How to Cheat in Flash CS3: The art of design and animation in Adobe Flash CS3 | 
| Author: Chris Georgenes
Publisher: Focal Press
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $22.99
You Save: $16.96 (42%)
New (45) Used (9) from $21.00
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 10829
Media: Paperback
Pages: 280
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 7.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0240520580
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.78
EAN: 9780240520582
ASIN: 0240520580
Publication Date: August 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Frustrated by the overwhelming nature of Flash?
Want to get up to speed with the program fast so you can concentrate on your animation?
Need to solve problems quickly to get work done to time and to budget?
Then 'How to Cheat in Flash' is for you!
This book is different from the rest because it shows you, step by step, how to work from the problem to the solution when creating Flash animations, from the viewpoint of an animator who has been commissioned to create a job and is working to a deadline.
It is task orientated; every example shows real life commercial work. So, it's not so much a case of 'what does this filter/tool/option do?', as 'this is the task I've been set - how do I achieve it?' The solution may involve a variety of tools and techniques; it may take many steps to complete, or only a few. The free CD-Rom includes all the files you need to put your skills into practice as you read, and much more!
It's an accessible (conversational in style), practical book and CD package which also provides artistic inspiration, a goldmine of timesaving practical tips, tricks and step-by-step workthroughs. You will wonder how you survived without it.
* Successful, bestselling How to Cheat coverage now available for Flash
* Learn a myriad of tips and tricks based on real life working methods to help you work faster and more efficiently with Flash
* Work from the problem to the solution, gaining the best possible results from Flash
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Not just for beginners. A great resource for professional Flash users, as well! August 28, 2007
Jackie Watson (Marblehead, MA USA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I don't care how many years anyone works in digital art, there are always new things to learn. This book is like looking over Chris' shoulder and having a peek at how he streamlines his work flow. I've been using Flash for about 10 years and I was surprised to find many tricks I've never known about. Usually experts never share too many of their secrets and I can't believe how much Chris gives away! And he writes so clearly, explaining each step, why and how, all along the way. I'm also enjoying the interludes... parts of the book where Chris shares some life-changing moments from his professional and personal life as an artist. Not too often do you find a "How To" book that almost feels like having a mentor take you by the hand and walk you through the steps. I sure wish I had this book when I first started flash...
I'm going to keep an eye out for other titles from this author in the future! He has already saved me tons of time.
Best flash book for creating your own cartoons! August 23, 2007
G.G.
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
This book has everything, I mean everything about drawing and animating cartoons. It covers walk cycles, lip sync, bitmap animation, you name it, it's in this book. This book has just the right number of pages and is a great bargain! Much cheaper than going to animation school, flash cartoon workshops, buying flash cartoon tutorials online or buying flash cartoon tutorials on cdrom. Best investment I've made for learning about cartoons. I have other how to flash cartooning books and this one is the best!
 sometimes, it lacks some precision in instructions. September 21, 2007
G. Lionel (France)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
great book, well printed, well illustrated,
good ideas to follow,
beautiful examples,
but sometimes it lacks precise instructions, maybe that it is related to the "two pages design" wich restrain the scope of each subject.
for example, I'm trying for hours to "distribute to layers" two groups of strokes on two keyframe (like as said on page 127 , step 3) and I can't because the author don't explain exactly how to do this uncommon task.
I give 3 stars because I don't like this restictive "two pages design",
then it's a book I recommand otherwise, but not for the beginner.
 Use Flash as a drawing program too December 7, 2007
kermit4 (N. California)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I love this book. I bought it mainly because I loved the style of art on the author's website www.mudbubble.com, and I was glad to see the book is full of the same clean, shape-based illustrations. The author discusses how to draw using Flash's (which is also a very popular drawing tool, as well as a 2d animation tool) Select tool, the Brush, the Pen and also how to construct characters using basic shapes like rectangles and ovals.
The tips are organized well, one per 1-2 pages, and the book seems to flow logically from beginning to end. I feel I got a lot out of it.
It's not really an art book, but I would characterize it as one more than I would call it a Flash animation book. If you're looking for in-depth coverage, this is not the book for you, but if you're looking for ways to take your Flash drawings and animations to the next level, this is the best book for that I've ever seen.
 Not for Beginners February 4, 2008
Aloha Hands (Vienna, Virginia United States)
7 out of 20 found this review helpful
I've been studying Flash 8 for two years and still going at it; I received this book for Christmas because I have updated to CS3. This book is great at giving advice and telling you what you should do or how your end product should look, but doesn't give detailed directions on how to accomplish such tasks. It's like being taught by a master who overlooks the "obvious". This means that you're going to spend a lot of time figuring out how to achieve the end result. I even contacted every single reference and contact mentioned by this book and I haven't received any replies after waiting now for a few months.
I have a lot of motivation to learn on my own from books, and finish them, but I've put this book down for now as it's too tiring and time consuming without yielding results. When I pick it up again and complete it, I'll update this review.
|
|
|
