Event Details:

• Date: Saturday July 24, 2010 from 10am - 4:30pm
• Location: Sabre - 3150 Sabre Drive B1-157, Southlake, TX 76092
• Cost: $99 (+Eventbrite fee) - includes lunch

Register here for the Intro to ActionScript 3 Workshop

A few months ago I taught my first Flash class as part of the Big Design Workshop series. We had a great turnout (60+ attendees) and overall the response was very positive with the overwhelming majority asking about a follow up class to cover ActionScript* 3. Since my first class was an introduction to the Flash Platform (or more accurately Flash CS4) I though an Introduction to ActionScript 3 would be the logical focus of my next workshop.

As you already know, Flash is an extremely powerful graphics tool.  You can create dynamic, interactive animated content for everything from basic animations to entire web sites.  Flash provides developers and designers with greater control over the display of their works than would otherwise be possible.

The real power of the Flash Platform, however, comes when you are able to add interactivity to your content using ActionScript. You don’t need to be a hard core programmer, or have a desire to become a coder to take advantage of ActionScript. If you want to take your Flash projects to the next level, having even a basic understanding of how to use ActionScript is a must.

This workshop is for beginner to intermediate users of Flash who want to extend their knowledge beyond the drawing tools Flash has to offer. You should be somewhat familiar with the basic constructs of Flash (e.g. what a MovieClip is, how to create a symbol, and how to create a motion tween).  Bring your laptop to get some hands-on experience with ActionScript.  You can download Flash before the workshop or you can do it at the first break.  You are guaranteed to walk away with a good foundation on ActionScript programming with real examples, tips and tricks, and hand-on exercises.

What will you learn?

In this workshop, you will:

• Obtain an overview of ActionScript 3.0 and some of the different tools used to code for the Flash player
• Learn the Fundamentals of programming using ActionScript
• Perform hands-on exercises to learn how to:
  • Control your movies timeline (animation, looping, etc..)
  • Add interaction to your projects (rollovers, transitions, etc..)
  • Accessing external assets using code (load images, sound, text, etc..)

Who should attend?

This workshop is primarily for beginner and intermediate users of Flash. This workshop is ideal for students, teachers, designers, and developers who want to learn more about the programming side of Flash.  Dave will be sharing tips and tricks on Flash throughout the workshop.

Cost of the Workshop?

The workshop price is $99 (plus EventBrite fees), which is a great bargain.  The price includes a pizza lunch, drinks, trial versions of software, and additional swag.  DFW-UPA and LV Graphics Studios will be sponsoring the pizza lunch and drinks.

Workshop Details

The location of Flash Boot Camp will be at Sabre in Building B (Room B1-157), which is the building on the right .  Your day basically looks like this:

TIME                                 DESCRIPTION

10am – 11am                     ActionScript Overview
11am – 12pm                     ActionScript Programming Fundamentals (Hands-on Exercises)
12pm – 1pm                       Lunch Break
1pm – 2:30pm                    ActionScript Programming Fundamentals cont… (Hands-on Exercises)
2:30 – 3pm                         PM Break
3pm – 4:30pm                    Hands-on Exercises

Register here for the Intro to ActionScript 3 Workshop

*Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, ActionScript, Flash, Flash Lite, Flex, Flex Builder, MXML, and Pixel Bender are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

There are already a bunch of posts and commentary on the Apple SDK update prohibiting applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool, so I wont go into all the details. However I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut (as anyone who knows me can attest) and therefore this being my blog, aptly titled 'Just Another RANT'... I feel like a ranting a bit.

While his latest news from Apple isn't a huge surprise it does broaden the scope of exclusion a bit which now lumps in more than just Flash developers. Now, I am not a .net, C#, Unity or Java developer, I am a Flash developer (I am speaking from that perspective), this recent limitation now makes us all part of the same group that Apple is targeting to exclude.

