RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘adobe’

Book Review: How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS4

02 Sep

How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS4 By Chris Georgenes

Know enough about Flash to be dangerous? Would you like to pull back the curtain on some common applications of Flash? I suggest taking a look at Chris Georgenes’ book, How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS4.

There are common elements that span across multiple websites that we mere mortal monkeys do not know how to create. If you ever found yourself sitting in a tree, eating a banana while browsing the web and thought, ‘I’d like to have an effect like that on my site’ but don’t want to spend years learning Flash… this book is for you.

Not a typical reference manual, or cookbook, but it shares elements of both styles. The layout of the book is in a fashion so the user can just open it up and see from start to finish the steps to create an effect, without turning the page! Talk about summing up the important stuff! I know what you are thinking my fellow primates, but rest assured this book is not jam packed with 5 point font from edge to edge. On the contrary, it is beautifully illustrated with graphics that change in style every so often.

This book is for the majority a tutorial book. These two pages here teach you how to do this. Next two pages teach you how to do that. I am not a fan of reference manuals or cookbooks. The cleaver layout did make this book much MUCH more helpful (not to mention an easier read). Chris does go over technique in chapter one, which I really enjoyed and wished there was more of. Technique and style are timeless; the tools will continue to get upgraded.

I think we all know that monkey… he’s the one that just ‘knows’ his stuff. Always seems to be one branch ahead of the rest of us. And we continue to find ourselves tapping him on the shoulder and asking, ‘Hey could you help me create (fill in the HUGE blank here) real fast?’ Well, that monkey is Chris Georgenes (don’t take offense my friend) and this book is what he wrote to show the world some of those creation processes!

Early in the book I got a feeling that really didn’t leave me. This book seems to be aimed more towards the artist. If you are an artist I HIGHLY recommend this book. If you don’t consider yourself an artist and just want to get into web design… check out this book from a Library to see if you want to purchase it. Myself, I don’t consider myself an artist but have a handful of post-it notes sticking out of the pages I want to revisit.

The interludes at the end of each chapter were a really nice touch. These little gems enhance the feeling that you know the guy. Short, sweet, and often entertaining.

Overall well done book! Again, HIGHLY recommend if you are a traditional artist looking to get into Flash. For everyone else, MonkeyButlerNinja gives this book 4 tweening ninja stars out of 5!

 
1 Comment

Posted in Review: Books

 

Book Review: After Effects Expressions

27 Feb

After Effects Expressions by Marcus Geduld

Let me start off by explaining where my skill levels are at. I consider myself a very decent Adobe After Effects user and a beginner/intermediate Adobe Flash user. The next step for me in Flash is earning my black belt in Flash’s programming language Action Script 3.0. Action Script 3.0 is based heavily on JavaScript… which turns out to be the exact language Adobe After Effect uses! Oohhh how I can feel that black belt already!

I’ve attempted not once but TWICE to wrap my primate brain around Action Script 3.0. I had zero experience with JavaScript and had never attempted that language. After Effects Expressions is literally the first time that I felt that ‘AH-HA!’ moment. The examples and analogies Marcus Geduld are fantastic. I honestly hope that he puts out a sequel to this book! After Effects Expressions, part 2 The Expert Manual… or something. By the way Marcus if you use that title I am way cool with it, just make sure you toss http://www.MonkeyButlerNinja.com a shout out!

Pros:

This book will hold your hand as you take those first scary steps into JavaScript.

It is a fast read and well written. You most likely will get through this book quickly (partially because of the illustrations, see below) while retain a lot of knowledge.

Cons:

While this book assumes you know nothing about JavaScript it also makes the assumption you know nothing about math. This is defiantly not a con if you indeed are horrible at math.

The source material is all online (no CD or DVD) and the organization online isn’t the best. I hit a hiccup on the chapter 2 files but was able to recreate the material that I needed.

There are WAY too many pictures. To illustrate motion the book sometimes has 6 half page pictures in a row!! Now, I am not going to penalize the book too harshly for this, after all, the problem with books on coding is that they are books on coding. Giving our eyes a break from constant formulas keeps you fresh. Overdone, but I see a purpose.


Conclusion:

This book has a specific topic of a specific software, and I absolutely love that. When I grab a book, 9 times out of 10 I could skip the first 150 pages because of all the basics of tool selection, what the move tool does, how to install the program… BLAH… this book skips that and goes right to the good stuff. If you use Adobe After Effects and never have used expressions or have used basic ones that you got off the web somewhere… GET THIS BOOK!

I rate it: 4 wiggling Ninja Stars.

 
3 Comments

Posted in Review: Books

 

KC Video Core, or KCVideoCore as all the cool kids are saying.

27 Jan

First meeting of the Adobe User Group KCVideoCore went extremely well!

Overall size was a bit small, but I think that was due to the short notice on the official date and room. However, next month will be Feb 17th at JCCC. I’ll be posting that information next week at the KC Video Core web page.

It’s free to join and there are door prizes all the time! Not to mention the chance to win $2,100 worth of Adobe software! A big hint is: the more often you come/participate, the greater the chances of winning!

Last week at meeting 001 we the KC Video Core presented a couple new features. Of note the Mocha Tracking that comes built into After Effects CS4. Seriously, you can do this half asleep and you will look like a Monkey Ninja. Here is a link to a video demo: Clicky

Also discussed was some resource sites. Sites like the following:

• VideoCoPilot.net. Andrew Kramer constantly updates this site with outstanding tutorials for After Effects. Go to the website and click Tutorials, there you will find 82 to date. All free! He has some products to for purchase and honestly they are VERY useful. Personal note, I think this is a bit more towards intermediate/advanced stuff. So be sure to check out his After Effects Basic Training at videocopilot.net/basic/ There you will find 10 lessons that will get any basic user up to speed!
• Adobe.tv. Why wouldn’t this be a source of knowledge! Lots of good stuff here. Hardly any cons here; but if they had to improve one thing it would be the actual organization of data and layout. Also it being ran by Adobe, it might not utilize other software that maybe a different tutorial site might. These are small cons for the huge amount of content at this site.
• CreativeCow.net Another site thick with content for tutorials! They also have 9 different podcast, about half of which are video podcast. Also they have a magazine. The only real con here is organization of the videos, but a huge A+ in my book.
• StudioDaily.com The part of this I used was the printed magazine. I believe they are stopping the physical magazine (this month) and going purely digital. The last magazine had “Tips for Editing and Finishing RED Raw Files with Adobe CS4 Workflows”. Not primarily an Adobe software resource probably more of a main focus is hardware. From that site it has links to film&video and HDStudio.

I will be putting a list on the Adobe User Group page and will keep updating it as new sites come in.

JOIN NOW, Its FREE!
http://groups.adobe.com/groups/3d9345a0c5/summary

 
No Comments

Posted in Adobe Stuff

 

The what!?

19 Nov

Monkey Butler Ninja isn’t just your every day oddly dressed primate using Adobe products, no no. By day sure, this tender loving butler serving reviews on items ranging from books to equipment to software. But when the thrown feces hits the fan, this Monkey swings into gear and becomes the star throwing Monkey Ninja. Trained by the Ninjitsu Master Gus and sworn enemy of Mad Cow Ninja.

 
No Comments

Posted in the Story