z")

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okay heres the sich, im making a standard preloader with a bar, right. only thing is, i have 5 japanese symbols that i want to mask the bar with (so the final result is it looks like the symbols are filling up as the movie loads).

Since i cant type japanese symbols in flash, I got the images of the symbols from a stroke order animated gif from an online dictionary

so, after FWing the transparency in, i imported the files into flash and when i went to apply them as a mask, it masks the bar with the complete box of the imported image (i.e. a 50x50 box, as if id just drawn a square and used it as a mask). i need the actual shape of the symbols to be the mask. HOW HOW HOW!!!???

thanx all,  
(V)