Missing Blend Mode Control?

[MPoppe]

I'm making a simple logo animation and cannot find an option for changing blend modes anywhere.

I created an animation previously in which I was able to set blend modes for several different shapes on different layers, but I guess an update happened since then and the interface was changed. I figured I forgot what to do, so I went to Using and applying blend modes to look it up. According to the help page, blend mode controls should be in the "Color pop-up menu in the Properties panel". As you can see below, this apparently no longer exists.

I've searched the interface and internet for hours and found no explanation. Has support for this function been removed?

[Colin Holgate]

You get display blending on movieclips. Select what you want to blend and convert it to a movieclip symbol.

There's only two blend modes in HTML5 Canvas, so make sure you're animating in an ActionScript 3.0 FLA, if you want all of the blend modes.

[MPoppe]

It is in ActionScript 3.0 already.

I've converted the object into a symbol, and was able to change the blend mode, but all this does is make the symbol invisible under all circumstances. Blend modes have no effect beyond preventing the symbol from rendering at all.

Note: This object undergoes two shape deformations over the course of the animation.

[MPoppe]

Does anyone know how to solve this problem? I've been looking for a solution for days now.

I've done all you suggested and the blend modes still do not work. Changing the blend mode to anything other than normal just makes the symbol invisible.

If there's nothing to be done, can someone recommend another program as an alternative to Animate CC that's basically functional? It's clear that Adobe is not earnestly supporting this product anymore; the support site is very out of date and refers to nothing that actually appears in the program's interface.

Help, anyone?

[Myra Ferguson]

Let me make sure I understand. You have an animation that is contained in a movieclip. Now that it's a movieclip you can access the Blend Modes, but they're not behaving the way you think they should as it becomes invisible if you set it to anything besides normal. Can you tell me how you want the final result to look? And can you post a screenshot of your stage and the Properties panel when the movieclip is selected?

[MPoppe]

I discovered blend modes apparently do not work on shape tweens, only motion tweens. Besides being inexplicable, it needs to be documented somewhere.

I had an object that changed shape over the course of the animation, and wanted it to overlay the objects below it (A spotlight, essentially). Since this was not possible, I used traditional animation, creating a new overlay object for each frame, to approximate the effect.

Since then I've discovered that Animate plays back animations at around half of their actual speed. So I exported the final animation to discover it was too fast and that I've got a lot more work to do.

Why can Animate not simply playback in real time at 30fps? Even if quality needs to be reduced for performance, that's fine, because timing is essential! Freeware programs like Pencil can do that. Some googling shows this has been an issue for years and never fixed.

I'm baffled.

[Myra Ferguson]

I'm sorry you're having trouble, however Animate can apply a blend mode to a shape tween, classic tween, or motion tween that is inside a movieclip. I'd have to have more information to see where you're having a problem.

Playback performance can be affected by what you're trying to publish. Here is some information on frame rate/performance and some ways to optimize your playback Optimize FLA files for Animate CC.

[ClayUUID]

MPoppe wrote:

Since then I've discovered that Animate plays back animations at around half of their actual speed. So I exported the final animation to discover it was too fast and that I've got a lot more work to do.

You're telling us you'd never, ever, in the entire time you'd been working with Animate before that moment, hit Ctrl-Enter to preview your work? This is common knowledge with Flash/Animate-- the editor is for editing, preview or publish is for checking out the actual animation.

[MPoppe]

Yes, I've never hit Ctrl-Enter because it's not on the list of keyboard shortcuts: Adobe Animate CC keyboard shortcuts,​ and searching for how to do this online turned up nothing - I found only complaints of slow playback speeds and no solutions.

The support site is barely complete, and not very helpful for new users just learning the program with no prior exposure to Flash.

[Colin Holgate]

It is an oddity that the shortcut doesn't show in the menus. Control-Enter (command-return on Mac) just triggers the Control/Test Movie menu item. Which one it does depends on the last one you used. The important thing is that when you are using that test movie it should perform like it does in a browser, it's not having to update all of the Animate interface at the same time.