"Mr. Dude, where in the world do
you live?"
Just in case you couldn't tell at the end of "The Dough," I live
in Canada."Mr.
Dude, I want to make some cool text effects, but it takes so LONG! Do you know of any
programs that will do all the work for me?"
I sure do! Check out "Swish", an AMAZING program that creates
amazing text effects literally within seconds. It's very reasonably priced, too!
**Please Note: I am not the creator of Swish,
and do not give technical support for it. Click
here for Swish tech support. I do also not give free registration codes. It's only
thirty bucks! BUY IT!
"Right on! Swish rocks!"
It sure does. However, keep in mind that fancy
text effects are no replacement for site design and content. "Swish" will
increase your movie's file size, so be strategic when using it.
"Did you use Flash or Swish to make "The Dough"?
All typing effects in "The Dough"
were done with masking in Flash to keep file size to a minimum. I only used Swish to break
a few lines of text into individual characters; now that Flash MX does this, I no longer
have a use for Swish.
"Mr. Dude, how can I set up a
preloader for my Flash page?"
A fast, easy preloader can be set up this way:
- Frame 1: If Frame is loaded (enter a frame number) go to and
play (6)
- Frame 5: Go to and play (1)
This way, the movie will play once all of the
data on Frame 6 has been loaded. If you want to preload another frame, use the
Bandwidth Profiler to see which frame you want to preload. For more info, read
the manual! For step-by-step instructions on preloaders, Click here.
"Mr. Dude, how do you
incorporate 3D into Flash?
It's a long, laborious process.
Or, it WAS, until these alternatives arrived:
- "Vecta3D", a
plugin for 3DS Max that exports wireframes into Flash.
- "Swift3D", a
standalone program that creates 3D specifically for Flash.
These programs work great; still, getting 3D to look perfect
requires that you:
- Import an image sequence.
- Manually trace over all lines.
- Manually fill in the spaces.
I learned how to do it by going through Mano One's 3D tutorial.
"Mr. Dude, how did you make that
exploding button/lightning animation during the Lucasfilm letter?"
It was all drawn in Flash! It's quite simple,
and uses radial gradients with shape tweened lines. Like I always say, having fun and
experimenting is the only way to create anything cool.
"Cool. Can I have the
source?"
No way.
"Mr. Dude, how did
you do that typewriter effect?"
Using masks! Check
it out here.
"Mr. Dude, would it be OK for me
to link to your site?"
Of course! Be sure and grab one of these logos:
 
As well, if you'd like to share my site with the folks you
chat with on AOL Instant Messenger, you can use these icons,
thanks to Alex Micek! |
