how did you learn this stuff?

[starbux]

A question for EXPERT flashers: How did you get so good and how long did it take you to get there???

(When I say 'expert' I mean those who design some of the top flash sites around.)

Thanks for any advice/tips you can offer!

[swampy]

I'm no expert but I got a good basic founding in flash here in the help forums and by examening code in some of the source files that are available in the movies section.

I also invested a meagre amount of money in Actionscript - the definitive guide by Colin Moock, available now in all good book shops.

that's another 30 pence you owe me colin

[StinkFist]

I'm not an "expert flasher" but I'm pretty good with a bit of it.

I learned by trial and error, books, books, and more books (Colin Moock's book rocks my socks). and being obsessed enough to do it all the time

[MASA]

I do not see myself as a expert flash user, just another flash loser =) Thats whats keep me going and make me larn more stuff everytime.

I have never read a AS book in my life, I have learned everything from trial and error and all those flash boards, tutorials.

masa.

[halfshark]

im not a flash "expert", but i have good knowledge on everything i need to do to make a good site. i learned by doing tutorials on flashkit(thankyou) playing around with different ideas, making sites for the fun of it and thats basically how i learnt.

[chrisvo69er]

Believe it or not, just a perserverence.

Flash is both a simple program to learn but extremely complex to master. You only need the basic to build a fully funtional Flash driven website. Infact, there's only really 3 pieces of actionscript you need to know : LoadMovie, LoadURL and Button actionscript. That's all the actionscript you need to build a killer flash site.

Myself, I was introduced to Flash in a web design course. We got a 10 minute overview and that was it. I learned the proggie myself. It really isn't as hard as it looks (which is both a good and bad thing).

[usman_mumtaz]

i don't think that i am a good designer, but i can do some thing to inspire others. I have done MCS but obtained graphics designing as a profession. I learned flash and other designing s/w by my own, by learning tutorials, downloading FLAs and by practicing. Flash is not a ATOM SCIENCE, it can be learn by practicing and some devotion. If u have a artistic mind then u can do wonders in flash, but if u don't have a artistic mind, then u don't need to be worry, becuase by doing some practice and visting other sites, u can also do some thing in flash. U will have to promise your self that u will not copy others content, because if u will adopt a habit of copying then u will never do any thing in graphics designing.

http://flashsprinter.cjb.net

[dJide]

Asking someone how they ever got so good at making Flash websites (or any website really) is like asking painter how he got so good. A large chunk of it is creativity, since most of the knowledge you need is just sitting somewhere for you!!

[flipshark]

I still haven't made a full flash website yet. However I can tell you about my html.

I started by designing my first website when I was 10 in 1993. By 1994 it was listed by Yahoo in the top of it's category (Beavis and Butthead) until 1997 and received over 3 million hits.

I have constantly taught myself html/javascript and continue to learn new things. (I hope others agree) You should always learn some basic html before learning any flash or similar programs.

[starbux]

Thanks SO MUCH for all of your comments. I have been using Flash for about a year, but I wouldn't say that I've poured my heart into it until recently. At times I get so frustrated because I can come up with wildly creative ideas and then I don't know how to execute them. Your advice and encouragement was exactly what I needed.

Just another reason why Flash Kit is one of the best sites around...

Christina

[Mike-Edwards]

Originally posted by starbux


Just another reason why Flash Kit is one of the best sites around...

Christina

And let's hope it keeps going for a long time!

[jgo]

experience is the best thing anyone can have, then books.

remember that when you look at your own work you tend to see the negatives more than the positives, especially when you lack experience.

you could put your ideas into an experiments section on your website, just to show them off even though you don't have a use for them. or you could keep them until you work out a way to use it or get a project that they would fit perfetly. but don't even think of deleting them!!!

another important thing is that you need to be confident enough to do your own thing and be proud of it. you can take inspiration from sites but there's no need to copy the whole thing (sorry i'm going off on a rant here). i like original sites, and a good, well designed (original) site can sometimes make up for a lack of content, but not for long.

[Gloomycus]

I learn and do everything myself. I have some books, but I don't even look at them or anything, they just sit there. Why I bought them is beyond me, I pretty much just wasted my money.

[audas]

Try and do outrageuos things, when you see something you like, try to recreate it best you can before you use the code, finally when youre about to throuw your monitor out the window open up their source and see what they did, go beyond yourself at all times to begin with, then when you have spent a coupla years, anything is easier.
BUT:-
You will always need the help of others, often on something small, (recently i couldnt convert numbers to color values but someone here reminded me about parse(int))
So youre always going to be learning, another thing, flash is creative, it is coding, video, static, sites, cd's, cartoons, everything so work out where youre going helps, but at the end of the day great actionscript knowledge is a must.

[nordberg]

simply put - i learned by doing. when the call came at work, i took it. i had been 'learning' flash and making my own stuff for a couple of years, but once i had a flash project with a deadline the learning really took off.

cheers to fk - my favorite co-pilot...

[MASA]

Originally posted by Gloomycus


I learn and do everything myself. I have some books, but I don't even look at them or anything, they just sit there. Why I bought them is beyond me, I pretty much just wasted my money.

woot. im not the only one


1. I bought one book
2. came home
3. realised I knew everything in the book
4. wasted 30$