Flash

[Send]

I suck at Flash.

And any other graphic software, for that matter.

I've been trying all day to do what Liquid Blue did a few weeks ago with his zombie coming out of the ground and standing up, but I honestly don't know how to (downloaded flash yesterday).

Can anyone give me some tips on how to use Flash?

[Benno]

#1 tip:

Use flash for games and animation, never make a "flash site". All the deaf, blind, disabled, altnernate OS or browser using, dial-up using, and content seeking people will thank you. Plus google will acctually be able to index your site.

Flash people tend to either be actionscripters or animators, but rarely both. If want to make games, learn AS, if you want to make animation, learn how to frame by frame animate. Good actionscripting (without prior programming experience) takes years to learn. Good animation usually comes from people with atleast some traditional drawing and/or animation experience since they are aware of how squash and stretch et al. Just because flash is digital doesn't mean it can magically compensate for a lack of talent. Don't even bother trying to draw with a mouse, a tablet is essential for anything beyond pixel art and boxes. Overuse of stock tweens and effects will make ruin good work, use them wisely.

Acctually it's easier to just hate flash.

[Krusnik]

There are a lot of tutorials on google. For starter's learn to use f6, f7, onion skin, and all the icons on the toolbar. Don't forget layers.

[Send]

#1 tip:

Use flash for games and animation, never make a "flash site". All the deaf, blind, disabled, altnernate OS or browser using, dial-up using, and content seeking people will thank you. Plus google will acctually be able to index your site.

Flash people tend to either be actionscripters or animators, but rarely both. If want to make games, learn AS, if you want to make animation, learn how to frame by frame animate. Good actionscripting (without prior programming experience) takes years to learn. Good animation usually comes from people with atleast some traditional drawing and/or animation experience since they are aware of how squash and stretch et al. Just because flash is digital doesn't mean it can magically compensate for a lack of talent. Don't even bother trying to draw with a mouse, a tablet is essential for anything beyond pixel art and boxes. Overuse of stock tweens and effects will make ruin good work, use them wisely.

Acctually it's easier to just hate flash.

Crap.

I took refuge in the Macromedia because I suck HORRIBLY at art.

How much do tablets cost?

Oh and by the way, I'm trying to put together an animation using sound and frames to create some sort of movie that will impress my professor (and hopefully get a good reccomendation).

[Send]

On the same note, I tried to draw with the mouse and ended up with a character I'm gonna call Fidel Castro:

[Liquid Blue]

Crap.

I took refuge in the Macromedia because I suck HORRIBLY at art.

How much do tablets cost?

Oh and by the way, I'm trying to put together an animation using sound and frames to create some sort of movie that will impress my professor (and hopefully get a good reccomendation).

Ok first I'll try to help you out in the tablet situation. I bought my wacom tablet, over a year ago, but I quickly looked up some prices on dealtime-

http://www.dealtime.com/xGS-wacom_tablet

You're looking anywhere from 100 dollars and up if you want a good one. I hear in my school that some run up past 1000 dollars, but I don't suggest you getting one of those, especially if you're just starting out. I got a 4x5 wacom tablet at comp usa, and it cost me 100 bucks. The link below isn't the exact same type as the one I have, but I suggest it or one in this price range if you're new to tablets, and new to drawing online in general:

http://www.wacom.com/graphire/4x5.cfm

It's going to feel very weird when you first start drawing with a pen tablet, and you're going to have to get used to looking at the screen instead of down at what you're drawing. You say you don't draw alot, but don't look at that as a hinderance if you really want to use flash to do some nifty stuff. Drawing, like alot of things in life, is a skill that you get better at the more you practice it. Contrary to popular belief, just because you suck at it now doesn't mean that you will always suck at it, or that you won't get any better if you try. Sure you won't do as good right now as the people you see drawing comics, but they've been drawing for most of their lives and you can get there eventually. Not only that, but depending on the style or look you're going for, you really don't have to have a grasp on realistic or accurate drawing.

Just because flash is digital doesn't mean it can magically compensate for a lack of talent. Don't even bother trying to draw with a mouse, a tablet is essential for anything beyond pixel art and boxes. Overuse of stock tweens and effects will make ruin good work, use them wisely.

Acctually it's easier to just hate flash.

