Some of our students wanted to know if they would be able to follow along with the new 'Flash CS4: Step 1' training course if they had Flash CS3. The answer is yes. There are a few new features in CS4 that you won't be able to follow along with, but for the most part, everything else is the same.

There is one big difference in functionality, however, that I would like to address, and that's the way Motion Tweens are handled. So, if you're using Flash CS3 and watching the CS4 video series, this tutorial will come in handy. But even if you're not watching the video course, this tutorial is a great overview of both the old and new ways of creating Motion Tweens.

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Having problems with your preloader? It's to be expected. Preloaders have a history of causing a lot of grief among Flash designers. Even once you get the loader bar working, you'll often find that it takes the preloader itself several seconds before it shows up. Which defeats the purpose of having a preloader in the first place. So you dive in deeper and quickly discover that there are a dozen tweaks that have to be made just to get your preloader to show up quicker.

In today's free ActionScript tutorial, you'll learn a better way to create preloaders--a way that doesn't require a bunch of workarounds to get it functioning properly! Enjoy!

Here's the code from the tutorial:

 
myLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, onComplete);
myLoader.addEventListener(ProgressEvent.PROGRESS, onProgress);
 
function onProgress(e:ProgressEvent):void
{
	var pct:Number = e.bytesLoaded / e.bytesTotal;
	preloader_mc.bar_mc.scaleX = pct;
}
 
function onComplete(e:Event):void
{
	preloader_mc.x = -1000;
}
 
myLoader.load(new URLRequest("berries.swf"));
 

Click here for more comprehensive Flash tutorials

The following Flash video tutorial is an excerpt from the new School of Flash video course, Flash CS4: Step 1. In this course, you'll learn the basics of drawing, animating, ActionScript programming, and website building in Flash CS4.

In this excerpt, I'll show you how to create an animation where the animated object automatically rotates to face the direction of movement.

Click here to learn more about the 'Flash CS4: Step 1' video training course.

The following Flash video tutorial is an excerpt from the new School of Flash video course, Flash CS4: Step 1. In this course, you'll learn the basics of drawing, animating, ActionScript programming, and website building in Flash CS4.

In this excerpt, I'll show you how you can VERY EASILY add video to your Flash website.

Click here to learn more about the 'Flash CS4: Step 1' video training course.

Close your technical books and open up your mind! School of Flash is now selling full-length Flash training classes. Our first course, released today, is called "Flash CS4: Step 1." This is a beginner level Flash course that will get you up to speed on the basics of Flash. In it, you will learn how to draw, animate, and build basic websites using Flash CS4 and ActionScript 3.

This video course contains over 7 1/2 hours of Flash and ActionScript tutorials.

As a celebration for the grand opening of the School of Flash online store, I'm going to offer these videos for 50% OFF to the first 100 customers that purchase. To take advantage of this offer, when you get to the checkout page, click on the option to pay with PayPal, and you'll be redirected to a page where you can enter in your payment information along with a discount code. Use the following code to receive your discount: 01V5MEFM

Click here for more information

School of Flash will be entering an exciting new chapter in the very near future. In addition to the free Flash and ActionScript tutorials that are currently being offered on the blog, SchoolofFlash.com will also soon be offering comprehensive video training classes!

The first course will be entitled  "Flash CS4: Step 1."  This video course, which will be posted for sale within the next day or two, will be an introductory course to the Flash CS4 authoring environment. In it, you will learn the basics of how to draw, animate, and build websites using Flash.

So keep your eyes peeled, my Flash-loving friends, because once it goes up for sale, I'm going to offer this new "Flash CS4: Step 1" training course for 50% off to the first 100 customers!

To be one of the first ones to be notified when this course goes up for sale, be sure to sign up for our newsletter using the form in the right column! These videos will go fast, so you don't want to miss out on this introductory offer!

Sign up for the brand new SchoolOfFlash.com newsletter and receive a FREE one-hour video tutorial. This tutorial teaches you everything you need to know to get started with Flash, from drawing to animation to building simple websites.

Hopefully, you'll find the new School of Flash newsletter a useful (and sometimes entertaining) resource as you strive to learn Flash. In the newsletter, I'll let you know when we've added new tutorials, keep you updated with what's going on in the world of Flash, and showcase the websites of other amazing Flash designers.

NOTE: If you've entered your email address before in the small blue box that USED to be on the right-hand side of the page, then please be aware that this is DIFFERENT. The old blue box did not subscribe you to our newsletter, only to our RSS Feed.

In today's video tutorial, I'll show you how to create an ActionScript 3D particle effect that causes multiple stars to animate out in all directions in 3D space. Here is the ActionScript for this tutorial:

var container:MovieClip = new MovieClip();
addChild(container);
 
root.transform.perspectiveProjection.fieldOfView = 120;
 
addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, addStar);
 
function addStar(e:Event):void
{
	var mc:star = new star();
	mc.x = stage.stageWidth / 2;
	mc.y = stage.stageHeight / 2;
	mc.z = 0;
	mc.xVel = Math.random() * 4 - 2;
	mc.yVel = Math.random() * 4 - 2;
	mc.zVel = Math.random() * 4 - 2;
	mc.count = 0;
	container.addChild(mc);
	mc.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, animate);
}
 
function animate(e:Event):void
{
	e.currentTarget.x += e.currentTarget.xVel;
	e.currentTarget.y += e.currentTarget.yVel;
	e.currentTarget.z += e.currentTarget.zVel;
	e.currentTarget.count++;
	if (e.currentTarget.count >= 100)
	{
		e.currentTarget.removeEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, animate);
		container.removeChild(MovieClip(e.currentTarget));
	}
}

Click here for more comprehensive Flash video training

Inverse Kinematics! The feature we've all been waiting for! IK is going to make character animation a lot easier than it once was. With IK, you can build a bone structure to link different pieces of a character or object together in order to make it easier to animate.

In today's video, Craig will discuss how to create and animate bone structures using Flash's Bone Tool.

Click here for more comprehensive Flash video training

If you're familiar with using motion paths in Flash CS3, then you might be a little confused when trying to create your own custom path using Flash CS4. In Flash CS4, a motion path is automatically created any time you create a motion tween, and there is only so much you can do to customize the path that is created for you.

What if you want to create a motion path from scratch in Flash CS4? Well, in this video, I'll show you exactly how to do it, and you'll discover that it has become easier than ever!

Click here for more comprehensive Flash video training