Focal Easy Guide to Macromedia Flash 8: For new users and professionals

by Hosea; Birgitta

• ISBN13: 9780240519982
• ISBN10: 0240519981
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2006-01-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

If you need to get up and running fast with creating interactive graphics and animation in Flash - then look no further! Whether you are a new user or a professional, this highly visual book is all you need to get up and running with the latest powerful upgrade - Macromedia Flash 8.

Author Biography

Birgitta Hosea is a motion graphics artist and Course Director of the London Animation Studio at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Table of Contents

1 Introduction	1	(4)
History and Development of the Program	2	(1)
What Is It Used for?	3	(1)
How to Use This Book	3	(2)
2 Interface	5	(12)
The Start Page	6	(1)
At a Glance Guide to the Interface	7	(1)
What are all the Windows for?	8	(9)
The Stage	8	(3)
The Timeline	11	(1)
Changing Your View	12	(1)
Panel Sets and Customizing Your Interface	13	(2)
Using the Help files	15	(1)
Flash Documents	15	(1)
Naming Files and Working Cross-platform	16	(1)
3 Vector Drawing	17	(22)
At a Glance Guide to the Tools	18	(1)
The Drawing Tools	19	(1)
Drawing a Line	19	(2)
Drawing with the Pencil Tool	21	(2)
The Shape Tools	23	(2)
Painting with the Brush Tool	25	(1)
Using the Pen Tool and the Subselection Tool	26	(3)
To Overlap or to Obliterate: Object Drawing vs. Merge Drawing	29	(1)
Changing Colors	30	(1)
Creating Gradient Fills	31	(1)
Transform Fill Tool	32	(2)
Creating Text	34	(2)
Paragraph Options	36	(1)
Spell Checker	37	(2)
4 Selecting and Modifying	39	(16)
Making Selections	40	(1)
Modifying Drawings	41	(2)
The Free Transform Tool	43	(2)
Combining Objects	45	(1)
Adding Strokes	46	(1)
Paint Bucket Tool	46	(1)
Dropper Tool	46	(1)
Eraser Tool	47	(1)
Rulers, Guides and Grids	47	(1)
Step By Step Create a Perspective Grid	48	(4)
Drawing Settings	52	(1)
At a Glance Keyboard Shortcuts for the Tools	53	(2)
5 Importing Images	55	(14)
Vectors vs. Bitmaps	56	(1)
Still Image File Types You Can Import	57	(2)
Bitmap File Formats	57	(1)
Vector File Formats	58	(1)
To Import a Still Image into Flash	59	(1)
The Library	59	(1)
Importing Images with Areas of Transparency	60	(4)
Tracing Bitmaps	64	(2)
Painting with Bitmaps	66	(3)
6 Layers, Symbols and Keyframes	69	(26)
Using Layers	70	(2)
Step By Step Create a Manual Drop Shadow	72	(1)
Introducing Symbols	73	(3)
Interactive Buttons	76	(1)
Creating a Button Symbol	77	(4)
What Is a Keyframe?	81	(1)
Naming Symbols	82	(1)
Editing Symbols	82	(1)
What Is a Behavior?	83	(1)
Step By Step Create a Links Page	84	(3)
Using Movie Clip Symbols	87	(1)
Step-By-Step Animated Rollover Buttons	87	(4)
Filters and Blends	91	(4)
7 Menu Navigation	95	(22)
Button Actions and Frame Actions	96	(1)
Creating a Basic Menu	96	(5)
Actions and Script Assist	101	(1)
Create an Online Portfolio	102	(1)
Menus and Submenus	103	(1)
Create a Pop-up Menu in a Movie Clip	103	(1)
The Top Level of the Menu	104	(1)
The Sub Level of the Menu	105	(2)
Buttons as Menus	107	(2)
Controlling Events on the Stage	109	(2)
Loading Images	111	(3)
Mail to Link	114	(1)
Submit Your Portfolio	115	(2)
8 Animation	117	(18)
