I've been struggling to learn animation for α while with little success.. Iam using adobe flash professional.. Really not fully aware of all the capabilities of the software and most importantly, can't really wrap my head properly around how to get along with the programme even though I know how it works and all its tools.. Anyone out there with any word of advice, motivation or get around skills for the software including its full potentials or even alternatives..I really need to learn animation..thnks

The most common and best way to learn is get training materials from the net.
Besides learning the software it's very important to learn the fundamental principles of animation. Once you learn this you should be able to animate well regardless the software.

Thnks so much..

No p! got ur mail, replied already.

Thnks so much.. One lov..

My advice would be uninstall flash (if you have it) get a pen and paper, learn to draw then open MS Paint and get the book animator's survival guide, learn frame by frame animation...I wish someone had told me that years ago, I would be on another level by now...it's not about software really...

try anime studio. there are lots of tuts online to get u started quick. goodluck.

Salmoneus: My advice would be uninstall flash (if you have it) get a pen and paper, learn to draw then open MS Paint and get the book animator's survival guide, learn frame by frame animation...I wish someone had told me that years ago, I would be on another level by now...it's not about software really...

Very true, though i wouldn't advice u remove flash for MS Paint , but i get your point. Once u learn the fundamentals, say for example from animator's survival kit, u should feel comfortable animating regardless of the tools u choose for creation- pen & paper, wacom tablet, Flash, anime studio ,Toon Boom e.t.c.
Learning any software is a lot easier than mastering the fundamentals of any art form.

Thnks so much guys..salmoneus and xothermic.. Am very grateful.. I hope U̶̲̥̅̊ dnt mind me bumping on U̶̲̥̅̊ guys again if I get stuck again!! God bless.. Peace

well,my advice 2 u is to sit down and learn flash.there is no,i repeat,no shortcut 2 animation..in my opinion,its the hardest thing after game/application design.u can do it.i also use flash pro cs5,and when i started i was terrible,but now i can animate fairly well...walkcycles,animated text and buttons for websites,that kinda stuff.just work hard and try and get a lotta tutorials 4rm lynda.com.wishin' u d best bro.

Flash (Adobe) is an interesting software. for animating, mobile application, Web interaction and stuffs like that. my advise is for you to choose which of these you want to do. If its ANIMATION[b][/b]. you will have to learn everything you need about animation only.


if you try to learn all what flash can do, not only will you get stuck, you will learn at a very slow rate, it gets cumbersome : and its frustrating.


I learnt flash from a video tutorial. and in one week I learnt to animate. my characters can blink, talk, move head, inverse kinematics and many & many other stuffs including incorporation with sounds.


note; in the video tutorials, there are other things too to learn about flash. but I went to animation only n I learnt diligently, with patience.


thank God for my skills in drawing n experience in cartooning. it was fun n huge success.


Thank you.

Addition; when you re confident with animation. you can now divert to lesser priority programs.

Ahh Flash. Such an awesome piece of software indeed. If you're already familiar with other Adobe software packages, navigating flash should be a breeze.
As for animation well, most peeps have already advised you to get that sexy animation book "The animators survival kit by Richard Williams". That book is simply amazing. You should also get this book as well "The illusion of life".That's another great book.

As for Flash tutorials I advise you open YouTube and find this guy "draw with Jazza" he has some amazing flash tuts as well as tools.

For competitions, critique, inspiration e.t.c, do a quick google search for [b]"11 second club" [/b]They host monthly animation competitions and lots of people compete ranging from complete noobs to bad ass veterans of the industry with 20+ years experience. you can always ask the pros to give you a few pointers and honest critique. They love helping beginners out.

you should also learn figure drawing as well. Most people don't know how important this stuff is when it comes to animation. People should be able to read the silhouettes of your characters easily if you want your animation to have life. Draw tons of characters in lots and lots of different poses. If you aren't that good at drawing human figures, you can always use stick figures instead. you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish with these guys. As a matter of fact there is even a large community based around stick figure animation. For stick figure tuts and stuff, search for this guy on YouTube "Flyingpanda1990". by the way he also uses flash.

and last but not least. practice, practice, practice. The more you animate the better you become.

