Customer Reviews

Flash 5.0: Graphics, Animation & Interactivity

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am very impressed by Mohler's book because he doesn't just parrot the stuff in Flash, the way so many books seem to. I've looked at many other books that promise a lot but which in reality simply list the options for each flash tool that anyone can see just by pulling down the menu.

Mohler tries to explain the concepts underlying flash. For example, he distinguishes two sublayers on each flash layer: this distinction helped clarify for me issues of precidence, grouping, etc. And I've learned some very useful lessons about handling user events (keystrokes, mouse clicks, etc.) in movie clips versus buttons.

Learning flash is like learning a foreign language: you have to do the exercises as you go along. Mohler's exercises are always simple and quick and they teach just one or two points at a time.

The book does not seem particularly intended for people who want to learn to draw pretty pictures, although I'm sure they could benefit from learning about flash's underlying structure. This book seems to be for programmers like me and for people interested in animation.

So far I have worked my way up through the 7th chapter and skipped ahead on occasion. I have learned much more from this book than from Macromedia's own documentation or from the tutorials at flashkit, etc

The only criticism I have of this book is that the index could be much better.

This is by far the best coverage of Flash 5.0 ActionScript I have found. The author's clear prose and liberal use of examples included on the companion cd rom have allowed me to quickly learn the ins and outs of Flash web animation and programming. He also provides outstanding email support, not only answering my question quickly, but also attaching an example illustrating the solution described in his return email.

Flash Graphics, Animation & Interactivity is an excellent investment for first time Flash users as well as experienced Flash programmers upgrading from an earlier version.

I read this book on a flight from Singapore to Sydney. I couldn't put it down... Why? Well, finally, after reading plenty of material on Flash I found a book I could get some clear and detailed information from about ActionScript and the Flash 5 development environment.

When I got home to San Mateo I applied what I had read to my current Flash project and things have really taken off for me from there.

There are some great features including an ActionScript Object Macro-organizer, a pull-out Quick-key reference guide and excellent studies/examples on the CD.

If you are looking for a book to take you above the "graphic designer" level, this Flash book might be a great place for you to start, but I highly recommend that you get a good grasp of JavaScript first.

Coming from someone who is highly interested in all things computer I have throughout my computer education taken note of several different learning types. There are those that want to jump right in and do "stuff" so to say without really understanding the "why" behind the stuff they are doing. Then there is the learner that never seems to grasp anything conceptually and seems so fixated on following exact procedures from books that when something finally goes wrong they are as lost as someone in the middle of the desert without a compass to guide them. Then there are the more middle-line learners, that do not take all forms of instruction literally but also seek to do cool "stuff" and can assimilate and integrate both kinds of instuction rather well.

In Flash 5: Graphics, Animation, and Interactivity Mohler offers a rarity in computer books today: in-depth, precise, clear explanations of what you are supposed to do to do some cool "stuff" when you get your inspiration, and great behind the scenes "knowledge" to help you understand why you need to do what to do, to do your cool stuff, and how what you will do is essentially working. Since Flash is all the rage today most people are buying books searching for techniques that come from graphic designers when such people buying these books clearly are not graphic designers. If you want to learn to do pretty interfaces, and figure out how to solve problems through design then buy some graphic design theory books, but don't buy Flash 5 books simply because they offer neat tricks when you don't even understand the individual concepts that combine to make those neat little tricks. To really get far in that end of Flash you will unfortunately have to undertake learning programming theory because all of those tricks utilize programming and that is a separate monster of its own.

This is clearly the book you want to buy if per say you are a designer who knows how to do the pretty stuff but you want to integrate that into Flash and want to have a comprehensive knowlege of the program that will allow you to carry out your ideas. Also buy this book if your a student taking a Flash class at a college or university because it is literally like having a "good" ( I say this for special reasons ) teacher beside you explaining the smallest details that are essential to understanding and knowing how to build a good flash movie. Flash 5 practically transformed itself from Flash 4 so much so that I was completely lost for sometime, and this book explains the the changes, future drops, and issues related with the new version, which is essential information for anyone that is going to undertake the time consuming effort to produce a good flash site.

