Flash 8: Projects for Learning Animation and Interactivity

Chapter 1. Getting Started, Right Out of the Box In this chapterDrawing Your First BoxColoring Fills and StrokesMerging and Stacking ShapesCreating Reusable Graphics In this chapter, you'll gain your first experience with Flash's vector...

Chapter 2. Creating Quickly: Customizing Your Workspace In this chapterDesigning Your Own Panel LayoutCustomizing Movie PropertiesAligning Objects on the StageBehind Every Good Symbol Is a Good EditorAutomate Your Workflow Think about i...

Chapter 3. Your First Animation In this chapterLayers and the TimelineKeyframes and TweeningPreparing Text for AnimationStaggering AnimationAlpha EffectMotion EffectsYour First ScriptPublishing Your Movie Flash started as a web animation...

Chapter 4. Buttons and Interactivity In this chapterButtons as SymbolsScripting Your ButtonComponents and BehaviorsNavigationMore Fun with Buttons It's time to get interactive! Flash can be a rewarding design and animation tool, but you...

Chapter 5. Working with Graphics In this chapter Importing PixelsWorking with PixelsImporting VectorsUsing ScenesWorking with the Library Flash's drawing tools are primarily vector-based, so they aren't ideal for editing bitmaps. Meani...

Chapter 6. Movie Clips and Interactivity In this chapterDrawing a Cartoon CharacterControlling the Character with ActionScriptMore Movie Clip Control In Chapter 3, you created a simple animation entirely in the main timeline. But what...

Chapter 7. More Animation Techniques In this chapter Morphing with Shape TweensFrame-by-Frame AnimationUsing MasksTimeline Versus ActionScript Animation Although motion tweening will likely be the most common animation technique you us...

Chapter 8. Using Sound In this chapter Importing SoundsControlling External SoundsScripting Your Own Sound Control Used carefully, sound can dramatically enhance an animation or interactive experience. Music can be used for animation s...

Chapter 9. Using Video In this chapter Importing VideoControlling External VideosScripting Your Own Video Control Flash video has come a long way since videos were first delivered via .swf several years ago. In fact, although this is...

Chapter 10. Compositing and Bitmap Effects In this chapterRuntime Bitmap CachingBitmap Filter EffectsBlend Modes Flash 8 introduced an entirely new approach to compositing visual assets at runtime that has dramatically increased artisti...

Chapter 11. Working with Text In this chapterText TypesUsing FontsLoading and Styling TextFlash Type Although Flash is primarily known for its graphics and animation capabilities, text is also a vital part of the Flash environment. Fla...

Chapter 12. Loading Assets on the Fly In this chapterUsing ActionScript to Modularize ContentPreloading This chapter focuses almost entirely on solving one problem: keeping initial download times to a minimum without compromising too much...

Chapter 13. e-Learning with Flash In this chapterCreating a Quiz: Getting Started with TemplatesSending Results with a FormSaving and Retrieving Local Data You've learned about basic interactivity and how to create and use button states....

Chapter 14. Flash for CD-ROM and Handhelds In this chapterFlash on CD-ROMFlash on the Run In this chapter, you'll explore two slightly less conventional distribution methods for Flash content. First, you'll see how Flash projects can...

Chapter 15. Think Outside the Box In this chapterExporting to VideoThe Drawing APIExtending FlashThe Rest Is Up to You. Flash is a powerful tool, and some of its features are often overlooked. In this final chapter, you'll try a few proje...