I am interested in making a really cool website for my illustration and paintings and I know I need Flash to do it. I would like things like a character that is stationary in the upper part of the site, but his head and eyes follow your mouse…and he talks when you rollover buttons. I would like other stuff, but haven’t figured that out yet. My question is what are some good books to learn stuff like that from? I would also be interested in maybe doing a video game with Flash at some point. Here is a site I did with Flash MX: www.spinmediainc.com
Thanks for any advice.
ps I am not a programmer by ANY stretch of the imagination…although I can learn anything if I put my mind to it.
start here at kirupa. Take the tutorials (they are pretty clear) - after you have gone through them all, you will have a solid understanding of the basics of flash. You should be able to accomplish all of the things you mentioned.
are there any good books that have practical examples in them? I’d like to do some cool stuff on the site. And just learn a lot more about Flash for work. I was looking at a book on amazon.com called Flash MX Game Design Demystified, and it looked like a good book, but REALLY complicated. Like you needed to know trigonometry and programming to do anything cool it seemed. I haven’t used trig since like 10th grade and forgot it all. :-\
I have two flash books, Flash MX for Dummies(to explain the authoring tool) and ActionScript for Flash MX (ActionScript). Everything I have learnt about Flash was learnt from those two books and browsing forums.
to speak for myself … i bought the Moock book for Flash MX two weeks ago …
i have no programming xperience whatsoever and i must say that this book is really good.
it gives u a good understanding about programming and teaches u actionscript from the ground up
if u want to learn AS pick this one
lat0rrrrrrrrrrrr
( for learning basic flash stuff like movieclips, tweens, etc
don’t buy a book … just look around on the web or check
macromedia’s own tutorials )
Daveman, thanks for the links. And for the compliments. I have a few more buttons to make in one section of that site, but I wanna do something cool…and that takes time. But overall the site is about 90% done. The site is more for information than mouth dropping special effects or tricks.
the first book about Flash Game Design is about
“Flash Game Design” so if that is what u want to
do (designing games in/with flash that is) maybe that
is a good book … dunno
the second book is probably just what the title says it is …
a reference to flash MX … meaning :
a list of all the different mc properties, functions, event handlers,
etc. and an explanation of what they do and how to use them
(syntax).
if u want reference check the help files in flash MX ,
the “reference panel” within the program itself or
chech the macromedia website but don’t waste ur money
on the book.
instead … use the money to buy Colin Moock’s book
"ActionScript For Flash MX ; the definative guide "
this book explains programming basics and gives you good
start with actionscript.
the book also has an extensive reference section which is really great, lots of examples and the great thing is that it assumes you have no programming/AS knowledge … so it is really easy to get into
if u just want to learn the flash basics check out the tutorials
here and on macromedia site but don’t waste any money on books u don’t need
Yeah, thats why i’m asking on here. Cause I dont want to buy books I either don’t need, or aren’t any good, or that I just plain won’t understand at this point. That last book you mentioned looks really informative…its just the $50 price tag that has me hesitating. But all the reviewers gave it 5/5, so thats saying something right there. Most people on amazon that review are brutally honest, so when they say its good, its probably good. I mean if I reviewed something I’d tell you the honest truth…wouldn’t want others wasting money on a crap product. Thanks for the advice…maybe I’ll see if my company will pick up the tab for the book.
I haven’t used trig since like 10th grade and forgot it all. :-\
so if that is what u want to
