AUGUST 2005
I hope that you are not bored with my Flash animation series yet as I had one more topic to review before I moved on to other things (next month). I hope that this information will be helpful the next time you decide to work with a designer to create your animation masterpiece.
Happy summer!
Kim Adams, President, Tiger Studios, Inc.
Ask Tiger Studios
A: You have 2 choices: One, you can drop some of the graphics in the animation or use more EPS file types. Illustrator EPS files are good for Flash because they come in as small file sizes and can be enlarged or shrunk without loss of graphic quality. Two, you can add a preloader that loads a percentage of the animation and starts playing that part of the animation while the rest of the file downloads in the background. |
Explaining the Flash Animation Development Process
Ready to add a Flash animation to your web site? In June we discussed where animation should be used and how much. This month I thought we would talk about the general process of creating the animation and what the designer needs to create your work of art.
Starting the Process
You have hired a designer to create a nice Flash animation but what is it that they need to make it. First the designer will need to know what kind of animation it will be. Will it involve text and graphics or just graphics. Does it need to link to a web page or involve navigation. Will it be a stand alone piece or integrated into a web page. And the most important question will be where will the animation live. The designer will need to know what the dimensions are for the animation so they don't make it too big or too small.
Gathering the Information
The next thing the designer will need are any graphics, text, movies or music you want added to the animation. All of them must be okay to use and not copyrighted. If you are using photos make sure you have permission from the photographer or have paid the correct fee to use it on a web site.
Depending on the complexity of the animation you are wanting, a storyboard can be made up to make sure both designer and client are on the same page. This process is a little time consuming but will save time in the long run. I highly recommend this process if the animation is a stand alone animation or a full web site.
Final Pieces
Once the animation is approved, and if your designer is not your webmaster, have the designer send you 3 files. One will be the full Flash development file (labeled with an .FLA extension), another will be the HTML file with the code needed to make the Flash animation run on your web site, and the final file will be an .SWF file which is the animation compressed and ready for use on your web site. If you have any changes in the future you will be able to make them to the .FLA development file as you are not able to make adjustments to the compressed .SWF file.
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A Little About Tiger Studios
Kim Adams started Tiger Studios in 1999 as a one stop shop for all aspects of web site design, graphic design and web site development. We are here to help client's develop a professional, creative business image in both print and the Internet. Because we treat each customer special, have quick turn around on projects, and create custom graphic and web site design each time, we have a high client retention rate.
To learn more about Tiger Studios and our services, check out our web site www.Tiger-Studios.com or contact Kim Adams at mail@Tiger-Studios.com for a free estimate of your next web site or graphic design project.