The trials and tribulations of learning FLASH; painful even for a Superhero

[audiochick]

Hi,

I just discovered this site today and I am completely impressed (and yes, slightly overwhelmed....hmmm....where to start??). I just discovered Flash recently and I am in love with it!! I want to know all there is to know!! I spend almost all of my free time with it and I definetly learn new stuff everyday and get very little sleep in the process but somehow it doesnt feel like the process is going fast enough. My real goal is creating short animations. I guess I want to know how your learning processes have worked (and failed) for you, or how you are able to focus when there is so much to learn?

Sorry for the vague questions....my background is in audio, and while it can be usesful for what I am wanting to do with Flash, I feel I am entering a whole new world. I already went to University for 7 years and I dont really want to go back anytime soon......but does anybody learn this stuff outside of a classroom and achieve any kind of success?

thanks in advance!!
Sincerely,
Audiochick

[splict]

Welcome to the forums, audiochick! :)

So you know what my pre-flash background was: Audio (on my own) and then 3d animation (via schooling/degree). I also spent quite a bit of my spare time messing around with web related stuff (html, etc). When I got out of school (2001) I tried my efforts at getting a 3d job for a while but between my location (Tampa, FL, USA - not much of a 3d market) and the state of the economy at that time (post bubble burst) I was looking for something else when I got into flash.

I purchased a couple of beginners flash books and read through them and tried the stuff out on made up projects. Then I spent lots of time on this forum. This site is the bulk of how I learned flash and actionscript. I think its important to point out that I was a lurker months before I ever actually joined and posted - there is just so much stuff already covered that I was able to find answers to my questions just by searching.

It took a good year but I was able to freelance my flash skills with a decent amount of success. Still, I look back on those first projects and laugh at my inferior skills but I will probably do the same thing to my current stuff a couple years from now.

Bottom line is that if its something that you don't lose interest in then eventually you can earn a living by learning stuff on your own. Degrees do help quite a bit, but the great thing about industries like ours is the portfolio factor - most people judge you on the work you can do, not a peice of paper you have. Of course, this depends on other factors as well. I have no idea of the state of the industry in Berlin and I also don't think there is as much of a market for animators as there is for developers (e-learning, ria's, etc.) so you would need to find out more about that sort of thing. Besides, this type of media is always changing, so in the end its possible that you could be stuck with a really cool hobby and thats it. But with your enthusiasm the potential is definately there.

Well, that was a nice Saturday morning ramble. :cool: Hope it helped a bit.

[Xeef]

hi welcome to As.Org

i have learned Flash during try&error inside 2 months (but i have a long programing background)
best if you set some simpel gool and try to reach it (mayby let's move somthing on screen from left to right) when reached somthing more complicated
it's also not a bad idea to take a look at :http://www.actionscript.org/tutorials.shtml
if you stuck somewhere just ask, here are many people are around who will gladly help
if you totaly stuck somewhere stop it and go on whit somthing else (if you try to long whit out success it will become frustrating) later you will find the solution for it

[pixelwit]

The best "learning process" I've encountered is to make up a project which will challenge your current skillset then do whatever it takes (ask questions or read books for example) to bring that project to life. I'd recommend you don't pick too difficult a first project as sometimes the things you think will be super easy often turn out to be far more difficult than imagined.

...but does anybody learn this stuff outside of a classroom and achieve any kind of success?

It depends on how you define "success". I don't have a job working with Flash since I lack classroom experience (i.e.. a college degree) but on the other hand I once won a free book in a contest and, if I'm to believe all the emails I get, I've even inspired others to become better coders. So, for what it's worth, I may not be a financial success but at least I've got good Karma from helping so many others.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

P.S. Will sell slightly used good Karma for food.

[audiochick]

Thanks alot fellows!! I really appreciate your taking th time to answer!! You're right too, small projects are probably my best bet right now....and never sleeping until I read and do everything on this site!! I agree with your comments on success too; I think good karma and helping other people wins out over any other type of success!!

Cheers!!
Audiochick