Good advice man. I haven't been using flash for too long, and I started trying out tweens when I did that viking song animation- that's a perfect example of relying on tweens too damn much With this current one I've been working on, I'm doing stuff frame by frame, and trying to keep things as smooth/life like as possible. Few tweens as possible, also. The result? It's taking a hell of alot longer than the Viking song, even longer than my Dire (zombie) animation. It's slow going sometimes, but if you really want to do it, I don't see anything that could hold you back.

If you have anymore questions or need any tips/help, just lemme know in here or via PM.


EDIT: Yea the mouse sucks-

[iKillburger]

easiest way I think to animate in flash is to draw each independent part (forearm, upper arm, thigh, shin, etc) seperately. Throw each one onto its own layer. Its been a while, but i think the tool that looks like a box with a dot in the middle will let u in a sense "attach" one body part to another.

The best thing to do is watch other people's movies and try to figure out what they did. Check out legendaryfrog.com for a simple yet very good looking animation. It is possible to draw well with only a mouse (vinnieveritas.com)

The best advice is: drawing frame by frame is too hard and probably 95% of people who start dont finish a good movie, so dont kick urself too hard if u fail very very horribly

[Liquid Blue]

Yea I'm currently trying that, I call it "the puppet method". What I'm trying is to get a grasp of how the characters are going to move with a simple stick-figure or simple shape animatic, then draw corresponding body parts. I'll just be dropping them in at the end.


Animatics- they are a good start btw. Not alot of animation, it's really just a rough outline of what you're going to do (in flash form) to help you get the timing down. I'll post one of my own if you want to help you get a better idea.

EDIT: Here you go, this is what I was originally going to do for Dire. As you can see, it got short drastically because I was doing it for an assignment and didn't start early enough.

http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?i...nimatic1os.swf

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#1 tip:

Use flash for games and animation, never make a "flash site". All the deaf, blind, disabled, altnernate OS or browser using, dial-up using, and content seeking people will thank you. Plus google will acctually be able to index your site.

Acctually it's easier to just hate flash.

Benno, sorry to read that you hate Flash....everyone has a reason though...I guess?

I have had many sites that I have created and are indexed on google with no problems whatsoever!!!! So that's a hoax in itself. A site does not have to be 100% Flash & yet it can be if thats what's the creator intended it to be.

If your still using a dial-up connection....well I guess you still eat at soup kitchens and live in a cardboard box over a street vent....unless your in bumf@*k land or at your parents mercy. As the web and technology move on, will we always need to wait and make sure that the dial-up accounts will not be left behind?

As for the altnernate OS & browser using ppl's....hmm....a minority in itself it seems. I use 3 browsers just to check on code and appearance for HTML that I/we create, and I would think that possibly these so call altnernate OS or browser using ppl's could or should do the same? That is, unless they have a 800mb - 1 gb hard drive & if that's the case they most likely still use Windows 3.1.1?

When using an alt OS, why would you not have it partitioned to boot more than one OS? if you are doing any type of business or work that requires programs that only work on a Win OS...what do you do then? Most ppl I know running alt OS's have WIN on a different partition/boot option.

Back to Flash...I understand it should not be used in many applications, but to totally dismiss it's capabilities and web use is ridiculous. I use it, as I am bored with the standard fare HTML.

Here are some examples of full FLASH sites I messed with...not the best, but at least it was alot of fun to create them.

Old No surrender Website

1st Velocity Squad website

2nd Velocity site- Old Strikeball squad site

356mid atlantic Porsche Website

[Mr. Peanuts]

My mate is really awesome at flash, especially action scripting. I've tried getting into it many times, but I just don't have the patience.

He's currently working on this project for school: www.freewebs.com/andyw_tinganga

[Benno]

If I said "don't make a site entirely with java applets" I bet you wouldn't have said a thing. The fact is websites are about content and flash often hinders the delivery of that. No, not becuase thats inherent to flash, but the temption for the developer to add a splash screen, firvolous rollovers, anoying music, long transitions between pages etc is too great to ignore, esspecially if those tricks are all they know to seperate themselves from their peers.

