The Ultimate Ebook for Actionscript 3.0 Animation: From Basics to Advanced Topics
Advanced Actionscript 3.0 Animation Ebook 11 civilization recitat
If you are interested in learning how to create stunning animations with Actionscript 3.0, then you should definitely check out this ebook. In this article, I will give you an overview of what Actionscript 3.0 is, what animation is, and what the ebook covers. I will also highlight some of the main features and benefits of the ebook, and why you should get it today.
Advanced Actionscript 3.0 Animation Ebook 11 civilization recitat
Introduction
What is Actionscript 3.0?
Actionscript 3.0 is a powerful scripting language that is used to create interactive applications and games for the web, desktop, and mobile devices. It is based on the ECMAScript standard, which is also used by JavaScript and other languages. Actionscript 3.0 runs on the Adobe Flash Player, which is a widely used plugin that enables rich multimedia content on browsers.
What is animation?
Animation is the process of creating the illusion of movement by displaying a series of images or frames in rapid succession. Animation can be used to create visual effects, tell stories, convey emotions, and enhance user experience. Animation can be done in various ways, such as traditional hand-drawn animation, computer-generated animation, stop-motion animation, and motion capture animation.
What is the ebook about?
The ebook is called "Advanced Actionscript 3.0 Animation", and it is written by Keith Peters, who is a renowned author and developer in the field of Flash and Actionscript. The ebook is aimed at intermediate to advanced users who want to learn how to create professional-quality animations with Actionscript 3.0. The ebook covers various topics and techniques that are essential for any animator, such as frame rate, easing, tweening, motion paths, curves, blitting, bitmap manipulation, particle systems, effects, 3D animation, perspective, and more. The ebook also includes several practical projects and examples that demonstrate how to apply the concepts learned in real-world scenarios.
Main features of the ebook
Chapter 1: Basic concepts of animation
In this chapter, you will learn some of the fundamental concepts that are necessary for understanding how animation works. You will learn about:
Frame rate and frame duration: How to control the speed and smoothness of your animations by adjusting the number of frames per second (FPS) and the time between each frame.
Easing and tweening: How to create realistic and natural movements by applying acceleration and deceleration to your animations.
Motion paths and curves: How to create complex and dynamic motions by defining paths and curves for your animations.
Frame rate and frame duration
The frame rate is the number of frames that are displayed per second in an animation. The higher the frame rate, the smoother and faster the animation will appear. The lower the frame rate, the choppier and slower the animation will appear. The frame rate is usually measured in FPS (frames per second).
The frame duration is the time between each frame in an animation. The shorter the frame duration, the faster the animation will play. The longer the frame duration, the slower the animation will play. The frame duration is usually measured in milliseconds (ms).
In Actionscript 3.0, you can set the frame rate of your application by using the stage.frameRate property. For example, to set the frame rate to 30 FPS, you can write:
stage.frameRate = 30;
You can also get the current frame rate by reading the same property. For example, to trace the current frame rate, you can write:
trace(stage.frameRate);
You can also calculate the frame duration by dividing 1000 by the frame rate. For example, if the frame rate is 30 FPS, then the frame duration is:
1000 / 30 = 33.33 ms
Easing and tweening
Easing is the process of applying acceleration and deceleration to an animation. Easing makes an animation more realistic and natural by mimicking how objects move in real life. For example, when a car starts moving, it doesn't instantly reach its maximum speed. It gradually accelerates until it reaches a constant speed. Similarly, when a car stops moving, it doesn't instantly come to a halt. It gradually decelerates until it reaches a complete stop.
Tweening is the process of creating intermediate frames between two keyframes in an animation. Tweening makes an animation smoother and more fluid by filling in the gaps between keyframes. For example, if you have two keyframes that show a ball at different positions, tweening will create frames that show the ball moving from one position to another.