Creating a Banner Ad with Frame-By-Frame Animation	118	(1)
Separating and Locking Layers	119	(1)
Using Keyframes to Record Animation	120	(2)
Onion Skinning	122	(2)
Frame Rate and Size	124	(1)
Animation with Graphic Symbols	125	(1)
Creating Graphic Symbols and Instances	126	(3)
Motion Tweening	129	(2)
Graphic Symbols and Line Weights	131	(1)
Editing Symbols Recap	131	(1)
Summary	132	(3)
9 More Animation Techniques	135	(18)
Using Motion Paths	136	(4)
Controlling Velocity	140	(1)
Custom Easing	141	(1)
Shape Tweening	141	(3)
Shape Tweening Text	144	(1)
Breaking Apart Text	144	(1)
Controlling Shape Tweens with Shape Hints	145	(1)
Shape Tweening Summary	146	(1)
Create Animated Text Highlights	147	(1)
Animating and Transforming Gradients	148	(2)
Mask Layers	150	(3)
10 Further Animation Techniques	153	(14)
Timeline Effects	154	(3)
Animated Symbols	157	(3)
Creating a Looped Background	160	(1)
Copying and Pasting Frames	160	(1)
Symbols Within Symbols	161	(2)
Altering Symbol Center Points	163	(1)
Using Scenes	164	(1)
Character Design Tips	165	(2)
11 Sound	167	(14)
Creating Sounds to Bring into Flash	168	(1)
Some Fundamentals of Digital Audio	169	(1)
Importing Sounds	170	(3)
Streaming vs. Event Sounds	173	(2)
Editing Sounds in Flash	175	(1)
Attach a Sound to a Button	176	(1)
Starting and Stopping Sounds	177	(1)
Adding Comments to Frames	178	(1)
Warning about File Sizes	179	(2)
12 Video	181	(16)
Digitizing Video	182	(1)
Using Video in Flash	183	(1)
Creating FLV Files	183	(2)
Importing Video	185	(2)
Rotoscoping	187	(1)
Output Flash Animation at Full Broadcast Quality	187	(1)
Frame Rate and Frame Size	188	(1)
Pixel Aspect Ratio	189	(1)
Importing DV and Flash	190	(1)
Frames vs. Fields	191	(1)
Broadcast Safe Colors	192	(2)
Over Scan	194	(3)
13 Designing for Cross-media	197	(14)
Planning a Web Site	199	(2)
Information Architecture	201	(1)
Design for the Web	202	(6)
Size	202	(2)
Color	204	(3)
Typography	207	(1)
Usability	207	(1)
Planning for Animation	208	(3)
14 Putting Flash on the Web	211	(20)
Project Management Tips	212	(2)
The History Panel	214	(1)
Tips for Lowering File Sizes	215	(2)
Testing Your Work	217	(1)
Anatomy of a Web Site	218	(1)
How is a Web Site Put Together and Where Does Flash Fit in?	218	(1)
Exporting and Publish Settings	219	(1)
Flash Version Detection	220	(2)
Movie Dimensions	222	(1)
Uploading	223	(1)
Flash on the WWW	224	(1)
Creating Pre-loaders	224	(2)
Accessibility	226	(2)
SWF File Metadata	228	(3)
15 Cross-media Publishing	231	(10)
Publishing Profiles	232	(1)
Exporting Stills	233	(1)
Exporting with Audio	234	(1)
Exporting for Video Output	235	(1)
About Compression	236	(1)
Compositing Your Flash Movie	236	(1)
Alpha Channels	237	(1)
How Did That Work?	237	(1)
Putting Your Flash Movie onto Video	238	(1)
Putting Your Flash Movie onto DVD	239	(1)
Exporting Projectors	239	(1)
Creating a Hybrid CD	240	(1)
Appendix: Resources	241	(4)
Web Usage Statistics	242	(1)
Web Design Info	242	(1)
Accessibility	242	(1)
More About Mobile Devices	242	(1)
Sound Resources on the Web	242	(1)
ActionScripting Tutorials on the Web	242	(1)
Flash Animation Tutorials on the Web	243	(1)
Animation Resources on the Web	243	(1)
Further Reading on Character Animation	243	(1)
Further Reading on Motion Graphics	243	(1)
Further Reading on Flash	243	(2)
Index	245