Resouce Exploration

We all need a little inspiration from time to time, so since it is early in the semester I have decided to research some Flash sites that will help as creative inspiration and technical resources.

Since this is a class on Flash I might as well begin with an Adobe website. Actually it is the Adobe Edge Newsletter. If you do not already subscribe to it you should consider doing so. Not only does it offer links to Flash content, but it also highlights the other products in the Adobe library. The Flash section of this newsletter has links to some great sites that may inspire the designer in you. Some are simple, while others are very elaborate. One of my favorites is a site done by an ad agency called Boone Oakley. They have actually created their website using Flash animation, and have posted it on YouTube, rather than having it posted on a traditional server. A number of sites also offer technical resources like articles, tutorials, sample scripts, and even free sounds.

Two sites that I have found are Flashkit.com, and Actionscript.org. Flashkit was created as a resource site for Flash developers after the creator had spent hours on end searching for raw materials to create his flash content. You can find images and sounds that will help spice up your own Flash movies. Actionscripts.org on the other hand is oriented more towards forums, articles, and tutorials.

Speaking of tutorials, many of you may already be familiar with Lynda.com. This site offers online training and tutorials, some of which are free, but most are a pay-to-play. The training is rather in-depth, and some of you may find it worth the money. If you’re so inclined you can search for whatever interests you by using the subject and software buttons to navigate to the Flash section.

Lastly, there are sites that create 3rd party plug-ins for Flash. Plug-ins can help the functionality, or increase the ease of use of applications. You can get plug-ins as freeware, shareware, or you can pay to download them. Free Download Manager is a site worth looking into. Much of the software is shareware, and it can add features like 3-D text effects. Another fun site I found, although it is a pay-to-play site, comes from an animation studio in Brazil. Tips or Script.com was developed by Labocine Digital when they were asked to create a feature-length animated movie using Flash. They found that they needed to repeat a number of animations when creating characters for the movie. They were able to create a plug-in for Flash that would take the laborious task of creating movies for mouth synchronizations, eye movements, etc.

There are many more sites out there that offer the same resources, but I hope I have given you a jumping off point for your own explorations this year.