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The spinning tankman head worked fine when I played it... But the lettering was "cut-off."

It's been 2 days...

I believe this is worthy of a bump.

Synfig (Free, has some capability)

Anime Studio(Has amazing capabilities, but very different from flash) (I nearly crapped my pants when I saw this at Target)

Plastic Animation Paper (Similar to Pencil, or digicel flipbook) (it think...)

Pencil (Probably best for traditional animation, but it's free)

Digicel Flipbook(Don BLuth and other traditional animators use this)

LiveSwif(interface looks like flash, but I've heard mainly ad things)

Toon Boom (Is absolutely great!!! I highly suggest you try this!) (comes in many different prices)

Tv Paint(One of my new favorite programs. Sorry, it's a "tad" bit expensive)

Retas(expensive, most studio anime in Japan is made with this)

Toonz(Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (highly acclaimed Japanese animation) were made with this)
Photoshop (Yup... It's true...)

Tweenmaker (It's a pretty fun learning program)
The TAB(I don't even know why I am mentioning this...)

Some of these may be of interest to you, but some of these may be too expensive for you. I just thought I'd give you a list of every software I've found (can think of, there's a few more). Good luck!

Alright...

If I buy a software (FLA to DVD, or some miscellaneous program to bur a SWF file to DVD), will the quality to the Flash be retained (for the most part)? Or would the quality be ridiculously better (for some reason), if I managed to burn the movie to an HD DVD disk?

Also, would it effect the overall outcome if I set the stage size to its maximum limit? I imagine it would help retain the quality if it was converted from vector to some new video format... Or maybe... It would perhaps keep its "vector sharpness." Yes? No? Maybe so? :D

If you have any thoughts or previous experience(s) that you would like to share, please do so! I imagine I'm not the only one who would find this useful. ;)

These have helped me out quite a bit...

http://animation.about.com/od/flashanima tiontutorials/ss/flash31detanim2_3.htm (Advanced FBFing)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11459407/Figur e-Drawing-Basics-23(Basic figure drawing)

http://www.karmatoons.com/drawing/drawin g.htm (This is GREAT for classical animation)

http://larkinheather.com/blog/?p=37(extr emely useful)

(I'd post a link the "Animator's Survival Guide" Ebook, but I'm not sure if it's legal... So...) Although, I will say that it will literally boost your knowledge of animation, and how it works. You will probably gain everything you need to understand, in terms of reading/tutorials, when it comes to animation.

At 7/30/09 01:57 PM, Goatskape wrote: When you are doing a flash using FBF at 24FPS do you literally draw in every frame or do you skip 2 between every frame for some animations?

It seems like when I draw something in every frame the animation looks really manic and busy... Thoughts?

You can really do either. I know a lot of artists that animate on twos (every other frame), and a lot of artists that animate on ones...

You can probably approach this best by animating on twos, then once animated, go back and fill in the empty (or repeated) frames... It's a lot of work, but you will end with an animation that's the same speed as if it was animated on twos, except the viewing will be much smoother...

My advice is... Try to start by animating all slow/medium sequences on twos (you can make them onesif you want later), and animate all fast paced sequences on ones. I have a good feeling this is how most of the pros do it...

Oops! I forgot to say... Maybe you can try adding a blur to the smoke.

Also, the one shot where people look at the missile, the sky looks a little darker than the other shots. Maybe try getting a little more orange in there (just my personal preference).

I'd like to see if you can turn this into a full developed story (assuming this would be the ending)...

Nice! I think that's much better, now.
I can really appreciate the atmosphere in this. Keep it up!

Do you mean Alpha as in transparent/clear, or is it some action script thing???
Do you mean the background as in the stage, or as in the background you have made?

If you mean a background that you have made, you can...

Select the background (non symbol), open the color panel and drag the Alpha bar to your desire.
Or you can, select the background (symbol), and go to...

-properties panel
- Style
- Alpha

You can also tween from 0% to 100%. This can be useful for scene transitions and whatnot. I encourage you to be creative with this...

Yeah... Great job! That's my favorite track from Majora's mask...

The only thing I would change is the coloring of the sky and grass. It kind of goes against the "mood" you are trying to set.

Might I suggest as soon as the rocket shoots off and the music starts, the background transitions to black and white (or sepia)?

Flashplayer is free. I think you mean Flash (the actual program to animate with)... Flash player is just something that allows people to view your animation/game/website/whatever.

If can't afford Flash, just get a free software like...

Liveswf
Pencil
Synfig
MonkeyJam

I think most people on this website use Liveswf as a free alternative... It's basically Flash, without all of the "bells and whistles." It would certainly get you started in the right direction.

Sorry, I forgot to say... The magnifying glass and onion skin tools will be your best friends, from now on.

I hope your gave yourself the proper introduction ;).

At 7/28/09 06:08 PM, DameNingen wrote:
Frame by frame is exactly the thing i didnt want to do since in this special case its to inaccurate.
Since its a very slow movement its extremly hard to draw different but still fitting even with the onion-action.
I think only a Tween or a robot with a pretty damn exact drawing, could get such detailled animation nice and smooth.

