Vol. 2, No. 22
TODAY'S LESSON: Flash Up Your Site

Aside from that spooky, hypnotic dancing baby, the biggest thing to hit the Web in recent years has been Flash. And it's not just because of the flashy name. In fact, Flash is a very nifty design tool that was created specifically for the Web and its multi-faceted, multi-platform users.

One of the reasons Flash designs are so prevalent is that they tend to download and run very fast. When you go to a Flash site, there is no download progress bar, and you never feel like you are leaving the surfing environment. And did I mention that you can use it to create animations?

>>> Your Friend Flash <<<

Flash is both a drawing tool and a movie editor. If you've used other graphics applications, some of the tools may look familiar, but some won't. Like Adobe Illustrator and other drawing tools, Flash creates vector graphics which are drawn to fit. So you can make an image larger, smaller, turn it upside down, downside up, and all without creating a larger file size.

If you don't want to take the plunge and buy it, try a free 30-day trial.

"Flash Trial"
Because Flash animations are run by a browser plug-in and not by the actual browser, they look essentially the same on any platform. What's even better, is that they're pretty darn easy to create. Don't believe me?

In the latest Flash 5 tutorial, Mike teaches you how to animate in a jiffy by running down what tools you need and then showing you how to use them.

"Flash 5"

>>> Flash Forward <<<

So you think you're pretty Flash savvy already, and are ready to move on to bigger, better fish? Think again. Here are some way to become a Flash forward thinker.

To shave off the KB from your Flash files, you need to construct them as efficiently as possible. The key to doing this is drawing things as few times as possible.

"Flash Tips"
Flash is just one tool for creating Web pages that load quickly. This article shows other ways to keep your site loading fast.

"Load in a Flash"
A gallery of animation shorts might inspire you to create one of your own. Or it might just entertain you. If you're lucky, it will do both.

"Flash for Fun"
More Flash articles than you can shake a stick at.

"Buckets O' Flash"

1. An initial screen download should be no more than 40k, and should have the option to "skip intro" if there is one. To reduce download time, use smaller vector-based images.

2. With Flash, you don't have to worry too much about file sizes. Even a complicated twenty-minute Flash movie doesn't take long to download. Worry instead about making your animations as good as possible.

3. Tired of taking your car to the car wash every week? If you move to a rainier environment, say Seattle, then your problem is solved.

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