Flash CS5: The Missing Manual

Drawing Irregular Shapes

When you draw the built-in shapes, ActionScript does a lot of the work for you, but you're limited to the shapes that ActionScript offers. Sometimes you need to draw irregular shapes. For example, suppose you needed to draw a floor plan for a modern home with a number of odd angles and curves. In that case, you need to draw each line and curve separately. To fill the shape with a color, use the beginFill() method when you begin drawing lines. Then, when you're finished with the shape, use endFill().

For example, here's some code that draws a very irregular shape that includes a variety of angles and one curved edge (see Figure 18-6). Open a new document and type the following into the Actions panel—or you can use 18-5_Draw_Irregular_Shape.fla from the Missing CD (www.missingmanuals.com/cds):

1  var mcShapes:MovieClip = new MovieClip();
2
3  mcShapes.graphics.lineStyle(4,0x330000,.5);
4  mcShapes.graphics.beginFill(0xFF3300,.5);
5  mcShapes.graphics.moveTo(200,50);
6  mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(300,150);
7  mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(400,150);
8  mcShapes.graphics.curveTo(425,175,400,200);
9  mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(200,200);
10 mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(200,150);
11 mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(100,150);
12 mcShapes.graphics.lineTo(200,50);
13 mcShapes.graphics.endFill();
14
15 addChild(mcShapes);

If you worked your way through the previous sections in this chapter, most of this will look familiar. The first two lines set the line style and the fill color. The third line moves ...