Educational Software / Interactive Story

Posted by Robert Griffith | Monday, May 24, 2010 | , ,

This assignment will let us create an interactive story, children's book, or tutorials / how-to using Flash.  I created a template for the Interactive Book (below) if you would like to start with it.

Some ideas might include a children's story with pictures of your little brother/sister/nephew/niece, a story or poem you have written which you can illustrate in Flash, an educational book (i.e. anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, welding, etc.), or a tutorial / how-to involving step-by-step instructions.

Try to make this a project which is different than a simple "click for the next page" movie -- we could use PowerPoint to do that.  Include something like a button with an "over" or "down" that makes the movie interactive.  Maybe insert a movie clip on one of your frames that animates something.  Just be creative!

Flash: Paper Doll / Mr. Potato Head

Posted by Robert Griffith | Thursday, May 20, 2010 | ,

Today we are going to be building "draggable" movie clips that will make a "Paper Doll" or "Mr. Potato Head" sort of thing.  The ActionScript isn't that difficult, but it is very time-consuming so I am putting up two templates that we can use to get started.

I am also attaching a paper doll that I built from the template above.  It has a lot more clothing, a background music track, a layer behind the model for accessories, a background layer, and more.  Download the source file here.  To get the model and begin the clothing, I Googled "Fashion Paper Dolls" and clicked on images.  I chose to use this image:

Also, this is another example of a more more complex "Paper Doll": [Click]

Once you have the template downloaded, either create your own model and clothing or look for good examples of paper dolls online.

Have fun!

Flash: Eyes that Follow the Mouse

Posted by Robert Griffith | Thursday, May 20, 2010 | ,

Today we are going to be drawing an eye (facing left), converting it to a movie clip, dragging an instance to the desktop, naming your instances, adding some ActionScript, and testing it.  The result?  Eyes that follow the mouse pointer, obviously.  :)

Here's the ActionScript:

------------------------------ Frame 1 -------------
a = eye1._y-_ymouse;
b = eye1._x-_xmouse;
angleA = Math.atan2(a, b);
degrees = angleA/(Math.PI/180);
setProperty("eye1", _rotation, degrees);
a2 = eye2._y-_ymouse;
b2 = eye2._x-_xmouse;
angleA2 = Math.atan2(a2, b2);
degrees2 = angleA2/(Math.PI/180);
setProperty("eye2", _rotation, degrees2);
----------------------------- Frame 2 ------------
gotoAndPlay(1);

Below is a Video Tutorial which will help explain the process:

Flash Project #11 -- Step-By-Step

Posted by Robert Griffith | Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | ,

Today we are going to begin putting all of the different techniques together into an Interactive Story Book (similar to the Multimedia Greeting Card but with additional "scenes").  You should include the following:

  • A custom mouse pointer
  • An opening "scene" which stops at a specific keyframe or loops back to the beginning.
  • A button which will advance the viewer to the next "scene"
  • A "stop" on the next scene so users can view everything
  • A button which will allow users to move to the next scene(s) and a "stop" button 
  • On the last frame of the last scene, a button which will allow users to start over from the first scene
  • Sound and/or music
Some of the ActionScript you will need includes:

/*  Custom Mouse Pointer Code  */
onClipEvent (load) {
Mouse.hide();
startDrag(this, true);
}
onClipEvent(mouseMove){
updateAfterEvent();
}

/*  Stop Code  */
stop();

/*  Button 'Go To' Code  */
on (release) {
gotoAndPlay(10);
}
Here are some Step by Step Instructions:

1. Open Adobe Flash
2. Create a new document: FILE > NEW > Flash File (ActionScript 2.0)
3. Create 3 Layers:  Pointer, Buttons, and Background
4. On the background layer, draw a background
5. On the pointer layer, draw a pointer
6. Select the pointer background layer (it will select the pointer)
7. Click Modify > Convert to Symbol > Movie Clip (name it Pointer)
8. Right-click the pointer symbol and select "Actions"
9. Enter the following ActionScript:

     onClipEvent (load) {
     Mouse.hide();
     startDrag(this, true);
     }
     onClipEvent(mouseMove){
     updateAfterEvent();
     }

10. Press CTRL+ENTER to test your movie
11. Draw a button
12. Convert the button to a symbol (a button, obviously)
13. Go out to Frame 10 (for example) and add a keyframe for each layer.
14. Draw a new "scene" on Frame 10
15. Right-click the first keyframe on any layer (black dot) and choose Actions
16. Enter the following ActionScript:  stop();
17. Right-click any layers last keyframe and choose Actions
18. Enter the following ActionScript:  stop();
19. Right-click the button and enter the following ActionScript (if you set the next scenes keyframe at 10):
     on (release) {
        gotoAndPlay(10);
     }
20. Test your movie (CTRL+ENTER)

Once your movie is working (i.e. It opens and stays until you click the button -- and then it goes to the next section and stays) you can begin adding some flair.  Add sound effects, improve your mouse pointer, insert some music, insert pictures, etc.

Flash Project #11: Interactive Scene

Posted by Robert Griffith | Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | , ,

Today we are going to begin putting all of the different techniques together into an Interactive Scene or a Multimedia Greeting Card.  You should include the following:

  • A custom mouse pointer
  • An opening "scene" which stops at a specific keyframe
  • A button which will advance the viewer to the next "scene"
  • A "stop" on the next scene so users can view everything
  • A button which will allow users to start over from the first scene
  • Sound and/or music
Some of the Actionscript you will need includes:

/*  Custom Mouse Pointer Code  */
onClipEvent (load) {
Mouse.hide();
startDrag(this, true);
}
onClipEvent(mouseMove){
updateAfterEvent();
}

/*  Stop Code  */
stop();

/*  Button 'Go To' Code  */
on (release) {
gotoAndPlay(10);
}

My Flash Projects (Example)

Posted by Robert Griffith | Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Flash Project #1: Draw Anything
http://megaswf.com/view/a0429bf8509b5c3685369ba3055bc31b.html



Flash Project #2: Frame by Frame Animation
http://megaswf.com/view/a0429bf8509b5c3685369ba3055bc31b.html

Flash Project #3: Shape Tween
http://megaswf.com/view/9201766112de8a1a7124fd0ae6bb245b.html

Flash Project #4: Motion Tween
http://megaswf.com/view/06c2b79554087c0b3cbd93fe1da1151b.html

Class Syllabus