TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I am intrested in making text glow. Could someone please,
tell me how to generate this effect.
Thank You,
Kevin Smith
are you THE Kevin Smith?
the text glow effect is achieved by typing your text in flash.
Make two copies of the text, and make sure they are on seperate layers, and aligned to eachother. Hide and Lock the top layer so you can work with the bottom one.
Choose the color of your glow as the text color, and then with the text highlighted, click Ctrl+B twice. This breaks the text apart first into individual letters, and then individual shapes. Once its broken apart, select it all and go to Modify, Shape, Soften Fill Edges. Then choose a number for the Size, and a number for the steps. the Size controls how many pixels away from the text the blend will expand. The steps will determine how many steps will be in the blend. make sure that expand is checked, as inset would soften to the inside.
Once you’ve found the right amount of glow, go to the first layer, and make the text a white color. What you will have is white text, with a glow on the outside that gradually fades away.
This effect is commonly used in the over state of a button, to create an easy mouseover effect… hope this helps you out…
Once
Of course if your in Flash 5, you only have to push Ctrl-B once 
its better (faster) to use a bitmap glow. Make a glowing version of the text in photoshop then import intop flash
faster, to raster, but better to vector! Thought you knew…
*Originally posted by Majeye *
**faster, to raster, but better to vector! Thought you knew… **
better… vector? That doesnt rhyme! 
and theres a reason for that, because its not always better 
IMO, i would say that using vectors in flash is desireable over an imported raster image, most of the time. For effects that can be created in flash, with vectors, why take the time and file space to import a raster image, which doesn’t scale cleanly?
I guess it would all depend on your definition of better. I would say vector graphics are better looking, and produce a better file size, while an imported raster image, would be better for a flash beginner, or for situations when vector won’t suffice. i.e. Full-Color Photographs…
IMO Vector Text Rollovers in Flash are more desireable than Rastered Text Rollovvers in Flash, due to file size, and resizability.
However, let it be said that there is no one right way to do it, so just use whatever method you find most comfortable…
(better and vector are not identical rhymes, but eminem could make it sound good…)
glowing text in flash is really slow because it adds a lot more curves. That combined with the multiple transparencies with each one of those levels of softening (since it isnt a single gradient, but rather layers upon layers of shapes with varying transparency) only adds to the speed hit.
Plus, unless you distribute your letters into individual layers each (which isnt easy in flash 5) your overlapping softening shapes will interfere with each other causing for a weird glow overlab effect (here let me make an example and attach it).
[swf=“http://userpages.umbc.edu/~tmccau1/flash/temp/glowtext1.swf height=100 width=500”][/swf]
Not only that, but this kind of glow is limited to being just what it is, that kind of layered border. You have more control when dealing with a rastered effect or some kind of glow created with photoshop - going off of this, it also allows you to use more colors for a smoother gradient in the glow, not being restricted to whatever step you use in the flash effect.
And, at point sizes at about 18 or so and below, raster images can easily be smaller in file size.
In respects to glow and blur, raster is usually the best way to go.
…IMHO
Originally posted by Majeye
However, let it be said that there is no one right way to do it, so just use whatever method you find most comfortable…
is probably the best way to put it though
i see your point… large letters, with large glows, overlaps and all of the like.
I was picturing more of a small, 4 pixel-4 step outer glow, on a 12 point font, you know, like a traditional menu rollover, not a massive 18 point-36 step outer fade on 60 point text.
I can see how your arguments make complete sense now. Thanks for the input, senocular…
Majeye - the Bad Guy that can’t die
