- 1). Open a digital animation program such as Pencil or Adobe Flash by double-clicking its icon. Create a new file by opening the "File" menu and clicking "New."
- 2). Click on the "Bucket" tool and click on the color swatch. Select a black or dark blue color swatch and click within the canvas. This creates a dark background that resembles the night sky.
- 3). Navigate to the "Timeline" and click on the "New Layer" tool. Drag the new layer so that it rests over the previous layer.
- 4). Add additional detail to the background, if desired. Click on the "Brush" tool and select the appropriate color from the color swatch. Draw by left-clicking within the image and moving the cursor in the appropriate direction. Release the cursor to complete a line. Repeat the process of adding detail with the brush as desired.
- 5). Navigate to the "Timeline" and click on the "New Layer" tool. Drag the new layer so that it rests over the previous layer. Drag your mouse over the entire "Timeline." Right-click and scroll to "Add New Frame." Repeat this process until you create five or six frames.
- 6). Right-click on the first frame within the top layer and scroll to "Add Keyframe" or "Convert to Keyframe." Then click on the second frame within the top layer and do the same thing.
- 7). Click on the "Brush" tool and then the color swatch. Click on a bright, light blue, purple or yellow color. Draw the shape of a lighting bolt using the brush.
- 8). Add a new "Keyframe" to the top layer. Click on the canvas and delete the lightning bolt located within the frame. This should create an image identical to the first frame. Add a new "Keyframe" to the top layer and draw a lightning bolt in the canvas.
- 9). Repeat the process of altering frames with a clear sky and frames with a lightning bolt until you complete the animation.
Source...