1. Griffith University | Masters of Digital Design | Jamie Miller | s2804105
Keywords: Animation | Design | Movement | Characters | Tutorials
Course title: 7046qca | Design Narratives
The argument / abstract
Flash is more efficent in developing animations as you have more control over your content as
this reduces the amount of time spent on drawing all of the frames required. Hand drawn animations
take time to draw and develop as each frame has to be hand drawn and planned out which is a
time-consuming process. Hand drawn illustrations or animations are then scanned into a computer
using a scanning device and normally animated using graphic applications such as Flash.
The research is conclusive with this method as computers and software applications have become
part of our everyday lives. If this was not the case, we would see a decrease in the amount of computers
used and return to traditional methods of hand drawn concepts. Although hand drawn concepts still
help to produce ideas, the evidence proves that computer technologies and applications help us to
create, develop and progress designs, animations and anything else we desire at our fingertips.
It is pleasant to enjoy the other arts as hand drawn concepts/drawings/paintings/fine arts are
important to the individual in creative expression and community projects etc. The focus of
this FRED was to understand why and how computer graphics help the efficency of animations
opposed to creating everything manually. Although traditional methods and processes are
valuable also, it is a fact that computer generated graphics can be produced quickly.
animation
conclusionWith the revolution in technological advances in computing, systems
are always progressing and new technologies are forever advancing.
Computer graphics applications have evolved at an amazing pace,
hence the advances in computer graphics animation software such
as Flash and other known applications that are on the market today.
Adobe Flash has progressed through the years and offers users
the flexibility and freedom to illustrate animations with speed,
ease and accuracy.
Traditional methods are still used today which are just as valuable
in their own right although Flash offers the animator/designer the
advanced tools to further create motion graphics and animations
with speed. Speed is a vital part in today’s world as deadlines need
to be met in whats becoming a very fast paced technological era.
Flash allows you to create your illustration or animation and set it on
a stage to create movement. It can also encompass text, photographic
images, buttons or symbols.
Flash is an awesome application as its allows interactivity between the
website or website media and the observer. This interaction is important
as it allows the observer to be entertained and keeps them interested.
This can be important to the success of a website whether it is selling
shoes to garden tools as an observer’s attention must be grasped and
kept in order for it to sell their products and services.
Functionality is also important as it allows the observer to navigate
with ease and accuracy finding what they want through convenience
and simplicity. With this in mind, animation can also play an important
role to keep the observer on the site and ultimately interested.
references1. Adobe inc. (2011) All screen shots and references are taken from the Adobe Suite site as tutorial guides.
For more information, visit the help section on the Adobe Suite site.
CLICK ON
IMAGE
TO WATCH
ANIMATION
SMALL
FLASH
EXAMPLE
Toolbar which
houses all of the
various drawing/
editing tools
in Flash.
Flash allows you to create characters, scenes,
images and movies by placing these on a stage.
Please see below.
Above is the stage where illustrations can be
placed and come to life!! Our friend to the right
will give us a short guided tour.
Add new
layers here
Timeline
Frames
movement
When you import or draw an animation on the stage, you can ‘animate it’
and add colour, depth and so forth to your stage.
Flash allows you to either import or draw images, characters and backgrounds. You can add layers
below by clicking on the layers button below. Each layer can contain an animation or character.
Add new
layers here
Timeline
Frames
Use the timeline to create the characters movements using shape/classic/
motion tweens to animate characters and scenes. This process is faster as
you can animate characters to move around the stage and also adjust the
characters movements at the click and drag of a few buttons.
Use the pen/brush or pencil tool
to create outlines for animations/
characters with more ease. Layered
imports mean that creating
a characters movement can
take place in 2 seconds flat!
Use the paint bucket or
gradient tool to colour in.
These tools are very helpful
as the designer/illustrator/
animator can ‘colour in’
with speed.
OUTLINES COLOURED CHARACTERS
Flash works with other applications such as Illustrator - illustrations can be
drawn in Illustrator and imported into Flash using layers. Illustrations can then
be animated and moved into different positions using the timelines as shown
above as opposed to drawing and creating frame after frame with paper
and pencils.
This FRED will focus on the Graphic
Application of Flash where a brief demostration
or tutorial will be given conveying the basics
of Flash animation. With this powerful graphic
tool, Flash has helped to develop Animation
and brought this into a new technological
sphere creating the argument that using
Graphic Applications is more efficient than
hand drawn traditional methods.
tools
Below is the timeline where the
designer can produce different
layers to house different effects,
animations and frames hence
saving time compared to the
‘flick book’ effect.
methodsvs.
methods
graphical
Project Title: Basic tutorial in Flash
The Focus: Exploring basic animation techniques in Flash.
The Question: Why Flash is more efficient than traditional methods in creating animations
Keywords: Tutorials | Animation | Learning | Education | Software | Traditional Animation Techniques
FRED ITEM
FLASH COURSE
WEEK 2
traditional