Flash Animation

Hey, does anyone knoe about any good flash tutorial websites?
Or, does anyone know how you make things move smooth without using 50 million keyframes. I am using Macromedia Flash MX 2004, and any help would be appriciated

Sure, post your CD key and we will get right on it

Use motion tweening or scripted animation. If I remember correctly, Silverwyvern is kind of an expert at Flash...

Linguica said:

Sure, post your CD key and we will get right on it

Linguica, how can i have a CD key with the trial version?

And lizard commando i used motion tweening, and i get the same effect as i do with keyframes....must not be using it right....

Lizardcommando said:

Use motion tweening or scripted animation. If I remember correctly, Silverwyvern is kind of an expert at Flash...

Damnit. Don't go pointing your finger at me o_o

But yeah... do it in passes. Go through and make all the basic keyframes. (Having a sound file first really helps with timing) Keyframes tend to be every time there's a major action or change in pose. Then comes second pass, where you go through and do the less important middle poses. Eventually, you'll start smoothing out the overall motion of the piece with more and more breakdowns. Remember that it doesnt have to be moving the whole time - dramatic holds are good and needed. Let the audience breath and absorb the jokes / action. After you have it all fleshed out with keyframes and breakdowns (breakdowns are like mini keyframes between the main keyframes) (one every 3 or three frames.. sometimes 8.. sometimes 2.. depemds on how fast the action is.) Then add motion tweening between them. Not the whole thing, just where needed. Anyway.. at the very end, add blinks.. do forget blinks..they come last and add lots of life.

Here's a diagram.


cindymccluskey.com/motions.gif

Edit: If you are using motion tweens and it goes funky, remember to only have one key frame per level... multiple keyframes on one level tweened usually ends in chaos.

Another reason your aniamtion may seem choppy is that your computer is chugging. Just a thought.

actionscript.org
flashkit.com
The first link has better tutorials (imo) and isnt covered in seizure-inducing ads, but the second has a more active community.

Learn the basics of motion tweening. It's really very easy. Then move on to scripting as soon as humanly possible.

Edit: If possible, dont get too much into AS1 OOP. AS2's (AS = actionscript) OOP implementation makes a lot more sense and is a lot cleaner. Unfortunately I started with 1.0 and Im having a hard time transitioning.

Edit2: As for smooth movement, remember that you have control over flash's framerate. You can push it up higher if you need to. But dont go with high numbers if it's not necessary. Dependnig on what you're doing, you can get smooth motion with as little as 8 frames per second.

Silverwyvern said:

Damnit. Don't go pointing your finger at me o_o

No need to be so mean :(. Your name was the first thing that popped into my head. I know there were other people here who are skilled in using Flash.

Lizardcommando said:

No need to be so mean :(. Your name was the first thing that popped into my head. I know there were other people here who are skilled in using Flash.

I was joking anyway. I enjoy helping to an extent. I refuse to help people who go "I was thinking of making a flash animation.. can you teach me to use it?' Cause that's just too much ;P Little things are fine though.. like this thread is fine.

And 8 frames a second... I wouldnt venture so low.. 12 is good. I set it to 24 (standard animation) then animate on 2s.

Silverwyvern said:

And 8 frames a second... I wouldnt venture so low..

Neither would I, but it can be done. And I think it's good to be aware that smooth motion is not solely dependent on the number of animation frames.

I no longer bother with tweens though, I script everything now.

Amaster said:

Neither would I, but it can be done. And I think it's good to be aware that smooth motion is not solely dependent on the number of animation frames.

I no longer bother with tweens though, I script everything now.

I never learned much scripting.. for pure animation you really don't need it. I never really use tweens much further than 4 frames anyway.. and even then, you can ease out and in.