Frame-by-frame is, in my opinion, the best answer. To make it smooth, it will take a higher frame rate and a HELLUVA lot of inbetweens (frames)! The truth is, once you have your key frames "layed out", adding the frames inbetween the key frames is just mindless work. Which is something you can't really avoid if you want to animate.

Here's proof that frame-by-frame can be smoother than the ass of a newborn baby... And this was animated in photoshop....... F***ING PHOTOSHOP!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqXL6H2hb Qg

Certainly no tweening there. Did you notice the extremely smooth "hairflow" at the end?

At 7/27/09 08:40 PM, Archon68 wrote:

At 7/27/09 08:37 PM, fjgamer wrote:

At 7/27/09 08:05 PM, Neo-13 wrote:

At 7/27/09 08:04 PM, maymo36 wrote: Hey. I've been checking out some flash animations, and I'm thinking about getting into it. I'd like to start to make some of my own. Anybody know some good flash software I could use for that type of stuff? Thanks.

Adobe Flash CS3/CS4.

Those are both pricey, and most people don't need the new stuff, so I recommend something like Flash 8 or even Flash 5.

That's a horrible idea. Flash 5 has no filters, and neither of them have AS3. If you're still programming in as2, both of those support it, but you'll need CS3/CS4 to collaborate with most people, because each version of Flash can only save in its own file format and one version below.

Anything below CS3 would be a horrible choice for you.

However, there's a free version of Flash 5 called Liveswif now.

It's not a free version of Flash five, it's a whole different program, just with obsolete capabilities.

He didn't clarify that he wanted to make games, but he did say he wanted to get into animation. If game making isn't a priority, then it doesn't really matter if he wants to use AS3 or not.

I'm not a fan of Liveswif animations, but it's pretty similar to Flash and it should prove to be an almost robust training tool for you (think of Liveswif as flash on "training wheels.") I can list a dozen other animation programs, but few of them are good for submitting to Newgrounds (if that is your main goal). If you are really serious, definitely get the student edition of Flash CS4. This is what a great portion of "Newgrounders" use these days.

I think it depends on what attracts people the most to the site. In some cases it's necessary, because the truth is that it's WAY easier to get your average Joe into a video game parody (for example) than an original work. It's how people are attracted to the site... Hell, it's probably what has made Newgrounds what it is today!

So in my opinion, it isn't necessarily always the best work on the front page. It's just what would be most attractive to a wider audience...

On the other hand, they wouldn't put just another crappy mario sprite movie, over a brilliantly animated original feature...

At 7/24/09 10:43 PM, Seatbeltnazi wrote: What should I get/need to know in order to do it right?

Well... It would certainly help if you know how to draw one pose/view of a character, and another (this is basically what you do ALL the time, in animation).

Check out some of the Newgrounds Flash Tutorial, and even search youtube for Flash help when you are having trouble.

If your interested in making movies, and not games. Check this out...

READ THE WHOLE THING!

Search google whenever you have specific problems, or ask for help here. It's pretty much pure practice from there! Good luck!

At 7/22/09 05:02 AM, inputfilms wrote:
lol...i know that...i mean how do you do it on a piece of paper that good? theres no onion skining or anything.

As the guys before me said, they would traditionally use light boxes.

If you were interested you could easily make one yourself. I found an old one in my garage (made by my mom) made out of old cheap materials laying around the house...

- A wooden fruit box, with thick cardboard sides
- A slate of glass (goes on top of the box)
- Tinfoil (to cover the inside of the box) (so the damn thing doesn't light on fire)
- A light (with an adapter/chord that plugs straight into an outlet)

It beats spending a few hundred dollars on a traditional animation light box (ebay reference)...

From the few at the top of my head you can try...

1. Liveswf (free)
2. Pencil (free)
3. Anime Studio ($50 - $???)
4. Toon Boom (one of their many lower-end style packages.)
5. Synfig (free) (works best with Windows XP or Linux)
6. TweenMaker (free student version)
7. Flash (purchase an old version off Ebay, or even Amazon.)

To be honest. I'm not sure whether 2,3,4, 5, or 6 can actually be uploaded onto Newgrounds. So if submitting is your goal... Go with an old version of Flash (best bet), or even Liveswf (meh)...

In the end all of these are good for "training" when it comes to animation. Maybe you'll feel "limited" by using just 1 program. So try multiple. See what's best for you, and what can produce your desired... err... product... thing.. *cough* (at loss for words) *cough*

At 7/22/09 02:10 AM, david81792 wrote:
Alright cool. I just want to make some friends to animate with and have fun. Also I have CS3

Okay then. Shall we start by swapping unfinished work? Or do you have an idea that you want to go with, but you are having trouble animating it?

Do you want a better understanding of the program, or just more practice with animating? Or both.

