For example, I'll use Adobe Flash CS6 and JPEXS-Decompiler to get a tail from Playshapes Katt.fla. Each "character" (in this case, Katt) can have one, or more, shape/image per body-part if they are digital cutout animations.
Publish FLA files with Adobe Flash, to create SWF files.
You have 2 options to export to images:
- Use Adobe Flash (for exporting to Raster Images, like PNG)Spoiler (click to show/hide):
- Use a Flash Decompiler (for exporting assets from SWF files as Raster or Vector Images, as in SVG)Spoiler (click to show/hide):
If you export as SVG you can see it in a vector graphics editor (such as Inkscape) and some image viewers.
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Or, if you export to a raster image, any image viewer. However these are not independent from the resolution and can't scale.
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And now you can use those assets outside of Flash. Since Adobe Flash was replaced by Adobe Animate it should be able to do the same.
Note that you can use these methods for other file types (sound, etc) but it is easier as there is no need to worry about the format.