Help me become a Flash guru in a flash

August 20, 2008 2:47 PM

What are your recommendations for teaching myself Adobe Flash quickly?

I'd like give myself a crash course in Adobe Flash 8. I have years of experience designing with print software (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark), and I can pick most any software up quickly, so I want something that will get me designing animations and learning neat tricks fast.

Any recommendations for books, online tutorials, websites with tips/howtos, or other sources? Thanks all!

posted by dosterm to computers & internet (6 answers total)

I have considered lynda.com for just that and retailmenot.com has some rebates for them. I haven't gotten around to actually doing it but if you go for it and like them, would you mind letting me know?
posted by krautland at 3:03 PM on August 20, 2008

Yes, any of the Hands On Training books from lynda.com should be fine. The lynda.com online tutorials are also good, for $25/month, but a great free alternative is gotoAndLearn().
posted by maudlin at 3:08 PM on August 20, 2008

Have you seen Adobe's very own tutorials?

I haven't used them for Flash, but over the years I have used the ones for GoLive, Dreamweaver, and other software, and found them very good.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 3:09 PM on August 20, 2008

I second Adobe's own tutorials. There are also tutorials bundled with the software that give you demos and hands-on work right off the bat.
posted by tybeet at 3:20 PM on August 20, 2008

First, don't worry about ActionScript yet until you know the interface, timeline, and how to use nesting/symbols (most important).

This book was great, especially since I already knew the other design programs. The author explains the features and how things work semi-behind the scenes, with occasional references to other Adobe programs. This lets you learn how it works based on your previous experience. It's a great reference even though it covers MX 2004 instead of CS3. Pretty much everything is still relevant.

ActionScript just got a big update with the last version (now up to 3.0) which it makes it a little harder for designers to understand, basically because you need to know some programming to fully utilize it. I would suggest sticking with AS v2.0 until you feel comfortable or if you just want to do simple interactive stuff.

Also, read about basic (traditional hand-drawn) animation techniques to get a good "motion" foundation.
posted by PixelatorOfTime at 4:51 PM on August 20, 2008

As somebody who came to flash from an art background (as opposed to CS), I have to disagree with PixelatorOfTime's assessment of AS2 vs. AS3. While he/she is correct in stating that AS3 is more of an actual programming language, it is also more intuitive to use and requires fewer ass-backwards hacks to get it to do what you want it to do.

Despite not being a programmer or having a programming background, I find AS3 to be *worlds* easier to use.
posted by kaseijin at 7:38 AM on August 21, 2008