I always wanted to do blobs (or metaballs as they are also called) in flash - the problem is that while it's easy to calculate them in a pixel based program it's quite difficult to build them with vectors. Well, now that we have access to pixels I'm finally able to build something that is not exactly metaballs, but at least it feels a bit like it. Gaussian Blur meets Threshold filter - and I somehow the Bevel filter slipped in again:
It works like this: at the base are some circle movieclips that meander around the center and change their sizes - pretty standard particle motion kind of stuff. In the next step I blur this screen with a big radius. Then I use the new threshold filter to turn all pixels that a darker as a certain grey-level to black and all the brighter ones to transparent. This results already in the classical "blob" outline. Then I add a very fine black glow in order to remove the staircase look of the borders. As a final touch I use the bevel filter to give it the 3d look. That's it.
My family name is written Klingemann,
not Klingelmann, Klingeman, Klingaman, Kingemann,
Kindermann, Killingaman, Klingman, Klingmann, Klingonman
Klingemman, Cleangerman, Klingerman or Kleangerman