In Actionscript 3.0, you can use various classes and libraries to create easings and tweens for your animations. Some of the most popular ones are:
TweenLite/TweenMax: A lightweight and powerful library that allows you to create tweens with various easings, callbacks, plugins, and features.
Flare3D: A 3D engine that allows you to create 3D animations with easings, tweens, cameras, lights, materials, and more.
GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP): A comprehensive suite of tools that allows you to create animations with easings, tweens, timelines, sequences, morphing, physics, and more.
Motion paths and curves
A motion path is a path that defines how an object moves in an animation. A motion path can be linear or curved, depending on how you want your object to move. For example, if you want your object to move in a straight line, you can use a linear motion path. If you want your object to move in a circular or elliptical shape, you can use a curved motion path.
A curve is a type of motion path that consists of one or more segments that are connected by control points. A curve can be quadratic or cubic, depending on how many control points it has. For example, a quadratic curve has one control point that determines how the curve bends. A cubic curve has two control points that determine how the curve bends and twists.
In Actionscript 3.0, you can use various classes and methods to create motion paths and curves for your animations. Some of them are:
Graphics class: A class that allows you to draw shapes and paths on a display object using methods such as moveTo(), lineTo(), curveTo(), and cubicCurveTo().
Motion class: A class that allows you to create motion paths for display objects using XML data.
MotionPath class: A class that allows you to create motion paths for display objects using arrays of points.
BezierSegment class: A class that allows you to create quadratic and cubic curves using control points.
Chapter 2: Advanced techniques of animation
Chapter 2: Advanced techniques of animation
In this chapter, you will learn some of the advanced techniques that are used to create stunning and complex animations with Actionscript 3.0. You will learn about:
Blitting and bitmap manipulation: How to optimize your animations by using bitmaps and manipulating them at the pixel level.
Particle systems and effects: How to create realistic and dynamic effects by using particles and emitters.
3D animation and perspective: How to create 3D animations by using perspective and transformations.
Blitting and bitmap manipulation
Blitting is the process of copying pixels from one bitmap to another bitmap. Blitting can be used to optimize your animations by reducing the number of display objects and rendering operations. For example, instead of creating hundreds of display objects for each frame of an animation, you can create one bitmap and copy the pixels of each frame onto it.
Bitmap manipulation is the process of changing the pixels of a bitmap. Bitmap manipulation can be used to create various effects and transformations on your animations. For example, you can change the color, brightness, contrast, alpha, filter, or matrix of a bitmap.
In Actionscript 3.0, you can use various classes and methods to perform blitting and bitmap manipulation for your animations. Some of them are:
Bitmap class: A class that represents a bitmap image that can be displayed on the stage or manipulated by code.
BitmapData class: A class that represents the data of a bitmap image that can be manipulated by code.
copyPixels() method: A method that copies pixels from one bitmap data object to another bitmap data object.
setPixel() method: A method that sets the color of a pixel in a bitmap data object.
getPixel() method: A method that gets the color of a pixel in a bitmap data object.
colorTransform() method: A method that applies a color transformation to a bitmap data object.
applyFilter() method: A method that applies a filter to a bitmap data object.
draw() method: A method that draws a display object or another bitmap data object onto a bitmap data object.
Particle systems and effects
A particle system is a system that simulates the behavior of many small particles that move according to certain rules. A particle system can be used to create realistic and dynamic effects such as fire, smoke, water, snow, sparks, explosions, and more.
An effect is a visual phenomenon that is created by using one or more particle systems. An effect can be used to enhance the appearance and atmosphere of your animations. For example, you can use an effect to create a firework show, a rainstorm, or a magic spell.
In Actionscript 3.0, you can use various classes and libraries to create particle systems and effects for your animations. Some of the most popular ones are:
Flint Particle System: A library that allows you to create particle systems with various emitters, zones, actions, initializers, counters, renderers, and more.
Starling Particle System: A library that allows you to create particle systems with various emitters, configurations, textures, filters, and more.
