How to Create HTML5 Banner Animation in Adobe Edge

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Many people are having high expectations of the new HTML5 and its significant changes from the previous versions. Moreover, someeven say that the new trend in HTML can compete with the great rich media tools, such as Flash.

While Flash capabilities are more powerful and more extendable than the current version of HTML5, I do not see how it could compete with Flash. I believe both will have their own niche in the market, which I will try to cover in a further article in the following posts.

Edge is one of the new promising Adobe tools that make it possibleto create HTML5 animation through a timeline and an interface similar to other Adobe applications, such as After Effect. Thus, it makes creating HTML5 animation very easy for designers who do not have any experience with coding, and allows them to create HTML5 animation without having to write a single line of code.

In this tutorial, I will try to show you how to create aHTML5 banner animation in Adobe Edge using the timeline animation.

You can check the final preview of the HTML5 animated banner by clicking the link below:

Preview HTML5 banner animation

Before starting the tutorial, you will need to download Adobe Edge from Adobe Labs on the following link:

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/edge/

Also, you will need to have a basic knowledge of how animation is used in any of the Adobe tools, such as Photoshop, After Effects or Flash.

You can download the source file and the HTML5 example through the download button at the end of the tutorial.

Step1

Now, let us start by installing and opening Adobe Edge. From the File menu choose New File. From the Properties panel on the left, set the document width to 550 px and height to 150 px.

Step2

Open the background color picker and set the background to light gray. Also, set the Overflow to Hidden to hide the objects that are off-screen.

Step3

Choose Import from the File menu and open the PS.JPG, a Photoshop icon with 100px x 100px, and place it in the banner as seen below.

Step4

Use the Text tool to write “Photoshop” like below. Increase the dimensions of the text area by dragging the edges and change the font size to 55px.

Step5

Now, we will animate the Photoshop icon and the text through the timeline. The timeline in Adobe Edge is similar to other Adobe applications, such as After Effects. When you create an object on the stage, you will find that a separate layer is created for it in the timeline.

Each layer has sub-layers that include the properties of each layer. In order to create the animation, we will need to create keyframes that represent the change in layer content properties, such as size and position.

In this example, we will click the arrow next to the Photoshop icon image to extend the sub-layers. Notice that there are only two sub-layers to control the X and Y positions for the image.

Step6

With the timeline indicator positioned at the beginning of the timeline, move the Photoshop icon image to the top of the stage as below.

Step7

Move the timeline indicator by a few frames and drag the Photoshop icon image to its final position in the stage as below. Notice that that area between the two keyframes has changed in color to indicate that there is an animation for the layer content.

Step8

Move the timeline indicator back to the first frame and select the text on the stage. From the Properties panel, set the Opacity value to zero.
Notice that a new properties panel is created to represent the Opacity value in the timeline.

Step9

Move the timeline indicator to the end of the Photoshop icon animation. Set the Opacity value to 100%

Step10

In the text animation layer, click the green area that represents the animation and drag it to the right, as in the figure below, to make a delay between the appearing of the Photoshop icon and the text.

Step11

Now, we will add the second icon and text to the animation.  Move the timeline indicator on the timeline as in the figure below. Then, from the File menu choose Import and navigate to FL.JPG. Place it on top of the Photoshop icon as below:

Step12

With the timeline indicator in the same position, select the Photoshop icon image and set its Opacity to 95%, you will notice that a sub-layer for the Opacity value is added to the Photoshop icon layer in the timeline.

Step13

Move the timeline indicator and from the stage, add the Flash icon image above the Photoshop icon. Select the Photoshop icon and set its opacity to 0%.

Next, we will use the same technique to remove the text “Photoshop” and replace it with the text “Flash”, as we will see below:

Step14

Move the timeline indicator to the beginning of the Flash icon animation and select the text “Photoshop”. In the Opacity property sub-layer, click the small dot on the right to create a keyframe.

Step15

With the timeline indicator in the same position, use the Text tool to write the text, “Flash”. And set its opacity to 0%. Position it above the text “Photoshop” text to replace it.

Step 16

Move the timeline indicator where the animation of the Flash icon ends. Set the Opacity for the Photoshop text to 0% and the Flash text to 100%

Step17

Repeat the steps above with the AI.JPG Illustrator icon by hiding the Flash icon and the text and replace it with the Illustrator icon and text as above.

Step18

Save the file and you can preview it in the browser from the File > Preview in Browser. You can preview the animation by clicking the link here.

In this tutorial, we saw how to create a simple HTML5 animation using Adobe Edge. Although the tool is simple, it can be helpful for creating animation, especially because in HTML5 it would be more difficult to create animation using manual coding.

You can use the same concept to create your own animation and HTML5 banners.  You can download the source file for this HTML5 animation below.

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Tags: html5 animation, html5 examples, html5 tutorials

Category: HTML5