Your dial-up argument is insanely self-centered. The reason I'm on dial-up has NOTHING to do with price, but rather physical location. My plight is an antique network thats so piss poor even cable tv service is bad (among other things), but in other parts in the world people are lucky to connect to the internet with a computer circa 1992 via a 28.8 modem. The problem isn't that i'm against the web as a delivery mechanism for rich interactive media (thats what I'm going to school for after all), but that many uses of flash are just the opposite. As I have stated, flash games and animations are good, but if I want to know about (say) flash tutorials, it would be extremly unhelpful if I couldn't use ctrl+F to text search a document or have no clue what link goes where since they're using icons instead of text links.

As for the altnernate OS & browser using ppl's....hmm....a minority in itself it seems. I use 3 browsers just to check on code and appearance for HTML that I/we create, and I would think that possibly these so call altnernate OS or browser using ppl's could or should do the same? That is, unless they have a 800mb - 1 gb hard drive & if that's the case they most likely still use Windows 3.1.1?

When using an alt OS, why would you not have it partitioned to boot more than one OS? if you are doing any type of business or work that requires programs that only work on a Win OS...what do you do then? Most ppl I know running alt OS's have WIN on a different partition/boot option.

So you're saying flash promotes vendor lock in? I should be forced to use a certain OS or browser becusae it's the only way to important information? I hate flash more then. Have you heard about $100 laptop program for children in developing countries ? I guess they can go shove it to. I guess the majority of the world's population doesn't deserve access to information because people with the latest and greatest artifically limit access to those with modern machines and fast connections. Web standards, FOSS, they're bad too!

I have the same discussion irl everyweek with well paid flash developers. The conclusion? Clients who don't know anything would rather have a shiny site than one thats more usable or accsesable. Does a preasure washer company really need a 30 second splash screen and 40k animation? Probably not. Customers searching for washers online will quickly leave that site in favor of a site without flash baggage too, but who cares they'll never check the server logs.

If you're still delusional about the state of most flash sites, have a look at this ugly but usable site: websites that suck

[Send]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Benno, I am not trying to piss you off or be self centered, just realistic & practical. You do have valid points, yet the corporate outlook is somewhat different from your views. Should someone tell Chevrolet, Honda & VW to name a few, to stop using Flash as there may be a poor person in Uganda on a 28.8 modem that cannot connect to view their cars? Like these companies would care?

java Applets....hmmm...Never noticed or wanted to see a site made entirely from Java Applets...didn't think you could do that...I should try that for the sake of it and I am not trying to be a jerk by saying that. Java Script i can see but applets...perhaps

Your dial-up argument is insanely self-centered. The reason I'm on dial-up has NOTHING to do with price, but rather physical location. My plight is an antique network thats so piss poor even cable tv service is bad (among other things),

I did make mention of: If your still using a dial-up connection....well I guess you still eat at soup kitchens and live in a cardboard box over a street vent....unless your in bumf@*k land or at your parents mercy.
maybe the wording of bumf@*k land should have been said as "out in the rural tundra or physical location!"

Btw...you can get 2 way satellite for you computer and it close to the costs of having cable, as well as faster than cable. Just does not work well with TW or any arena in SS.

[Liquid Blue]

Uh, maybe you don't have enough frames for your sounds. Lemme go over putting music/sounds in your library, then talk about frames just in case you're missing a step.

First off, you're going to have to import your sound/music. Just go to File, Import, then Import to Library. I say Import to Library, becuase if you choose Import to Stage, it will still wind up in the library.



Next, click on Import to Library, and a window will pop up. From here you can choose the sound or music file you want to put in-



Once you choose the sound, just hit enter and it will be imported. It will show up in your library tab (Go to the window tab, and make sure there is a checkmark next to the library line, that way you can see what's in your library.

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8467/sound46we.jpg

Next, make 2 layers, one for your sound, and one for your other stuff.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8827/sound55in.jpg

Depending on how long your sound is, you might have to extend the frames. I chose a song which takes a few seconds to start, so I extended the frames to 50. Then, with the sound layer highlighted, just click and hold on the song/sound in the library, and drag it onto the "stage", aka white paper.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2408/sound60te.jpg

Now if you want the animation to start when the song or sound starts, just make a blank keyframe in your "stuff" layer, at the same place the sound starts in the sound layer.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5971/sound78ch.jpg

Now just put whatever you want in that new frame-

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5428/sound85fx.jpg


Did I help at all?

[Send]

Crap, it was so simple yet I didn't realize it.

Thanks man.