Away3D Particle System: A library that allows you to create 3D particle systems with various emitters, animators, geometries, materials, and more.
3D animation and perspective
3D animation is the process of creating animations that have three dimensions: width, height, and depth. 3D animation can be used to create realistic and immersive animations that simulate the real world or create fantasy worlds. For example, you can use 3D animation to create a landscape, a character, or a vehicle.
Perspective is the effect that makes objects appear smaller or larger depending on their distance from the viewer. Perspective can be used to create depth and realism in your animations. For example, you can use perspective to make objects appear closer or farther away, or to create a vanishing point.
In Actionscript 3.0, you can use various classes and libraries to create 3D animations and perspective for your animations. Some of the most popular ones are:
PerspectiveProjection class: A class that allows you to apply perspective projection to a display object or a display object container.
Matrix3D class: A class that represents a 4x4 matrix that is used for 3D transformations.
Flash 3D API: A set of classes and methods that are built into the Flash Player that allow you to create 3D graphics and animations.
Away3D: A 3D engine that allows you to create 3D graphics and animations with various cameras, lights, materials, meshes, sprites, particles, and more.
Papervision3D: A 3D engine that allows you to create 3D graphics and animations with various cameras, lights, materials, primitives, display objects, effects, and more.
Chapter 3: Animation projects and examples
In this chapter, you will learn how to apply the concepts and techniques that you learned in the previous chapters to create some practical animation projects and examples. You will learn how to create:
A simple game with animation: How to create a simple game that involves animation, such as a pong game, a breakout game, or a platform game.
A realistic simulation with animation: How to create a realistic simulation that involves animation, such as a solar system simulation, a weather simulation, or a physics simulation.
A dynamic interface with animation: How to create a dynamic interface that involves animation, such as a menu, a gallery, or a dashboard.
Creating a simple game with animation
In this example, you will learn how to create a simple pong game with animation. A pong game is a game where two players control paddles that bounce a ball back and forth. The goal is to prevent the ball from going past your paddle and score points by making the ball go past your opponent's paddle. You will use the following steps to create the game:
Create the stage and the graphics for the game, such as the background, the paddles, the ball, and the score.
Create the variables and constants for the game logic, such as the speed, direction, angle, and position of the ball and the paddles.
Create the functions for the game logic, such as moving the ball and the paddles, checking for collisions and boundaries, updating the score, and resetting the game.
Add event listeners for the user input and the game loop. The user input will control the movement of the paddles. The game loop will update the game logic and graphics every frame.
Here is some sample code for creating a simple pong game with animation:
//Create the stage and the graphics var stageWidth:Number = stage.stageWidth; var stageHeight:Number = stage.stageHeight; var backgroundColor:uint = 0x000000; var paddleColor:uint = 0xFFFFFF; var ballColor:uint = 0xFFFFFF; var scoreColor:uint = 0xFFFFFF; var paddleWidth:Number = 10; var paddleHeight:Number = 80; var paddleSpeed:Number = 10; var ballRadius:Number = 10; var ballSpeed:Number = 10; var scoreSize:Number = 40; var background:Sprite = new Sprite(); background.graphics.beginFill(backgroundColor); background.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, stageWidth, stageHeight); background.graphics.endFill(); addChild(background); var leftPaddle:Sprite = new Sprite(); leftPaddle.graphics.beginFill(paddleColor); leftPaddle.