I will say that what I find most distasteful about all of this is two fold. First, it's obviously no accident that the announcement was scheduled to put Adobe in the worst spot possible with their CS5 launch only days away. If there was any thoughts that this was pure business and nothing personal, I think this speaks volumes to the contrary. Secondly, this whole issue is so chicken sh*t. Steve can say he wont allow Flash on the iHardware because of performance or 'bugginess' of the player (to which I have not experience, and if it were as buggy as Apple fan-boys proclaim I would have abandoned the platform long ago). Grow some balls Steve and show some respect for the people you are supposedly 'protecting from the Flash predator looking to harm your device' and just say what everyone really knows. This has absolutely nothing to do with the player performance, and everything to do with Apple's pocketbook. I get that, I don't like that I cant view Flash on my phone but the guys with phones around me can, but I can understand a business model. Just don't feed me some bullsh*t that it's for MY best interests.

Business models aside though, this latest move is all about Steve acting like the 4 year old in a sandbox who says your gonna play with the toys the way I want or I'm going to take my toys and go home. Allowing other languages to compile to apps that run on the iPhone doesn't infringe on the app store, in fact I think it opens the store up for more people to participate (I know many will want to debate this statement, and try and attribute it to quality control, etc... but I'm not buyin!)

As soon as it gets to the point where Android and others have apps that users don't have on Apple, or when people really do migrate to web delivered apps instead of installed apps, then the glaring Flash hole for Apple will have a much bigger spotlight on it. When people sitting right next to each other with different devices (whether that be phones, or tablets) and one can go and do more on the web then the other, the inferiority complex will set in.

Apple has been down this road before and apparently didn't learn anything from the Mac/Windows war 20+ years ago. Jobs can keep building those walls around his empire and soon enough it will be impossible to tell the difference between developers they are trying to keep out and the users they are trying to keep/attract. Apple will have that perfectly closed system they've always dreamed of.  Then maybe Steve Jobs can change his name to Roger Waters (both guilty of spitting in the face of those who pay their bills).

Comments disabled as I’m not interested in hearing from the Cupertino Comment SPAM bots.
(borrowed from Lee Brimelow)

This past week I finally finished up and launched a redesign for the Aces Tattoos website. As part of the redesign I reworked the logo (see old logo here), rewrote the entire site, new design, new... well everything's just new.. that sums it up. The site was done using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, a bit of PHP and even some jQuery. This was my first non-flash site in a looong time and even though it wasn't a terrible process, playing browser-roulette definitely made me remember why I love the Flash world so much. In the end though the goals of the project were satisfied I think (a site to showcase the work of the artists, could be maintained by the client using no code [Adobe Contribute] and a design the client was happy with). It did feel good to do another freelance project after a pretty long layoff. And while I don't plan to get back into freelancing a ton, I do see/have a few projects on the horizon and look forward to the creative freedom you just dont get from the 9-5.

If you get a second, stop by Aces Tattoos and check out the artist portfolios, tell them how awesome their site is or get some ink of your own from one of their amazing artists.

1. Setting up FlexBuilder 3 to work with Flash CS4

First lets set-up FlexBuilder to import the Flash CS4 libraries. You'll need to modify the paths to follow your specific paths (e.g. change the username)
- Click Images to see full size -

FIRST:
Window -> Preferences -> General -> Workspace -> Linked Resources
Path is : C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\ActionScript 3.0\projects\Flash\src\

SECOND:
Project -> Properties -> ActionScript Build Path -> Source Path Tab

THIRD:
Project -> Properties -> ActionScript Build Path -> Library Path Tab

2. Speeding up FlexBuilder Compile Times

1. Add additional Compiler arguments to your project: Project->Properties->Flex Compiler->Additional Compiler Arguments incremental=true -keep=true. That only updates and compile files and with changes and does not compile all the stuff again. Great results on medium/big projects. For the first time it takes more time to compile (due to cache file generation), but the next compiles are really fast.-keep=true or -keep-generated-actionscript=true can be other good tip, but only for check generated action script files (created under "generated" folder, good for debugging and code-check) but this does not tune up the compiling time.
2. Close extra projects
3. Turn off "Copy non-embedded files to source folder"
4. Turn off "Build Automatically"

3. Lets not forget about Plug-ins

There are quite a bit of Eclipse plug-ins in existence. Not all will help you with ActionScript coding but there are quite a few that will. I use the Snippets panel found in the CFEclipse plug-in, the ToDo panel, and the Status Memory Monitor Plugin.

