Start Learning Adobe Flash

Flash is a flexible software platform used by professionals and amateurs alike to create animations and interactive content for web sites and applications. Because of its relative ease of use, Flash is a popular tool for getting acquainted with animated video, game design, or some combination of both. Flash is well established, so there are many tools and tutorials to help enable your creativity.

Steps

Getting to Know Flash

  1. Understand the capabilities of Flash. Flash utilizes its own programming language, called Actionscript to create applications or assets in web design. Actionscript and Flash are also what powers Adobe Air - a common platform for mobile games. Flash can also be used to create and animate graphical elements for use in videos, games, or general design. Flash is popular for its use of vector graphics, a high quality and flexible image type.
  2. Decide how you will use Flash. The way in which you use Flash will determine which tools you need to get started. One could make a fully functional game, both coded and animated entirely using Flash. Likewise, one could create graphical assets and animations without ever interacting with Actionscript.
  3. Pick the right software. Regardless of which path you choose, the most comprehensive tool to develop with flash is Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional). Adobe offers a 30 day free trial for their software. If you plan to work mainly with code, there are free options like FlashDevelop or ApacheFlex.
  4. Find tools to help you learn. Adobe’s own site offers a number of tutorials on the use of their products, including videos and extensive documentation. Flashkit is another free resource with many step by step instructions on different aspects of Flash capabilities.

Becoming Familiar with Basic Flash Concepts

  1. Understand vector graphics. Vector graphics use polygons instead of pixel to render images on a screen. The advantage of this is the ability to manipulate and resize images without loss of quality. These qualities make vector graphics particularly suited to animation.
  2. Familiarize with Animation terminology. Some of the most common concepts you will encounter when animating with Flash are the Timeline, Layers, Tweens, and Keyframes.
    • The Timeline is a toolbar in Flash that contains the individual frames of the animated content you are creating. It is essential to controlling the timing and order of its content.
    • Layers are an organization tool for the graphical assets you create. Layers separate graphical content and allow for modifications to be made without changing content stored in other layers.
    • Tweens are animations generated by Flash’s software. The user designates starting and stopping points and a movement pattern, and the software calculates the animation between the two points.
    • Keyframes denote points of change in an animation. The points designated for a Tween are keyframes; likewise each frame in a frame-by-frame animation is a keyframe.
  3. Understand basic Actionscript structure. Actionscript is based off of Javascript, although the two are not interchangeable. Actionscript is an object-oriented programming language. At a basic level, what this means is the code can be easy to modify and update as your program develops. For those with no coding experience at all, it is best to start by learning the basic language terms (e.g. variables, booleans, etc.) and what they do before attempting to write any code.

Tips

  • Animation is useful in games too. Don't just think about the code. You'll need backgrounds, characters/sprites, text for the player etc.
  • Frame by Frame animation is time consuming and boring for some, but it yields good results.
  • A tablet may be useful to some for animation and drawing.
  • Practice makes perfect. Start with a simple project and gradually move up in complexity.

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Sources and Citations

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