Recipe 7.14. Filling a Shape with a Bitmap

Problem

You want to apply a bitmap fill to a shape.

Solution

Use the Graphics.beginBitmapFill( ) method.

Discussion

The Graphics.beginBitmapFill( ) method enables you to apply a bitmap as a fill to a shape. The method accepts the following parameters:

bitmap

A BitmapData object to use as the bitmap fill.

matrix

By default the bitmap is applied with no transform applied. You can specify a flash.geom.Matrix object to transform the bitmap by scaling, rotating, skewing, and translating the image.

repeat

A Boolean value indicating whether or not the bitmap ought to repeat to tile fill. By default the value is true. When the value is set to false the bitmap edge's pixels are repeated to fill the shape.

smooth

A Boolean value indicating whether or not to apply smoothing when the bitmap is scaled greater than 100 percent. The default is false.

The following sample class loads a bitmap from a URL, copies it to a BitmapData object, and uses that BitmapData object as a fill for circles drawn programmatically:

package {

  import flash.display.Sprite;
  import flash.geom.Matrix;
  import flash.display.Loader;
  import flash.net.URLRequest;
  import flash.display.BitmapData;
  import flash.events.Event;

  public class Drawing extends Sprite {

    private var _loader:Loader;

    public function Drawing(  ) {
      _loader = new Loader(  );
      _loader.load(new URLRequest("http://www.rightactionscript.com/samplefiles/image2.jpg"));
      _loader.contentLoaderInfo.addEventListener(Event.COMPELTE, onImageLoad);
    }
    
    private function onImageLoad(event:Event):void {
      var bitmap:BitmapData = new BitmapData(_loader.width, _loader.height);
      bitmap.draw(_loader, new Matrix(  ));
      var matrix:Matrix = new Matrix(  );
      matrix.scale(.1, .1);
      var sampleSprite:Sprite = new Sprite(  );
      sampleSprite.graphics.lineStyle(  );
      sampleSprite.graphics.beginBitmapFill(bitmap, matrix);
      sampleSprite.graphics.drawCircle(100, 100, 100);
      sampleSprite.graphics.endFill(  );
      addChild(sampleSprite);
      
    }

  }
}