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I apoligize if this topic has been posted here before.I recently got Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and I don't know how to get started .The help topics don't really help much.The problem is I don't know how to draw on the computer(on real life however I draw very good).Do I need PaintShop (or whatever you call it)or something,or is there an easier way to draw.I also don't know how to record or start a movie.

Any help would be appreciated thanks .

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

It depends on what you're looking for in Flash. Flash is primarily used as a Web design tool and a program for vector art, but it's original purpose was almost purely animation. Yes, the built-in Help documentation really isn't that helpful for beginners, so I'd recommend buying a book over MX 2004 on Amazon.com. I'll give you a quick, VERY basic tutorial, because I'm basing it off of "I don't know how to get started".

(1.) Open Flash MX 2004. (2.) Select "File", click "New...". You now have a blank .fla (Flash) document. The default settings are set: 550 x 400 pixels stage (or drawing pad, you could say), a white background, and a frame rate of 12 fps (frames per second). (3.) Draw a ball on the stage by selecting the Oval Tool on the lefthand toolbar, clicking on the stage, and dragging it to whatever specified width and height you'd like. To create a perfect circle, hold shift while creating your circle. Shapes in Flash are broken down into two parts: their stroke (outline) and their fill (center). To edit the stroke, click on the very outside of the circle you drew with the selection tool. You should see dots around the edge of your circle, indicating that the stroke (outline) is selected. You can edit the properties of the stroke (such as color, width, etc.) by using the properties pane at the bottom of the screen (if it isn't there, go to Window and select "Properties" or hit Ctrl + F3). The Properties pane allows you to edit the color, thickness, and style of the stroke. Do the same thing to edit the fill, except you must click in the center of the circle. You can edit the fill color in the Properties pane.

Now you have a very basic drawing: an oval. Time for very basic animation.

The timeline displays all the frames in a scene. Think of each new frame you create as a different drawing, and all the frames combined make a scene, or a short movie. (1.) Double click on the text "Layer 1" in the timeline (the default name). Rename it "Circle". (2.) Click on the first frame in the timeline (your first frame has your circle in it). Press F6. This creates a second frame, and that second frame has the exact same content you have on your first frame: the circle, which is in the exact same place. (3.) On frame 2, click on the fill of the circle, then select the stroke at the same time by holding Ctrl or Shift and clicking. Now that you have the entire circle selected, click on it with your selection tool and drag it up slightly. You are done editing this frame. (4.) With frame 2 selected, press F6 to create a third frame. This third frame has the same content as frame 2. Select the stroke and fill of the circle as you did in frame 2, and move the circle up again. (5.) Now, on the timeline select all three frames you've created, either by holding shift or Ctrl and clicking on all of them. Right-click now and select "Copy Frames". Now click on the fourth frame. Right-click the fourth frame and click "Paste Frames". You now have a total of six frames. Select frames 4, 5, and 6 (the last three frames), right click on them, and choose "Reverse Frames". Now the circle will go down instead of going up.

You're done. To test the movie, click on Control and select "Test Movie" or do Ctrl+Enter. You now have a ball bouncing up and down. By testing the movie, you automatically create a .swf (SMALL WEB FILE) file. These .swf files are what are embedded into HTML documents to show on the Web. Follow this link: http://www.w3schools.com/flash/flash_inhtml.asp

This tells you how to embed your swf file into an HTML document. It's simple.

As I said, this tutorial is very basic. PM me if you want more in-depth tutorials, but I'd still recommend buying a book off of Amazon for just $30. That said, Flash shouldn't be used to design Web sites unless you're an expert at it, so most people (myself included) should avoid designing sites with Flash in general. However, if you're interested in making a cartoon/movie, that's Flash's primary purpose.

This post has been edited by The_Pink_Nu1 on 30th May 2005 00:45

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

Thanks you really helped alot ,and I will try to avoid using it for Web design.Now all i'm left with is how to draw on the computer.

P.S.:I've heard I'm supposed to use the Onion Skin,and also everytime I put two or more objects one of the objects disappear.

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

Ah, I'm surprised I forgot to mention Onion Skinning (I'm used to tweening rather than frame-by-frame animation). Onion skinning is vital for frame-by-frame animation. It's simple to activate. On the bottom of the Timeline toolbar, there is a button that looks like two squares overlaying each other. Let your mouse hover over the button and you'll see "Onion Skin" appear. Click on it. You can now see 'ghost images' of your other frames. This is tremendous in helping you position your objects in your frames. On the top of the timeline toolbar, you'll notice that with Onion Skinning enabled, there are 'anchors' for onion skins. The first is the start of onion skinning, or where you want to start viewing ghost images, and the second is the end of onion skinning, or where you want to stop viewing ghost images. You can use your mouse to click and drag these across the timeline.

As far as drawing on the computer goes, I'm not sure what you mean. You can open any image editing program, the easiest being Microsoft Paint, take a pencil tool, and doodle away. If that's what you mean, it simply takes an enormous amount of perseverance and some practice. I once practiced on drawing in Paint by drawing Squall from Kingdom Hearts, if you can find the thread in My Creations, you can find the picture.

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

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As far as drawing on the computer goes, I'm not sure what you mean. You can open any image editing program, the easiest being Microsoft Paint, take a pencil tool, and doodle away. If that's what you mean, it simply takes an enormous amount of perseverance and some practice. I once practiced on drawing in Paint by drawing Squall from Kingdom Hearts, if you can find the thread in My Creations, you can find the picture.

