Using the Adobe Flash Sprite Sheet Generator
Adobe Flash Professional CS6 introduces a new tool called the Sprite Sheet Generator. This feature lets you generate a sprite sheet from any symbol or image on the Stage or in the document Library. Sprite sheets are an efficient way to add looping animations to games because they can be rendered using the GPU.
This article examines how to convert a looping animation into a sprite sheet using the Flash Sprite Sheet Generator. Continue reading →
Inkling by Wacom!
Wacom is completely blurring the line between drawing on real paper and drawing digitally! Seriously, this is seemingly impossible yet it now exists! Thanks Wacom!
How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS6
The 4th edition of How to Cheat in Flash is in production! The cover has been approved and I’m gathering content to add in the next couple of months. Not sure of the publication date yet so look for updates later this year.
HTCIF has its own Facebook page – hit the Like button to keep up with news and general updates or if you’d like to discuss any topics related to the book – you are encouraged to do just that 
Brush Animation
This is an animated effect for a GSN (Game Show Network) game. The entire animation was created from start to finish using Adobe Flash CS5. I initially sketched the basic motion, then used a home-grown technique of shape tweening strokes to get the 3D effect of the brush, then ultimately animated the dust using frame-by-frame techniques.
The Cosmonaut Stylus
The Cosmonaut Stylus from Studio Neat
An amazing thing happened to me the other night. For the first time in my career I spent the entire evening being digitally creative and not once did I touch my MacBook Pro/intuos 4 or my desktop computer/Wacom Cintiq. I was using my iPad with a stylus and a slew of creativity apps.
Yeah, creativity. There are apps for that.
But even better, there are styluses too. You’d think nothing could replace the perfection that the 1:1 finger-to-glass ratio provides, but surprisingly all kinds of styluses are flying off of virtual and analog shelves more and more each day.
Presentation template design
Background design for Game Show Network (GSN) PowerPoint Presentation deck.
RIP Forums
I’ve decided (and it wasn’t an easy decision) to remove the forums. I simply do not have the bandwidth to maintain them any longer – and when I say maintain, I mean constantly chasing spambots. I will however try and archive the entire forum and offer it for download as there is some very useful content that would be shameful to delete.
Continue reading →
Starling Framework logo…
Thibault Imbert and Daniel Sperl needed an avatar for their Starling Framework. So I created one for them.
I also designed the avatar for the Sparrow Framework:
Still here…
Let me clear away some of the cob webs first….
Ok – that’s better. This may go as unread assuming nobody returns to this desert of a blog. I deserve the lack of traffic I’m sure I am getting (or not getting). But my absence has been for good reason – another book title on the way. I’m about 75% through production with the deadline hovering steady over my shoulders. Once it’s done I’ll be in a better place in terms of regular blog posts but for now bear with me as I have been spending every available minute on the book. It just has to be that way.
Continue reading →