Video Tutorial for Flash
Website Design Using Adobe Flash
Professional
Although I don't really
reccommend using flash - many designers do and very
effectively. So, if your intention is to
learn
flash web design,
this short video tutorial lesson will give you some
insight as to the ins and outs. Enjoy!
Flash
Description
What is it? Flash
web
design is a potpourri
of art, imagination and animation. Advanced flash
websites do not come about simply by mixing the
above 3 however. A flash design that combines the
use of interactivity, preloading and external
loading of data not only has artistic value but at
the same a functional website.
While many flash web design
beginners may have a hard time understanding this
flash jargon, the design process is no as difficult
as it sounds.
A preloader for example,
simply shows a visitor how far the loading process
has gone while interactivity involves the use of
clickable buttons and content on a web site. While
flash is able to perform all the above adequately,
it is usually not advisable to use flash entirely,
especially if you are concerned with having your
website indexed by a search engine such as Google
or Yahoo.
Using JavaScript with
Website Designs
Customarily, flash web design
mixed with JavaScript works wonders on a website.
Since websites designed with flash can sometimes
grow big in size and thus affect the loading times,
JavaScript can be used to perform similar functions
at no cost to size of the elements to be animated.
Professional flash design
however is able to create small-sized websites by
use of ActionScript, the programming language used
in flash. In fact, the secret to preparing dynamic
highly interactive flash designs is to leverage the
power of ActionScript. Take time to learn how to
add links to flash buttons, how to move objects
across the screen when a mouse hovers over them and
how to animate text to make them look more
appealing.
Websites for
Downloads
As a matter of choice, if you
are in the practice of downloading things online
and compiling them on your projects, flash design
is no different. There are hundreds if not
thousands of sites where you get to download free
flash designs, animated buttons and entire flash
websites that can be customized to your needs.
In order to use these, you
need to have the flash application installed onto
your computer. And, make absolutely sure you have
complete permission from the site owner or
administrator - don't get yourself into
trouble!
Create a folder where you
save all your flash animations and raw flash data
referred to as FLA files. These files contain all
the elements that you will need and allow you to
make changes after which you save the files as SWF
files. SWF files can then be run either as stand
alone animations on your computer or added to a
website as animations.
The Flash Design Video
Tutorial (Above)
This lesson on video takes
you through a typical installation of pages with
Adobe Flash Professional. There are other options
but this seems simple enough for beginners in flash
design so you should be able to handle it
okay.
The video begins with a
background and adding motion. Next, he uses a fade
in for a movie clip so that it goes from zero
(transparent) all the way to one hundred giving it
full view on the screen. Now, granted this is only
part one of a tutorial just to see if you are
interested in designing this type web page. I'm
sure there are complete
beginner courses you can buy for flash web
design like this one
so take a hop online to find a program to suit
you.
I wager the whole flash
design idea sounds interesting, huh? Well
dont lose sleep over it, the enjoyment starts
when you begin to learn the amazing things you can
do with flash. And it improves as you become more
and more accomplished. So, either visit the sites
through a search or watch the flash design video to
see if you can tackle it. Have fun and increase
your website design skills. You won't be a beginner
forever!!