I barely came back from a Dodgers game or else I would've replyed earlier,anyway I was saying like the Flash movies in NewGrounds or like Fan Comics (without using sprites),or are they all drawn using Microsoft Paint.

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

Oh no, THOSE are all drawn using Flash. Drawing in Flash, though, is similar enough to drawing in Notepad. Just pick up the Pencil Tool in Flash, on the left-hand toolbar, and start drawing away. Some of the better Flash videos on newgrounds.com and the like probably took weeks (or even months) for some of these guys to complete, so don't expect it to be easy.

Just start out with something simple and basic, and work your way up. That's all the real advice I can give as far as drawing goes, there really isn't much to learn, but there's a lot of practice to be had.

This post has been edited by The_Pink_Nu1 on 31st May 2005 05:05

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

Argh !Does it mean I have to do it Frame-by-Frame.If it does it'll take me forever (or is there an easier way).

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

There's no magic tool to do things automatically for you. Great projects require great amounts of effort, and there's no easy way out. However, having undertaken a seemingly simple project only to realise the amount of effort it requires allows you to appreciate other people's work far more.

Granted, there are various animation options for movement and various image transformations (scaling, rotating...) but if you want to have a little dude walking across the screen, you'll have to draw it and then animate it frame by frame. Mind you, it's not like you have to redraw the ENTIRE thing every frame. That would be very bad design in ANY product in this day and age.

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

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There's no magic tool to do things automatically for you. Great projects require great amounts of effort, and there's no easy way out. However, having undertaken a seemingly simple project only to realise the amount of effort it requires allows you to appreciate other people's work far more.

Yeah,you're right.I wasn't expecting my project to be easy,but now that i've started there's no looking back,I will try my best,and possibly submit it here if R51 lets me .Anyway thanks for the advice you two,you helped alot.

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

You certainly don't have to do it frame-by-frame, and that's what's nice about having Flash at your fingertips. As mentioned, the second (and easier) method of animating in Flash is through tweening. There are various sorts of tweening (i.e. shape tweening, motion tweening, color tweening, etc.). I assume what you're looking for is primarily motion tweening. Time for Extremely Basic Animation Guide, Part II!

(1.) Open Flash. (2.) Draw a circle on the stage. (3.) Now, this is important. You CANNOT motion tween *shapes* in Flash. You can, however, motion tween *symbols*. To convert the shape (a circle) you just drew to a symbol, select both the stroke and the fill and press F8. You now have options to choose from in the "Convert to Symbol" dialog box. Name the symbol whatever you want ("circle" works well as a name, hmm?), and as the Behavior, select "Graphic". Disregard the Registration Point, we won't worry about that in this tutorial. (Notice now that you can no longer select the stroke/fill, and there is a blue bounding box surrounding the circle. This indicates it is a symbol. Also note that your symbol now appears in the "Library" panel). (4.) In the Timeline, click on Frame 12 and press F6 to add a keyframe. On Frame 12, move the circle to the other side of the stage (or drawing pad, you might think of it as). (5.) Now for tweening. On the Timeline, click on any frame between Frame 1 and Frame 12. Now look down in the Properties pane. You'll see a selection box with the text "Tween" next to it. Click on the drop-down box and select "Motion". Check out your timeilne now - your frames are blue with an arrow through them, indicating motion tweening. (6.) Press Ctrl+Enter to test your movie out. You should have a ball rolling across the screen. *This* is the foundation of advanced Flash animation.

Now, I'll try to explain what tweening did for you. You essentially only created two frames: the first frame, where the ball is on one side of the screen, and the last (twelfth) frame, where the ball is on the other side of the screen. By selecting the option to motion tween, Flash essentially created all the frames in-between. The start and ending frames, or 'points', are called extremes. To better illustrate what I mean by that, we'll try basic shape tweening. (1.) Create a new file. (2.) Create your circle in frame 1. You do NOT have to convert it to a symbol, because shape tweening goes with, well, shapes, as opposed to motion tweening. (3.) On frame 12, press F6 to create a keyframe. (4.) On frame 12, delete the circle, and in its place create a square. (5.) click on any frame between frame 1 and 12, and in the Properties pane, under Tween, select "Shape". (5.) Test movie by pressing Ctrl + Enter. You should have a circle converting into a square, where the circle is extreme #1 and the square is extreme #2. The frames in between are made for you through tweening.

Hope this helps.

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

I don't have a Properties or a tween option.There is only motion tween.Can I ask what is an action script?the reason i'm asking this is because there are so many options for it I doubt it's only a basic script,i've heard it is vital for making a flash game.

EDIT:Never mind,I found the properties pane.Thanks alot .

This post has been edited by saileboat on 1st June 2005 04:28

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."

If you intend on making a game...well, let's just say you'll need to learn a lot of ActionScripting. The most advanced application I've even made with ActionScript is a calculator - I've never attempted making a game worth playing. Also, the calculator was very simple: add, subtract, multiply, divide, and clear. ActionScript is applied to frames, and the basics are simple: playback features for Flash movies such as Play, GoToFrame (skips to a specified frame), Stop, etc. If you're looking to create a Flash game, there isn't a book on Amazon I could recommend, having never created a Flash game, but just check out the reviews. I know there are a few books that *specifically* teach you how to create Flash games. You ought to pick one up.

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SPEKKIO: "GRRR...That was most embarrassing!"

Is there an easier way to draw on the computer,because my mouse is a little shaky and it comes out twisted .Sorry for the barrage of questions but it's just that i'm new to this stuff.

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"...But we will succeed. We pride ourselves in making the impossible possible."