Course Overview

Adobe Flash is the package of choice for animation on the Web and makes a perfect all round web interface design tool. Flash is versatility with its vector-based graphics and provides very small file sizes, ideal for Web page use.

Using Adobe Flash is like using three applications in one. Firstly Flash is an authoring program. You can use it to create interactive multimedia files, called movies in. Secondly Flash is an animation sequencer. You can use it to create or simulate motion or movement on screen. Something that could change how Web pages are produced in the future.

Course Content

• Introduction to Flash and Graphics
  • File Types in Flash
  • Bitmap vs Vector Graphics
• Flash's Interface
  • Interface Tour
  • The Start Page
  • The Property Inspector
  • The Document Window
  • The Toolbox
  • Using Panels
• Drawing and Color
  • Drawing with the Pencil Tool
  • Modifying Lines
  • Drawing with the Pen Tool
  • The Oval and Rectangle Tools
  • The Freetransform Tools
  • Envelope Modifier
  • The Brush Tool
  • Using the Color Mixer
  • Working with Color Palettes
  • Working with Multiple Objects
  • Grouping Objects
• Animation Basics
  • The Timeline
  • Movie Properties
  • Frames and Keyfames
  • Working with Frames
  • The Frame Rate
  • Testing Movies
• Frame-by-Frame Animation
  • Frame-by-Frame Vector Animation
• Shape Tweening
  • Shape Tweening
  • Shape Hinting
  • Shape Tweening Text
  • Editing Multiple Frames
  • Animating Gradients
• Libraries, Symbols and Instances
  • Creating Graphic Symbols
  • Alternate Methods to Create Symbols
  • Editing Symbols
  • Editing Symbol Instances
  • Working with the Library
• Motion Tweening
  • Basic Motion Tweening
  • Tweening Effects
  • Editing Multiple Frames
  • Motion Guides
  • Motion Guides Extras
  • Motion Tweening Text
• Working with Masks
  • Masking
  • Animated Masks
• Working with Text
  • Text Fields Overview
  • Character Panel
  • Paragraph Options
  • Text Fields Explained
  • Device Fonts
  • Scrolling Text

• Bitmap Graphics
  • Importing and Compressing Bitmaps
  • Bitmap Sequence
  • Bitmap Fills
  • Breaking Apart Bitmaps
  • Tracing Bitmaps
• Creating Buttons
  • Button Types
  • Basic Buttons
  • Rollover Buttons
  • Invisible Buttons
  • Adding ActionScript to Buttons
• Working with Movie Clips
  • What are Movie Clips
  • Modifying Movie Clip Instances
  • Animated Rollover Button
  • Animated Masks using Movie Clips
• ActionScripting Basics
  • Actions Window
  • Time-based and User-based Actions
  • Stop and Play
  • Stop on Frame
  • Slide Shows
  • Using getURL
  • Creating a Popup Menu
  • Controlling Movie Clips
  • Working with Scenes
  • Building a Simple Preloader
  • Preloader Resources
  • Using loadMovie
  • Loading SWF Files and Images
• Working with Sounds
  • Importing Sounds
  • The Sound Panel
  • Music On/Off Button
  • Buttons with Sounds
• Publishing
  • Publishing Content
  • Creating a Projector
  • FS Commands
  • The Bandwidth Profiler
• Deconstruction
  • Site Overview
  • Deconstructing a Site
• Templates
  • Using the Built-In Templates
• Integration
  • Integrating with Macromedia Dreamweaver
  • Integrating with Adobe Photoshop

Portfolio of Projects

Here are some projects done by other students: