Description:
This guide leads Flash 5 beginners through timed lessons, guaranteeing they will know how to make simple animations at the end of one weekend. The text is lighthearted, but not to the point that it's distracting or annoyingly slow-paced. On the contrary, the encouraging tone makes even the more daunting aspects of Flash, like Bézier curves or the timeline, seem accessible to every user. The simple graphics also add to this tone of "you too can do it." Each project can be opened from the CD-ROM or recreated following the step-by-step instructions, while the text makes note of the motivations behind each choice--showing not just how to do it, but why. The hypothetical weekend is divided into six parts, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, comprising a total of 30 sessions timed to take readers 30 minutes each to complete. (The author encourages readers not to feel bad if it takes longer. It's possible the opposite will happen; in fact, those with prior drawing experience, for example, will fly quickly through drawing sections.) Along the way, clock icons in the margin announce the number of minutes left to go, like small milestones saying the end is in sight (a good addition for those who struggle with self-discipline). By the end, readers will feel comfortable with the tools and the timeline, drawing or importing artwork, tween animation, buttons, masks, text animation, working with simple sound layers, working with bitmaps, creating a slide show, and publishing a Flash file. Each session ends with a review and quiz and each part with an even longer review. (Answers to all review and quiz questions are in the back, which in turn makes an easy reference.) In addition to project files, the CD-ROM contains demos of Flash 5 and other Macromedia applications and a full version of the 3-D graphics application Amapi 4.1. The book is cross-platform, although it's visually slanted more toward Windows users. But any beginner who's looking for a quick and fairly painless introduction to Flash will appreciate this well-organized and reasonably priced guide. --Angelynn Grant
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