1. Check out the 3 part series by Lee Brimelow on adding enhancements to FB 3 (especially the Snippets Panel).  Part 1, 2, 3
2. Here's another great post - Pimp my ‘clipse - a list of must-have Eclipse plug-ins for Flex/Flash Development
3. The the Status Memory Monitor Plugin is really cool. It allows you to for Eclipse/FB to run its garbage Collection, freeing up memory and resources. Great Productivity enhancement.

Anyway those are just a few ways you can set up FlexBuilder to allow you to be more productive. Please post your own tips if you have any.

-Dave

I really believe that Inspiration is Zen. What I mean by that is you have to be willing - the level of inspiration something gives depends on your state of mind at the moment. The timing must be right - whats inspiring today, may not be tomorrow and vise versa. It cant always be explained. Inspiration to me is one of those odd things that isn't always easy to put into words. What's inspiring is different for everyone. However I do believe that many people really confuse appreciation with inspiration. Just because you find something cool, does not make it inspiring. In order for something to be inspiring, it should be also motivating. Without motivation its just appreciation not inspiration. Now I dont mean motivating in the "motivational speaker" sense, but it should make you want to do something. Seeing something that makes you go "WOW!" is one thing, seeing something that makes you go "WOW! I wanna do THAT!!!"... is what I think defines inspiration.

I think there are two types or way to get inspired. "Active Inspiration" - where you need to get an idea for a specific project and you actively go looking for a spark or idea to put you on your path. The other type/way is "Passive Inspiration" - where you accidentally get inspired and motivated to want to do something. That's not to say the two ways are mutually exclusive. In fact often times I will actively be looking for that spark, when I stumble across something that sparks a new idea for a different project.

I try and surround myself with opportunities to be inspired at all times. I realize that statement sounds a tad confusing so I'll explain what I mean. While I may not always be "actively" looking for inspiration, I do actively position myself to be passively inspired. Whether its wallpapering my office with imagery that is visually stimulating, setting my Netvibes page to push feeds from places I am routinely inspired by, covering my body in artwork (tattoos), or even just something as simple as having an old car and custom motorcycle in the garage. I find myself inspired by all of that content all the time. The craftsmanship of the car/bike, the lighting/colors/composition of the painting on my wall, the links to artwork Netvibes is feeding me, the ink in my skin that creates such amazing imagery... they are all things that motivate me in different ways to want to be a better artist.

One thing I didnt mention, is that I don't really view websites as inspiration for me anymore. While I am truly in awe of the work many studios like AgencyNet, Big Spaceship, 2Advanced, NorthKindom, etc... put out, I dont guess I find them inspiring anymore because I am too caught up in the technical complexities of the projects too find them truly inspiring. I dont mean that to be a slight on any website or web project, its just that I am too close to that industry to look at any of it objectively anymore. In fact I find myself getting so caught up in the "how'd they do that?" question that often times it can be demotivating, no matter how cool I think it is.

So what do I find truly inspiring? I really find myself drawn to more traditional artwork. Granted my definition of "traditional" may be different that some if not most. To me tattoo art is amazing and truly inspiring. The fact that a true tattoo artist can display their art on a canvas that for all intents and purposes gives you one shot to get it right is something I find very inspiring. I dont want to be a tattoo artist by any means, but what inspires me is that if an amazing artist like Horyoshi III can manage to put such beautiful artwork on skin using a stick... inspires me to be a better artist with all of the tools I have at my disposal.

I'd love to hear what anyone else does for inspiration or any feedback you have on my take on the subject. I'll leave you with links to a few links I get inspired by...

Design Flavr - Inspiration Blog / Community
Typography and Lettering - Flickr Group
RatRods - Flickr Group
Generator.x - Flickr Group
Shawn Barber - Badass painter/Tattoo Artist
Worth1000 - Photoshop Greatness
Sketch Theatre - Video's / Speed Painting
Mr. Cartoon - Amazing Artist
Queenpin Deluxe - Awesome Pinup artist
... I could go on forever but this is a small taste of the current crop of greatness... until it all changes tomorrow