Flash 3 Web Animation F/X and Design

Shows, in a step-by-step format, how to apply transparency, create morphing effects, add interactivity and sound, and animate graphics for the Web. Discusses how to take advantage of Flash 3END

This thorough guide helps you learn how to use Macromedia Flash 3 to create vector graphics and animations for the Web. Its range of instruction targets everyone from beginning graphics users to expert Web designers and addresses both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Some projects involve files on the companion CD-ROM; others simply have you start from scratch.

You begin by learning the background on Flash--the features new to this version as well as the program's many uses for visualization, graphics, animation, illustration, and presentation. Next, the book introduces you to the interface and its precision-placement, type, shape, and export tools. After teaching you how to integrate the program with other software, the book launches into a discussion of the core features. You learn techniques for drawing; make animations; create and edit symbols, such as buttons, movie clips, sounds, and bitmaps; combine symbols and create multilayer animations; add interactivity and multiple scenes; create transparency effects; use sound; assign actions to interactive buttons; and publish, play, and export your movie. Other topics include how to use Flash with the Design in Motion suite, which includes FreeHand, Insta.HTML, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and 3D Tools; how to use Aftershock to produce Web pages; and how to fine-tune HTML. A chapter on case studies features interviews with Web developers and explores their insights on Flash. --Kathleen Caster