Flash ActionScript for Designers: Drag, Slide, Fade [Paperback]

Brendan Dawes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735710473 | ISBN-13: 978-0735710474 | Publication Date: November 2, 2001

A visual approach to explaining and exploring the power of ActionScript for those who design with it. Organized according to differing creative areas, each basic type of project is deconstructed, with components broken down and ActionScript code explained; variations are then suggested. Four-color, with lots of visuals and annotated code.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Guides to using Flash abound (see Computer Media, LJ 1/02 and LJ 5/1/01), but these two do an exceptional job of highlighting more advanced techniques and helping developers push the boundaries of the software's capabilities. Helping intermediate Flash users learn by example, ActionScript focuses entirely on using Flash's built-in scripting language from a designer's perspective. All exercises and source code are located on a companion web site. For advanced developers, Samurai assumes a solid foundation in ActionScript, as well as additional web languages. Its useful features include "showcase" projects (available on the companion CD-ROM), which demonstrate covered techniques. Topics include 3-D, dynamic Flash, and integrating Flash with XML and JavaScript. Larger libraries should consider both where advanced design titles circulate.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

One of the brightest stars in the Flash development world is a designer, Brendan Dawes. Go figure. DragSlideFade is the number one book on Action Scripting for non-programmers because he takes an at-times complex technology and makes it cool to learn for those of us who love actionscripting's power, but who can't stand those dull, gray programming books. If you're a professional designer who needs a thoughtful, visually stimulating access into ramping up on the power beneath Flash's hood, get this book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (November 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735710473
• ISBN-13: 978-0735710474
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,209,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Left school at 16 with no qualifications and started working as a photographer for a local news agency. In my spare time I was mucking about with things like the Sinclair ZX81 and making my own movies using a Super8 camera. I'd do things like scratching "laser beams" into the film negative using a razor blade.

I then studied sound engineering for a year (c1987) in Manchester and started to get into sequencing and the like on the good old Atari ST. Then somehow I got a record deal with a small indie in Liverpool and cut a few "rave" type records.

Eventually I needed to earn some actual money to pay the bills so I took a job in an electronics factory where I stayed for 8 years. During that time I started to use my dad's 180c Mac Powerbook and got into Photoshop and eventually web design (this is around 1995).

In 1996 I landed a job with Subnet - a crazy company with a couldn't care less attitude. We won clients like Disney and Coke because we could make cool stuff in Flash. Hooked up with Hillman Curtis in Seattle in 2000 and thats when things really started to happen.

mN started in the same year and six years on we're still taking on the world, building a team of individuals who want to question how things are done and change our approach to technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Book not as user friendly as I had hoped, January 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Flash ActionScript for Designers: Drag, Slide, Fade (Paperback)

Do not buy this book if you are a beginning flash user. It is definately targeted towards the intermediate user who has a rudimentary knowledge of actionscript. I have done some basic action script in the past and I still found the book a bit hard to follow more than once...it assumes the user knows a lot without explanation.

There are also many errors in the book as well...take this excerpt from the "dragslidefade" online forum: "I too was looking forward to this book. It was a cool idea but it does contain an unusual amount of errors. These are things such as discrepancies between screen grabs and text, code errors and places where all three come together and you just get lost. Sorry but the book seems to have been rushed out without being checked properly. This should have been a primary concern - especially when it is aimed at people who are learning Flash 5 which can be a confusing and frustrating experience in its own right at times."

It's a nice looking book, but you know the old adage...In my opinion, the book is just not as "designer friendly" as it claims to be, especially if you're new to Flash. I'm sure there are a lot of designers out there who will love this book...I'm just not one of them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what Flash designers have been waiting for - Fantastic!, November 6, 2001

By 

John Davey (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flash ActionScript for Designers: Drag, Slide, Fade (Paperback)

Fantastic Book!

This book doesn't pretend to be the definitive, or the bible, or promise to teach you everything you need to know in 24 hours. Better than those types of books, it does exactly what it says on the tin! This book should definitely be in your Flash library

If you are a designer who has envied sites that show off beautiful fluid motion, and wondered how they do it, then go no further. Brendan Dawes reveals that you don't have to be a programmer, or spend the next year learning ActionScript in order to create interactive, fluid motion Flash movies.

This book was top of my list of new books to get, it is exactly what I want. Clear, concise, easy to understand explainations, delivered as if it is a friend explaining the techniques to me.
On top of the quality of the content, the quality of the book is great too! A lovely touchy, feely book.

Great, great, great.

Just what the Flash designers have been waiting for.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stimulates both sides of your brain-, October 26, 2001

By 

Richard Stuart, Jr. (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flash ActionScript for Designers: Drag, Slide, Fade (Paperback)

Perfect writing style for the material. The conversational tone is engaging and assuring while you are working with the coding techniques. One chapter-One effect format keeps you focused on understanding the relationships of the code segments described in each chapter. State-of-the-art graphic design is engineered through the insertion of code into a Flash movie. DRAGSLIDEFADE boldly illustrates Flash's transformation from a graphics program into a cross-platform programming language.