Graphics, Animation & Interactivity with Flash 4.0 [Paperback]

James L. Mohler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0766816958 | ISBN-13: 978-0766816954 | Publication Date: October 21, 1999 | Edition: Bk&CD-Rom

Covers the basics of Flash, including drawing, painting, and selections, followed by a series of chapters on each of the following: animation, symbols and libraries, sound, multilevel movies, and integration issues. Suited to introductory to intermediate level students, the volume includes a cross-platform CD-ROM of student files, a demonstration version of Flash 4.0, project files, and examples.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written as a textbook for courses taught by the author, Graphics, Animation & Interactivity with Flash 4.0 is unlike most how-to manuals. It provides in-depth instruction to Flash 4 while successfully capturing the feeling of being in a classroom with a knowledgeable professor.

In addition to over 50 lessons on the CD-ROM, the book provides extensive background information about the Internet, the nature of images on the Web, animation in general, and the advantages inherent in Flash 4 as a vector-based--as opposed to pixel-based--method of delivering graphics.

The lessons begin with the basic drawing and painting tools and an introduction to cell and keyframe animation, progressing later in the book to complex features like working with ActionScript, FlashScript, and JavaScript. The text in these chapters, as throughout the book, is so thorough that it serves as a primer on scripting and programming in general.

The teaching is cumulative: read the book from beginning to end rather than hopping around. Like a good syllabus, each chapter begins with a list of objectives and ends with a summary and list of resources "for further study." Also on the CD-ROM are many sample Flash animations (banners, logos, and lots of Web sites) and demo versions of Macromedia software, including Flash 4 and a demo copy of Vecta 3D for making 3-D Flash animations.

This book will not help with quick fixes. But anyone willing to go through every lesson carefully will be rewarded with a firm grasp of this powerful application. --Angelynn Grant

Topics covered: In-depth background and instruction on Flash 4, including lessons on the authoring environment, tools, and their modifiers; using layers, the timeline, symbols and libraries; keyframe animation, adding actions and audio, multilevel movies; testing and publishing animations, including optimizing file sizes; lessons on streaming and preloading, 3-D animations, transitional effects, interactivity, ActionScript, and FlashScript. CD-ROM includes over 100 support files for lessons, demo versions of Macromedia software (including Flash 4), and sample Flash animations and Web sites that use Flash.

About the Author

James Mohler is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Graphics at Purdue University. Professor Mohler has authored, co-authored, or contributed to over a dozen books related to computer graphics and computer applications. In addition to teaching, James serves as director for the Interactive Multimedia Development curriculum within the department.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delmar Pub; Bk&CD-Rom edition (October 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766816958
• ISBN-13: 978-0766816954
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,188,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I took the class used to develop this book, January 12, 2000

By 

William L. Vollmer (Lafayette, IN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graphics, Animation & Interactivity with Flash 4.0 (Paperback)

If you are wanting a book that covers most aspects of developing Flash applications, this is it! It not only provides information specific to Flash, but covers topics relevant to multimedia development in general. Jamie's book is one of the few Flash references on the market that address the use of FS (FlashScript) commands. Don't expect to learn all of the material in the book without viewing and experimenting with the accompanying programs on the supplimental CD. The only thing that might be nice to include in the next edition, is a chapter on integrating Flash into Director Movies.

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Are you kidding me? A book NOT for beginners?, April 19, 2000

By 

Jason Hanchey (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graphics, Animation & Interactivity with Flash 4.0 (Paperback)

When I got this book, I was disappointed to see a graphic on the back of the book that would have steered me clear of buying it. The graphic displays the USER LEVEL this book targets and it hovers over the words Introductory and Intermediate. If I were a beginner, then this book was OK. Peachpit Press: FLASH 4! Creative Web Animation is a better book to start with and stay with.

The reviews that were posted on Amazon by other readers were very misleading. Don't get me wrong, Amazon posts what we say and that is good, but readers, make sure to have your facts in line. This book is definitely for Beginners and Level 1 Intermediates. It regurgitates almost everything you see in the other books for this level: VECTOR, VECTOR, VECTOR.

For Advanced developers, you should skip this book and find another, although we know the pickings are about nill right now. A real Advanced book is going to skip vector images and start right in with scripting, integrating FS Commands with animations, and hint at the capabilities our firm is using: database integration with other programs like Cold Fusion (to name a few examples). ()

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A secret jewel, June 11, 2000

By 

Paulo C. Rios Jr. (Europe) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphics, Animation & Interactivity with Flash 4.0 (Paperback)

The growing popularity of Flash 4 faces a scarcity of good books. Not only is there no advanced book available, but the beginner level ones seem to look like the manual at best. There are two intermediate level books: "Flash Web Design" and "Flash 4 Magic". These two books are very good, but they mostly present design concepts and step-by-step examples and not a so much needed conceptual explanation of a tool which is not intuitive at all. Here is where this book by James Mohler comes in. It is repetitive in the beginning, some sections suffer from verbose, and its historical perspective on multimedia is poor. Its first chapters will make any intermediate level user feel bored. But then this is where its weaknesses stop. Conceptual explanations, beautifully insights in the way Flash works (so much needed in such a non intuitive tool), and intermediate and advanced features make this book shine and stand alone. Its explanation of the interaction of Flash with JavaScript is unique. Its treatment of ActionScripts and FS command can not be found in any other book (in spite of being the major strenght of Flash 4 -- which leaves the new Adobe competiting product well behind!). By all means you will not be disappointed with this book, especially if you are serious about Flash. It will give you a level of understanding which will distinguish you from your peers. As a reader here commented, "a real advanced book is going to.. [deal with] database integration with other programs like Cold Fusion". I am planning to write such an advanced Flash 4 book using my senior expertise in ColdFusion, Java, and databases. Yet I will need to tell everyone that there is a book which deals with the all basic concepts and the way one should work with this tool, that there is a book which lays out the groundwork for more advanced treatments. And, no doubt, I will be very happy that this unique and clear book exists.