I myself i'm still trying to learn this beautiful art form. It was tough when I started out and stuff but I've gotten quite better. Although, it was my fault since I decided to jump into 3d animation first without learning 2d. The 12 principles still apply to both, however, the way they are implemented is quite different. A foundation in 2d animation really helps when it comes to 3d stuff. I myself i'm trying to learn 2d animation in flash. Too bad I cant show you all the short 2d and 3d anims I've made (mostly different walk cycles, runs, jumps, e.t.c).
Lol sorry for this long post; I'm just really passionate about animation.

datopdlink: well,my advice 2 u is to sit down and learn flash.there is no,i repeat,no shortcut 2 animation..in my opinion,its the hardest thing after game/application design.u can do it.i also use flash pro cs5,and when i started i was terrible,but now i can animate fairly well...walkcycles,animated text and buttons for websites,that kinda stuff.just work hard and try and get a lotta tutorials 4rm lynda.com.wishin' u d best bro.

. I've already got lik 3 lynda.com tuts nd goin thru lik the 2nd time..started readin animation history sef.. Thnks so much

Goldenheart: Flash (Adobe) is an interesting software. for animating, mobile application, Web interaction and stuffs like that. my advise is for you to choose which of these you want to do. If its ANIMATION[b][/b]. you will have to learn everything you need about animation only.


if you try to learn all what flash can do, not only will you get stuck, you will learn at a very slow rate, it gets cumbersome : and its frustrating.


I learnt flash from a video tutorial. and in one week I learnt to animate. my characters can blink, talk, move head, inverse kinematics and many & many other stuffs including incorporation with sounds.


note; in the video tutorials, there are other things too to learn about flash. but I went to animation only n I learnt diligently, with patience.


thank God for my skills in drawing n experience in cartooning. it was fun n huge success.


Thank you.

. Thnks man!! Coudnt have heard that from anywhr else..I guess I rili need to go buy some patience.. That's my problem ryt nau

Chuksxy: Ahh Flash. Such an awesome piece of software indeed. If you're already familiar with other Adobe software packages, navigating flash should be a breeze.
As for animation well, most peeps have already advised you to get that sexy animation book "The animators survival kit by Richard Williams". That book is simply amazing. You should also get this book as well "The illusion of life".That's another great book.

As for Flash tutorials I advise you open YouTube and find this guy "draw with Jazza" he has some amazing flash tuts as well as tools.

For competitions, critique, inspiration e.t.c, do a quick google search for [b]"11 second club" [/b]They host monthly animation competitions and lots of people compete ranging from complete noobs to bad ass veterans of the industry with 20+ years experience. you can always ask the pros to give you a few pointers and honest critique. They love helping beginners out.

you should also learn figure drawing as well. Most people don't know how important this stuff is when it comes to animation. People should be able to read the silhouettes of your characters easily if you want your animation to have life. Draw tons of characters in lots and lots of different poses. If you aren't that good at drawing human figures, you can always use stick figures instead. you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish with these guys. As a matter of fact there is even a large community based around stick figure animation. For stick figure tuts and stuff, search for this guy on YouTube "Flyingpanda1990". by the way he also uses flash.

and last but not least. practice, practice, practice. The more you animate the better you become.

I myself i'm still trying to learn this beautiful art form. It was tough when I started out and stuff but I've gotten quite better. Although, it was my fault since I decided to jump into 3d animation first without learning 2d. The 12 principles still apply to both, however, the way they are implemented is quite different. A foundation in 2d animation really helps when it comes to 3d stuff. I myself i'm trying to learn 2d animation in flash. Too bad I cant show you all the short 2d and 3d anims I've made (mostly different walk cycles, runs, jumps, e.t.c).
Lol sorry for this long post; I'm just really passionate about animation.

. Woow!!! Such a detailed specific helpful info am sure doesn't come for free!! Thnks for sharing.. God bless.. Good to knw an animation enthusiast.. I hope to follow in ur footstep soon..

first, what type of animation are u interested in? what are ur creative skills and motivation?

I have an introductory book on animation for free. basically, I use cinema 4d as my best strength. send ur e-mail add to receive free eBook or check me at wuse zone 5 if u r in abuja. 08053530532