The Art of Cartooning with FLASH (With CD-ROM) (Paperback)

~ Daniel Gray (Author), Gary Leib (Author), (Author) "Are you a cartoon kid?..." (more)
Key Phrases: watercolor blob, bouncing nose, animated symbol, Hickory Dog, Object Actions, Basic Actions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you are serious about making cartoons with Flash... you should definitely read this book." -- Adam Tracksler, CreativeCOW.net

"The book, combined with the CD, is an excellent resource that will give you a fast start to Flash Animation." -- Steve Landis, Help 4 Flash

Product Description

An indispensable resource for those interested in cartooning with Flash! This unique book contains superb coverage of proper animation technique and practice, focusing on cartooning using Macromedia Flash. Written by professional animators, cartoonists, and computer artists and presented in a beautiful, full-color package, this book offers real-world examples, step-by-step explanations, and helpful diagrams. The CD includes lesson tutorials (using sample animated characters), a trial version of Flash 5, Flash toys and games by Twinkle, sound and graphics tools, and links to studios as well as learning and job resources.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (November 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782129137
• ISBN-13: 978-0782129137
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #369,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book, at least for me!, February 6, 2002

By	"v-8" (Penafiel, Porto Portugal) - See all my reviews

I can't evaluate this book's value for an expert point of view, since I'm more of a beginer rather than an expert.

So, I must 5*-rate it just because it showed me just about everything I should know about animation, but also opens your doors to the world of Cartooning. This is not one of those Dogma-like books where the Universal Solution is the goal.

Here you can understand what's going on, and then give your best shot!

Sure I wouldn't mind a thing if Gary Leib would have 400 more pages dedicated to the drawing section, but at least I got myself a direction of what steps should I follow, since the amount of information in this kind of mean, is simply staggering (at least I think so).

Since I think a book never ends on it's last page, I didn't hesitate and got myself sharing some ideas and feedback with John Kuramoto via email... So, that extra mile gives the 5* status to the book.

I'm not saying this is the very best you can find, but it is the best I could find, and I recommend it.

Conclusion:

Go for it! And if you don't like it at all, you can always cross the ocean and beat me ;-)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i'm animation crazy now!, November 3, 2004

By	Jessica "Buck II" (TX) - See all my reviews

A few years ago I tried learning Flash animation by using tutorials on the Internet. I learned a little bit, but most of the tutorials weren't concise and they were confusing and usually I found myself aggravated with Flash deeming it was "too complicate to learn." I found this book for $5 and decided to give Flash another try. Gray made this book easily accessible for novices and advanced users alike with clear instructions. Each chapter begins with a few words on the techniques you will learn in that chapter and some tips. Then the rest of the chapter consists of hands-on exercises. Artwork and sample files are included on the CD-Rom if you do not have any original artwork. These exercises are very easy to follow. I completed the first four chapters and I made a short movie with music. That was only two days after reading the chapters. I read the help file about importing music. This topic isn't covered in the first four chapters but it is in later chapters. It does not take hours upon hours to learn Flash animation using this book. Knowing some basics of Flash beforehand will come in handy, though. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn to make Flash animations. You will not regret your purchase!!

*The CD-Rom also includes software. Macromedia Flash 5, Adobe Photoshop, Bias Peak VST, Bias Peak LE, Bias Deck, and Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge. Most of the programs are PC & Mac compatible.*

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Value, August 4, 2003

By	R. Love "primemaiden" (Desoto,Texas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Shows you how to make use and organize symbols. Also some helpful hints and how to make use of alpha and tint functions. I learned how to make use of the transitions and shape tweens in animation very helpful. If only it were more specific on character animation and staging it would get a five star rating.