Introduction
Welcome readers. This book is for those who are new to Adobe Flash Professional and who may be considering taking the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Rich Media Communication with Adobe Flash Professional exam.
First of all, you will learn a lot about Adobe Flash, and I believe you will be glad you did. It is a tremendously important web development tool, one that will greatly enhance your skills and provide you with bountiful new ways to express your ideas. But also, by using this ACA Approved Courseware, you will be more than adequately prepared for the ACA exam. I have taken it, passed it, and enjoyed it a great deal. And you can too.
Who Should Read This Book
Anyone who is new to Adobe Flash or who has dabbled in it a bit and wants to know more will benefit from reading this book. If you’re a Dreamweaver developer interested in expanding your skills in Flash, this book is for you. If you’ve always wanted to have more tools in your kit for expanding and enhancing your ideas and expressing yourself, this book is for you. If you’re looking for ways to make yourself more employable, this book is for you as well. And of course, for those who are reading this as a study guide for passing the ACA exam, I believe you will find this book to be of invaluable assistance.
If you’re interested in more information about the ACA exam, this book can be a great resource to help you prepare. See http://www.adobe.com/education/resources/certificate-programs.html for more certification information and resources.
What You Will Learn
You will learn how to use Adobe Flash at a granular and productive level. You’ll learn about the Flash interface, how to create graphic objects on the Flash stage, how to create animations and use the timeline, how to build tweens (amazing little tools that blend one shape into another or move an object over time), and how to write ActionScript code to enhance your creations.
All of the Flash subject matter you need to pass the ACA exam you will find in this book. But I’ve tried to go beyond the exam a bit and give you more insight and information so that you feel comfortable leveraging the tool in your workday environment.
What You Need
You will need to have Flash Professional installed on your computer. All of the examples in this book will work with Creative Suite 5.5 or higher. No other software is required. Flash can be a resource-intensive application when you’re in the throes of a development cycle, so a fast processor and plenty of RAM are both going to help you have a better experience when working with Flash.
What Is Covered in This Book
Flash Professional CS6 Essentials is organized to provide you with the knowledge needed to master the basics.
Chapter 1, “Before Jumping into Flash: Rich Media Design Principles and Practice,” This chapter deals with some of the exam elements that you will use in Flash but that also have broader context. The chapter starts out defining what is meant by the term rich media. The chapter also has a section in it on accessibility issues—a big issue for exam takers—as well as a section on project management, also a topic about which exam takers will need to know.
Chapter 2, “Getting Acquainted with Flash,” Beginners who open up Flash for the first time may be taken aback by its daunting user interface (UI). This chapter will provide you a thorough overview of the Flash UI so that it will be scary no longer. You will be able to navigate Flash quickly and easily.
Chapter 3, “Drawing Shapes in Flash,” In this chapter, you will learn how to use the Flash shape tools to begin creating your designs in the Flash environment. Just as you can sketch with different shapes and textures to create more complex designs, so you can use Flash’s shape tools to do the same thing with your rich media designs.
Chapter 4, “Getting Started with the Timeline,” You will learn the basics of how to use Flash layers and the timeline to create complex rich media documents. For people familiar with Photoshop or Illustrator, the layers concept will be easily accessible. But for those who’ve not worked with animation, the timeline may be an unusual new twist. Fear not! This is the chapter that will work you through to the happy combination of layers and the timeline.
Chapter 5, “Adding Flash Text and Fonts to Your Creations,” Text is an important part of your rich media storytelling, and Flash brings a variety of ways for you to create text environments that are inviting and compelling. You still have to craft the story, but Flash brings you the tools to show your text in a better way.
Chapter 6, “Working with Flash Symbols,” Flash symbols—graphics, buttons, and movie clips—are the geniuses behind compelling rich media environments. You will learn how to use these clever little elements to heighten your work to stunning levels.
Chapter 7, “Developing Simple Flash Animations,” Flash allows you to create nearly any kind of animation you have in mind. In this chapter, you will begin to learn how to create these animations using a little story I like to call “Cow Abduction.”
Chapter 8, “Using Tweens,” Tweens are nifty little algorithms that calculate the difference between one shape and another or the motion of something from one place to another. You need tweens in your animation efforts, and this chapter shows you how to build them. You’ll learn how to tweak your tweens (say that three times fast) to make them work for you. Got clouds that you need to move slowly across the screen compared to other faster moving objects? Parallax scrolling is your answer, and that’s one of the things you’ll learn in this chapter.
Chapter 9, “Techniques for Creating More Technical Animations,” Now that you’ve got the basics down, you will learn how to create more technical animations. You’ll take your tweens and put them on steroids—combining them to form a delightful whole. In this chapter, you’ll find out how to do this by creating a bicycle scene, replete with moving pedals and wheels.
Chapter 10, “Creating Characters with Inverse Kinematics,” Inverse kinematics (IK) is the process of putting bones into your Flash objects so that they can move. In this chapter you’ll take your bicycle scene to the next level, learning how to cartoon yourself, put bones into your virtual body, and then make your cartooned self ride that bike through town. You’ll also use parallax scrolling to make the buildings and clouds roll along.
Chapter 11, “Working with Audio,” Bang a drum! No really, bang a drum! In this chapter you’ll learn how to use sounds in Flash, and what better way than taking what you’ve already learned about creating complex objects using the Flash shape tools and creating a cool set of drums that, when hit, actually play sound?
Chapter 12, “Working with Video,” Now that smartphones have made video so accessible, videos must be included as part of your rich media repertoire. This chapter will show you how to quickly and easily snap in any video you want using Flash’s built-in video management tools.
Chapter 13, “Working with ActionScript,” Are you afraid of those folks people call under their breath coders? Does the very use of the word code send shivers down your spine? This chapter will take you gently into the world of ActionScript, the coding environment that, behind the scenes, takes your rich media work from great to amazing.
Appendices Appendix A provides a table of the objectives and in which chapters you can find those objectives covered for the Rich Media Communication With Adobe Flash Professional exam. Appendix B deals with the things you should think about next, now that you have a solid dose of Flash in your system.
The Essentials Series
The Essentials series from Sybex provides outstanding instruction for readers who are just beginning to develop their professional skills. Every Essentials book includes these features:
- Skill-based instruction with chapters organized around projects rather than abstract concepts or subjects.
- Suggestions for additional exercises at the end of each chapter so you can practice and extend your skills.
- Digital files (via download) so you can work through the project tutorials yourself. Please check the book’s web page at www.sybex.com/go/flashessentials for these companion downloads.
The certification margin icon will alert you to passages that are especially relevant to Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Rich Media Communications With Adobe Flash Professional certification. See Appendix A and www.adobe.com for more information and resources.
How to Contact the Author
Bill Heldman can be contacted via email at [email protected].