How should I proceed?

[TurboSheep]

Hey guys, I have a question.

I recently did an animation for a menu screen intro for my school, in which I learned all the basics of animation, including asset building (symbols), motion tweening, classic tweening and shape tweening. Also other principles such as stretch and bounce, timing, easing, etc. Even some frame by frame blood. The result was pleasing and I'm looking foward to learn more and express my creativity here!

However, I still have NO IDEA how to much something as intricate as, for instance, Oney's 'Leo and Satan' or the popular Madness videos. I know nothing about all those special effects, effectively keeping track of a huge file full of scenes and all that. All the tutorials I'm finding are really basic stuff and I'd love to indulge myself into something that really throws me into making an actual animation movie, rather then separate concepts which I find hard to combine.

Tl;dr: I would appreciate a tutorial, or information, about how to make professional flash movies as seen on this site, taken into account that I already know about the basics.

Thank you very much!

-Turbosheep

[Max-Vador]

so are you looking for managing a large file and film, or screen direction and effects creation. as you eluded to both of them.

hit your neighborhood google for Adam Phillip's BCA Flash books. first one's free but i suggest buying the other two.

for your effects you can check out other books like Elemental Magic I & II or one of my favorite sites over at http://flashfx.blogspot.com/

start small, work into something large, then ask for the specifics when the time comes, but until then focus on keeping your forward momentum in your projects and try and learn/apply something new each time

[TurboSheep]

At 1/28/13 04:43 PM, Max-Vador wrote: so are you looking for managing a large file and film, or screen direction and effects creation. as you eluded to both of them.

hit your neighborhood google for Adam Phillip's BCA Flash books. first one's free but i suggest buying the other two.

for your effects you can check out other books like Elemental Magic I & II or one of my favorite sites over at http://flashfx.blogspot.com/

start small, work into something large, then ask for the specifics when the time comes, but until then focus on keeping your forward momentum in your projects and try and learn/apply something new each time

Thank you so much. I'll definitely take a look at those books. For now, I decided to read 'Animation Survival Kit' to get some more basics down. After that, I guess I'll try to do some walking animation or simple gestures? I do not aspire to make an incredible feature film as a newbie, I just want to know what the 'next step' is, you know. It is frustrating not to know what to do in order to proceed. : )

[TurboSheep]

As a quick follow up question, how would you define 'start small'?
Could you give a few examples? Like, just a few simple actions or something?
What do you recommend beginners start with? Thank you.

[Max-Vador]

At 1/28/13 05:51 PM, TurboSheep wrote: As a quick follow up question, how would you define 'start small'?
Could you give a few examples? Like, just a few simple actions or something?
What do you recommend beginners start with? Thank you.

best starting animations are things like the flour sack, bouncing ball, then work your way into a walk cycle and other advanced movements. you'll end up building yourself a good library of actions to use and reuse