CS5.5 questions general assistance

[SimplyRobot]

I have been working with CS5.5 for roughly 3 years, and I have yet to finish an animation.
I can't tell if its my lack of understanding or the program. I don't know what I should do to put my foot in the door. No classes are offered about the local schools, so I sit at my desk wondering where to start.

Also, should I consider downgrading to CS3.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

[Exedor]

At 1/8/13 02:07 AM, SimplyRobot wrote: I don't know what I should do to put my foot in the door. No classes are offered about the local schools, so I sit at my desk wondering where to start.

You found my news post. I hope something in there was helpful. The books from www.lynda.com really are awesome. They'll teach you not only the animation aspects, but they'll teach enough that you'll be able to program stuff for webpages and things like that.

http://www.lynda.com/Flash-Professional-training-tutorials/204-0.html?category=cs5.5_623 I see lots of video tutorials, but CS5.5 is new enough that I don't see a book. I prefer books, as you get the same info, and you buy it once and you always have it. Looks like you have signup/pay for the videos, though.

As for animation tips, Jazza's got the best tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/user/DrawWithJazza/videos

[Exedor]

At 1/8/13 02:07 AM, SimplyRobot wrote: ...so I sit at my desk wondering where to start.

Another thought. WHERE to start.

I wondered the same thing. Many noobs start throwing something together and it looks like crap, because it is crap. So, without putting a project together, how can you get practice?

I wanted practice, but I knew that if I started building a project without any experience, I'd either end up with something crappy, or I'd learn things part way thru that I'd then want to redo the stuff before it. Why work only to have to re-work, y'know?

My solution: make storyboards.

I started making storyboards from my ideas. That way, I can get my ideas out for people to see, but I also get experience working in Flash as I make the storyboard. Since it's a storyboard, you're going to have to redo it all anyway, but it's not the same as having to redo everything, since the first 'build' was just the storyboard. Also, this allows you to refine your story, and to figure out things like timing of the scenes, that may not be apparent when you've only got a script in front you. Timing? Yeah, like:
-Is this coversation between the characters boring?
-Should I start the music at :05 or at :25?
-Do I have enough time to add all of this to the scene before the music changes?

Making a storyboard helps answer these questions.

Not only that, but it also give you drawing practice. And you can start with the standard black and white sketches, and then add some color, and add some tweens, etc as you move along the storyboard.

That's a great way to get real experience, and yet not waste your time creating something that looks noobish, or needs to be completely redone to look nice.

I've built several storyboards, and so now I'm working on my first submission.

Here are some examples:

Backstory: Making a music video to 'Mama, I'm Coming Home' by Ozzy. The story is that the king quits and goes to live in the wilderness. However, he gots bored of that and wants to return home. The music video is scenes of him and his travels and his attempts to get home.

Mission 1: Fill 85 seconds with content in the middle of the animation.

My Storyboard: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/63b108b18baaa27f16276d2708b51b70

Mission 2: I need an ending.

My storyboard: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/615d97cd628b8edf36f1fcc80f4e8f69 (loops, no preloader)

And here's the final submission: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/615020

Notice how I started out with just still black and white images, then color gets added, then some tweens. As I went along, I decided to try new things, and that was the result. It got better and more complex as I went on.

So build storyboards. They're great practice. :)