I’m still very much a beginner of AS3.0, but would like to become quite accomplished at it eventually, so I ask - how did you learn 3.0? Did you learn off tutorials, videos etc off the web? A certain book? Self teaching?
I’d like to know also what you think the best method of learning is, eventually I’d like to learn how to make substantial flash games.
I’m still learning, but:
Did you learn off tutorials, videos etc off the web? A certain book? Self teaching?
yep, yes, lots of books piled on the floor, and yep
I can’t really recommend this, but I best learn by fire - I actually hunted for and picked up a couple AS3-necessary projects. Its definitely a risk of losing money on the project, but the pressure makes for very creative and quick problem solving. And the money lost learning the language is an investment for future projects. There is a lot of info on the Web, not all is accurate of course, but its what helped the most. This method definitely requires a lot of motivation - you can’t risk failing the client to learn something new - just have to keep pushing and convince yourself you’ll be able to accomplish it.
Also, friends and forums - when learning code - two heads are WAY better than one. Being able to ping ideas/questions in IM or on forums, helps with a lot of the technical details.
A class would be highly recommended too - but I don’t off hand know of any that exist in my region at least.
oh - and senocular’s web site - great descriptions, to the point, easy to read.
Best way to learn something is to dig right and get and your hands dirty. I asked a lot of questions, read a lot of threads and purchased a book.
I’m creating a website for my upcoming wedding and I’ve decided to use AS 3, and I’m learning a lot. The hardest part for me was learning OOP techniques, creating and extending classes, and the new syntax. I find it difficult because having a full time job, a life, and learning AS 3 hasn’t been easy due to time constraints. If you have a lot of time to put into it 20+ hours a week the process will probably go a lot smoother.
Best of luck!
As for me, I learned through the online docs and working on some self-prescribed projects. One being the Mii Editor, and some others (I think) being from some forum battles, but I’m not sure if I was still deep in the learning process there or not. And really, does the learning ever stop? Even I figure out something new every now and then.
But the point there is use it. Learn by doing. Try to make a website in AS3 or try to make a game, keeping a constant eye on the documentation so you familiarize yourself with the APIs. Much of learning Flash is just knowing the APIs. Sure, there is a certain learning curve to understanding the language elements, but the basics are pretty clear, especially if you have any experience in programming at all, and the more complicated things will be picked up over time.
And yes, tutorials and books will help with this. They can walk you through the process and workflows that show you how to approach different problems (usually) the correct way.
The best teach-way read http://www.kirupa.com
It’s mega good lesson and advices, examples.
HELP Adobe Flash CS3 mega good - detailed.
“Learning ActionScript 3.0” O’Reilly.
Great book for establishing a pattern of best practices and learning the basics.
Tutorials by LeeBrimelow, Kirupa, Senocular, etc…
I have large directories of links to flash tutorials and resources in my web browser.
[COLOR=“Blue”][U]TweenMax[/U][/COLOR] is an excellent tweening class.
Opens up tons of possibilities.
Install the [COLOR=“Blue”][U]snippets panel[/U][/COLOR] by Lee Brimelow.
This is extremely useful for storing frequently used blocks of code, such as over/out/click event listener setup, switch statements, etc…
Create a directory of small experimental projects.
Questions asked by others in the forums are a good source for ideas.
You can then refer to this when building more ambitious projects.
I tend to add at least one or two projects to this directory everyday.
I agree with Digitalosophy and Senocular. The best way to learn is by doing. Pick a project and start doing it. You’ll learn huge amounts really quickly. It’s really not that difficult, even if you have no experience with programming at all you should still be able to figure it out. There are plenty of resources available online and you can always ask in the forums for specific help.
So pick something that interests you, whether it’s a game or a website or whatever, and get to it!
:: Copyright KIRUPA 2024 //--