Remember that to even get good at Flash it helps of course if you got some graphics and design ( as it is a graphics and design tool )backround but like anything it also requires something called: Drive-Time, that and examining, and analyzing, and dissecting other peoples work as can be done on a site like Flashkit.com No one book will turn you into a super-flash designer or great flash programmer apart from tons of practice, but I swear on it this one will certainly get you far more than just in the door. Practice, creativity, and this book are more than enough to send you on your way to Flash mastery. Some of this books exclusive advantages include well over 60 excersices, in-depth explanations, basic techniques, and conceptual ideas behind flash movies. While there are only a few gripes that one may have if you are a critical reader and perhaps are a computer major, this is the best learning tool for flash hands down. If only all computer books were written this well and with such dedication to clarity. My2Cents!!

Paul Soucy

I would not consider myself a dumb person but have tried numerous ways (books, a multimedia CD and a class) to learn Flash and this has proven the most effective.

What is different about this is that it has plenty of tutorials (accessed by the accompanying CD) that force you to learn the intricacies of Flash as you work through them. I am only on the fourth chapter but already I am most comfortable with the interface etc. Ive bought plenty of books all of which I have returned and researched plenty others and once I sat down at my computer with it this has proven to be the best.

You definitely have to have patience working through all the examples but thats why I say if you are serious about Flash this is defnitely the best way to go. Have fun.

No wonder this book is in such high demand! I have just gotten this book a few days ago and I haven't been able to put it down. This book is a great resource and the CD-ROM exercises have been very helpful. I think the best thing about this book is the actual responses from the author (James Mohler), can you believe that, "Is like having the professor on-line".

Stay tuned; I'll give the final review at the completion of my reading and emails.

As a technical trainer, I had the responsibility to review and purchase technical books for courses. I have reviewed and own many publications, but few deliver.

J. Mohler's book is superb. It is well-written, thorough and easy to understand. It builds a foundation, and then layers practical experienced-based tutorials on top of the conceptual information shared. Theory and practice combined. His examples are realistic and not overly complicated. I especially recommend this book for users who have been shying away from learning ActionScript or Javascript. However, the book is great for all users from beginning to intermediate levels.

Additionally, I had the pleasure of contacting Mr. Mohler directly, who was extremely responsive. I thanked him for his attention to "keeping the reader in mind" when writing this book.

As a parting tale, I just want to note that I was a longtime fan of another book series. I had lent a Flash book from this series to a work colleague. After reading J. Mohler's book, I demanded the loaner back. I stated to my co-worker, "After reading J. Mohler's book, it would be insulting to let you read that one, knowing how much more you will get out of this".

Jim Mohler is a professor,who clearly knows how to teach. He moves seamlessly between explaining Flash 5 concepts to precise tutorials. Few books describe the "how to" of Flash as clearly as this one. This book's a serious resource and I recommend it highly.

I bought Flash 5.0: Graphics, Animation & Interactivity by James L. Mohler, on Amazon after reading lots of review about this and other books.

The thing that convinced me more to decide to buy his book was reading about the clear style of the explanations and the personal support given by the author himself to readers` questions.

Well...it is all true!
The fact that the author is also a University professor is evident from his writing style. He leads you into the world of Flash 5, from the basics to the action-scripting, patiently and CLEARLY, with an extremely rare ability to avoid putting too many confusing details while covering, with the text and the examples in the cd-rom, almost every feature of the software.

This is not a copy of the manual, with a simple list of commands and their use. It is neither a simple collection of ready-to-use clips nor a book about design with cool graphics but often superficial text.
It is a book that teaches you how Flash works! If you want to learn how to use Flash and Actionscript to design a website, then this is the book for you.

Moreover James Mohler is a responsible author who cares about his readers.
If you have some problems with your work, or just a question to which you could not find the answer in the book, just write him an e-mail and he will fast reply with helpful explanation or even giving you the problem solved with an attached file. Great!

The only "minus": the few color pictures could have been B/W like the many others and save some money on the price.

Concluding, it is a very good book that fulfill its aim: teaching Flash.

Want to learn flash? Get the FOUNDATION in Flash book. I ordered a couple of books for flash including this one. I though this would provide more detailed GRAPHICS and interactivity after the basics were learned. I opened this book, I then opened the Foundation in flash book, then proceeded to put this one away for future exploration. The Foundation in flash book was great, an ongoing project in each chapter to develop a flash site, tons of pictures and step by step instructions..etc.. I came back to this book and was amazed at how different, dull, and General it was. There really was no Special Graphics or interactivity here. The Foundation of flash book had more examples of actionscript and interactivity than this. So if your looking to learn flash, don't get this. If you want a reference book on basic flash with a little bit of actionscript that you want to keep in a dark closet to read again "Just Incase" you missed something, then, well this book is for you.