Ahoy! I've been looking to get into flash authoring, and wondered if anyone could provide a bit of advice on what I'd need to get started.

Thanks!

btw, I could follow this around for days:

Hmmm, I use SwishMax. Not expensive, has a lot of build-in functions (also for none programmers)... and for those that are experienced... you can use all Flash codes and references as well...

http://www.swishzone.com

Ok here is where I think this post fits the best. I would like to know if there is a way to create a gif from a small animation I have done for Milly. My animation is large in size and any gif converter I have used greatly degrades the images. Then use it as an avatar. This is a baby step for me towards game developement. Which is why I posted here, Flash development would be a big learning curve for me but that is where I would eventually like to get to. I look back at the Milly series and can see the changes for the time I have done them. I would like to step toward a game once I get a direction for one. So any input about how to go about it would be welcome, Sharks games are fantastic but I also know how much time they take to make. I lack all coding so I need suggestion as to if this can be done with little or no coding....Coments please

From my small experience with animated gifs you have a series of still frames which are overlaid with a short time lapse between them so as to create the illusion of motion; my avatar was so formed.

I suspect that this is not what you meant. I am currently trying to understand 3DMax, on of Shark's chosen tools. In that you create objects and create the animation within it. My understanding of it is that you assemble your objects on a "sound-stage" and then "film" them. You may bring other resources into this environment (like PSP imagery). You get a bit of a feel for this from anim8or.exe which Shark also suggests he likes but certainly wouldn't have the capabilities of what would be required. animator.exe does introduce you to "constraints", like, an object may move only up or down, or move through an arc of 45 deg.

In essence it seems to me that if you are proposing something akin to what Shark is offering then you need a Millie model like Shark has in the Models area of "Sharks Lagoon". Your other art work could be certainly added as backdrops.

Again this may not be the path that you wish to pursue. At least it gives us a platform from which others might guide you more expertly as I too am ery much a novice in this area.

@RKS
For a gif animation, did you try giftedmotion (you can find it at http://www.onyxbits.de/giftedmotion ). Very simple, no installation needed.
For more evolved animation, i cannot help you, sorry.

I will look at it in near future thanks Luke.....skywalker may the force be with you.... could not resist

This is just to correct a post that was deleted. It appears if the last post is deleted it screws up the new post function.
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