How to use this book

I am a digital animator – a Digimator if you will. I learned how to animate using a computer. Any animation program can have a mechanical feel to it since we work by selecting options from menus much of the time. The trick I have learned is how to make a software program like Flash feel more organic, as if it were a ball of clay, starting with a basic shape and pushing and pulling it into something unique. If this book teaches anything, I hope it teaches you to think differently as to how you approach Flash. Just because the Help docs, online resources or even other books tell you how something can or should be done, don’t take that as carved in stone. Take it as carved in clay, meaning you can continue to expand upon the ways the tools are used, even beyond what you may have read elsewhere.

The first few chapters focus on some of the basics of using Flash in real-world situations. I do not explain the rudimentary features of Flash, such as how to convert objects to symbols and what the differences are between Movie Clips and Graphic symbols. That is what the Help docs are for and are simply a keystroke (F1) or a Google search away. You bought this book to learn what goes beyond the Help docs and what can only be learned through the span of several years of experience using Flash. For you, this is the true essence of “cheating” because this book condenses those years into 300+ pages.

Just in case you do get stuck on something that you simply can’t find an explanation to, I’m a pretty easy guy to find if you want to send me your questions. You can send me a tweet @keyframer or message me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/howtocheatinflash