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, paddleWidth, paddleHeight); leftPaddle.graphics.endFill(); leftPaddle.x = 20; leftPaddle.y = (stageHeight - paddleHeight) / 2; addChild(leftPaddle); var rightPaddle:Sprite = new Sprite(); rightPaddle.graphics.beginFill(paddleColor); rightPaddle.graphics.drawRect(0, 0, paddleWidth, paddleHeight); rightPaddle.graphics.endFill(); rightPaddle.x = stageWidth - 20 - paddleWidth; rightPaddle.y = (stageHeight - paddleHeight) / 2; addChild(rightPaddle); var ball:Sprite = new Sprite(); ball.graphics.beginFill(ballColor); ball.graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, ballRadius); ball.graphics.endFill(); ball.x = (stageWidth - ballRadius) / 2; ball.y = (stageHeight - ballRadius) / 2; addChild(ball); var leftScore:TextField = new TextField(); leftScore.textColor = scoreColor; leftScore.text = "0"; leftScore.autoSize = TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT; leftScore.defaultTextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial", scoreSize, scoreColor); leftScore.x = stageWidth / 4; leftScore.y = 10; addChild(leftScore); var rightScore:TextField = new TextField(); rightScore.textColor = scoreColor; rightScore.text = "0"; rightScore.autoSize = TextFieldAutoSize.RIGHT; rightScore.defaultTextFormat = new TextFormat("Arial", scoreSize, scoreColor); rightScore.x = stageWidth * 3 / 4; rightScore.y = 10; addChild(rightScore); //Create the variables and constants for the game logic var leftPaddleDirection:Number = 0; // -1 for up, 0 for stop, 1 for down var rightPaddleDirection:Number = 0; // -1 for up, 0 for stop, 1 for down var ballDirectionX:Number = 1; // -1 for left, 1 for right var ballDirectionY:Number = 1; // -1 for up, 1 for down var ballAngle:Number = Math.random() * Math.PI / 4; // random angle between -45 and 45 degrees var leftScoreValue:Number = 0; // score for the left player var rightScoreValue:Number = 0; // score for the right player //Create the functions for the game logic function moveBall():void //Move the ball according to its speed, direction, and angle ball.x += ballSpeed * ballDirectionX * Math.cos(ballAngle); ball.y += ballSpeed * ballDirectionY * Math.sin(ballAngle); function movePaddles():void //Move the paddles according to their speed and direction leftPaddle.y += paddleSpeed * leftPaddleDirection; rightPaddle.y += paddleSpeed * rightPaddleDirection; //Limit the paddles to stay within the stage boundaries if (leftPaddle.y stageHeight - paddleHeight) leftPaddle.y = stageHeight - paddleHeight; if (rightPaddle.y stageHeight - paddleHeight) rightPaddle.y = stageHeight - paddleHeight; function checkCollisions():void function resetGame():void //Reset the position and speed of the ball ball.x = (stageWidth - ballRadius) / 2; ball.y = (stageHeight - ballRadius) / 2; ballSpeed = 10; //Reset the direction and angle of the ball ballDirectionX *= -1; // reverse the horizontal direction ballDirectionY = Math.random() > 0.5 ? 1 : -1; // random vertical direction ballAngle = Math.random() * Math.PI / 4; // random angle between -45 and 45 degrees function updateGame(event:Event):void //Update the game logic and graphics every frame moveBall(); movePaddles(); checkCollisions(); function keyDownHandler(event:KeyboardEvent):void //Handle the user input for the paddles switch (event.keyCode) case Keyboard.W: //Move the left paddle up leftPaddleDirection = -1; break; case Keyboard.S: //Move the left paddle down leftPaddleDirection = 1; break; case Keyboard.UP: //Move the right paddle up rightPaddleDirection = -1; break; case Keyboard.DOWN: //Move the right paddle down rightPaddleDirection = 1; break; function keyUpHandler(event:KeyboardEvent):void //Handle the user input for the paddles switch (event.keyCode) case Keyboard.W: case Keyboard.S: //Stop the left paddle leftPaddleDirection = 0; break; case Keyboard.UP: case Keyboard.DOWN: //Stop the right paddle rightPaddleDirection = 0; break; //Add event listeners for the user input and the game loop stage.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, updateGame); stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN, keyDownHandler); stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP, keyUpHandler);
Benefits of the ebook
In this section, I will explain some of the benefits of reading and following the ebook. By reading and