User Guide Cancel

Motion tweens vs Classic tweens

 

Animate creates two types of tweened animation: motion tweens and classic tweens. 

Motion tween is a type of animation that uses symbols to create movement, size and rotation changes, fades, and color effects.

Classic tween refers to tweening in Flash CS3 and earlier, and is maintained in Animate primarily for transition purposes. 

Motion tween and Classic tween animations
Motion tween and Classic tween animations

Motion tweens versus classic tweens

Motion tweens Classic tweens
Powerful and simple to create, provides maximum control over tweened animation Complex to create, classic tween includes all tweens created in earlier versions of Animate. 
Offers better tween control. Provides user-specific capabilities.
Uses keyframes. Uses property frames.
Consists of one target object over the entire tween. Tweens between two keyframes with same or different symbols.
Uses text as a tweenable type and does not convert text objects to movie clips. Converts text objects to graphic symbols.
Does not use frame scripts. Uses frame scripts.
Stretches and resizes the tween in the timeline and treats it as a single object.  Consists of groups of individually selectable frames in the timeline.
Applies eases across the entire length of a motion tween span. Easing specific frames of a motion tween requires creating a custom ease curve.
Applies eases to the groups of frames between the keyframes within the tween. 
Applies one color effect per tween. Applies two different color effects, such as tint and alpha transparency.
Animates 3D objects.  Cannot animate 3D objects. 
Can be saved as motion presets. Cannot be saved as motion presets. Swaps symbols or sets the frame number of a graphic symbol to display in a property keyframe. 

Similarities between motion and classic tweens

  • There can be more than one classic or motion tween on the same layer, but you cannot have both types of tween on the same layer.
  • Both tweens tween only specific types of objects.

Get help faster and easier

New user?