I know my way around Flash pretty well, but my problem is getting the right timing, etc. with Frame-by-frame animation. Also being able to draw from different angles/perspectives is where I really hope to improve.

Sounds kinda fun. I think I might be interested... But I'll have to "ponder" it for a bit, before I make a total commitment.

What exactly did you have in mind?

Which version of Flash do you have?

I forgot to say that turning on "pressure sensitivity" can come of great use. It only work if you have a tablet, though.

Glad to see I was of help :).

At 7/19/09 11:21 PM, weatherholt wrote: ... or how to make the characters and everything consistent and not shakey like all my animations.

Have you tried using the "Onion Skin" feature in flash? It will allow you to see prvious frames, giving you an extra sense of control. If you haven't, it's located underneath the time line. This will drastically help smooth out your animations.

Generally, it's good to create a "rough" animation first then trace over (to smooth things out). This comes in handy when you are doing frame-by-frame animation (which you are). Try using thinner brush strokes during your cleanup, I HIGHLY recommend investing in a Wacom tablet. It may seem like a hassle at first, but once you have proper control, getting a "consistent" animation will become natural.

TIP: For rough FBF animations set the "brush smoothness" (on the properties panel) to around 20. Then, if you choose, raise the smoothness for your final animations.

Personally, I think a little "roughness" in an animation can really add a certain "charm" to the final product. Check out this animation...

Link's Prize

The character design has some rough line work, but it's easy to overlook, because the animation is so smooth.

Here's are a few tips from the artist herself (read it, it's good for ya'!!!)

READ THIS!!!

See how she started with a rough storyboard???

Or, forget nearly everything I just said... Design your characters with the line, pen, or pencil tool(s). Make your characters into "puppets" (by making their arms, head, face, etc. into symbols), then tween the movement. Some people see this as a "cheap" or "lazy" way to produce your animations, but the truth is it will save you a lot of time, if you need to produce something quickly.

Check out Adam Phillip's tutorials at Biteycastle.com (they are worth the measly donation). They cover frame by frame and puppet style animation. (He created "Water Lollies" and all of those other awesome Brackenwood series animations).

That's just about all I can think of at the moment.

Select the vCam with the transform tool. Move the "point of rotation" to the center. Go inside the Movie Clip and make sure th cam aligned with the "point" inside their too. Now test it out...

I don't know if this is what you wanted to fix, but I had a similar issue recently. Sorry, if it didn't help. Good luck!

At 7/10/09 07:33 PM, SuperMarioAlex wrote: http://www.mediafire.com/?llybiwmnjmh

Here is a little animation test I did for the episode. If anyone's interested, hopefully this'll convince a few people that I'm being serious.

That was actually a pretty believable animation test. I hope someone decides to help your with your project!

How exactly are/were you going about finding the original voice actors? I urge you to keep trying, but I'm assuming they might want some kind of salary (I could certainly be wrong, though)

WOW! This looks really fun! Nice effects, I hope to see this soon.

At 7/10/09 12:42 AM, fluffkomix wrote:

At 7/10/09 12:39 AM, NomadChild wrote: If you're a student, you can get the student edition for like $150 (I think)...
I'm wondering what the difference is though. Can you still export? What has been "watered down?"

nothing. you just aren't LEGALLY allowed to make money off of it.

Thanks! I've been wondering that for a while...

At 7/10/09 12:29 AM, Zappster96 wrote: son of a biscuit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! any extremely downgraded version????????????????

If you're a student, you can get the student edition for like $150 (I think)...
I'm wondering what the difference is though. Can you still export? What has been "watered down?"

Well, there's this...

http://www.flashcomponents.net/component /spinning_earth_globe_with_controlled_sp eed.html

But, you'll have to pay $4 for it... Which, I'm sure you could afford. Or, if for some reason you couldn't afford to spend a mere $4, you could download a "Photoshop Planet Brush" then import the planet into Flash...

http://www.downturk.info/7607-planet-bru shes-for-photoshop.html

At 7/6/09 12:42 PM, Kakashi1930 wrote: omg sorry yeah i meant CS4 ='[ srry for confusing you guys

Cartoonsmart.com has some tutorials that focus on CS4. If you're lucky, they may even have a free CS4 lesson or two.

Youtube probably has a thousand different tutorials by now.

To be honest, those are the only two places you really need. CS4 isn't THAT different from CS3, except for some newer tools, and whatever else. If you are new to Flash (not sure if you are), it doesn't really matter which program the tutorial is made with.

Also, this site tells you about CS4's new features, which could prove to be helpful VVV

http://photoshopcafe.com/cs4/flash.htm

At 7/4/09 06:14 PM, Andy-Parker wrote: something more important was missing from cs4, and cs3... it starts with an M. Rhymes with Sacromedia...

Seriously... I can't stand Flash being some stupid web application/portfolio creator. Don't get me wrong, diversity sure can come in handy. But Adobe just doesn't prioritize the animation features that much. Except for seemingly useless tools like the the Inverse Kinematics, which they think is some sort of "Godsend" to animators...