Flash design in webpages.

hey i was wondering for all the people who know how to make cool ass sites in flash like all the ones in the cool sites section. how many years does it take to learn the skill to make sites like those? where are some tuts that teach you to make those kind of sites? i am willing to postpone my 3dstudio max learning for flash!! so plz tell me! thx

Dude. Don't postpone 3DSmax... Flash is stupid. Don't bother with it. 3DSmax can be way more usefull in the future.

Although you can do whatever you want...

I'll agree with Adam. If you are looking towards the future, the pay difference in someone who is blessed in 3DSM compared to Flash, is huge. If you focus on Flash you will never forgive yourself.

yea but i want to make cool looking sites!!!! but if that is true, ill take about 1 year in 3DSM or more to learn it then goto flash. and btw, do you have to be blessed?

No. You don't have to be blessed. But you'll wish you were. Spend lots of time with it. And if you want to make cool looking sites then learn JavaScript and HTML like the inside of your own ass. I mean, like the back of your hand. Flash is overused and javascript can look soo good.

Look at the different jobs. (beacuse really, that's what it comes down to) animators for ohhh... Say ILM. Make considerably more money than the dude making the website for them. Learn what will give you the most payback. And if you have time, learn other stuff for fun afterwards.

Cause you know, just learn 3D Studio Max and then you can walk into ILM or Pixar and get a job... :rolleyes: If you guys are learning what's going to give you the most payback I'll guarantee you you won't last long at ILM or anywhere else where the people are truly dedicated to what they do and love it; the difference between you and them will become very apparent very quickly. Most animators don't work for ILM btw, and I don't think the ones that work elsewhere are quite as highly paid as you think they are. As I've learned, there's a whole lot more to work than money, if you love what you do your job ceases to be a job, and I can say from personal experience that that's rather cool.

Whatever the case, it all depends what you want to do. Flash isn't that hard to learn, I've only been using it for about a year and a half seriously. The big key is design, not learning the software. There's a huge difference between a software operator and a designer. Same applies to 3D, you need the artistic skills, understanding of light, an eye for motion, etc. So sure, learn the software, but learn art and design too, it'll make you a whole better no matter what it is you end up doing.

Chris

Originally posted by Fig
Cause you know, just learn 3D Studio Max and then you can walk into ILM or Pixar and get a job...

Nowhere did I say this was the case. And I'm confused as to how one would jump to this conclusion from what I said. :rolleyes:

As I've learned, there's a whole lot more to work than money, if you love what you do your job ceases to be a job, and I can say from personal experience that that's rather cool.

And we resort to stating the obvious.... I know. I'm sure almost everyone else knows. I don't think that we have to hit people in the face with what they already know.

And it does come down to getting paid for what you do. I don't care if you perfer not to call your job a 'job'. But it is. I also cannot believe that you can honestly say "there's a whole lot more to work than money". If you love what you do and get satisfaction from doing it, that's something else. But by saying "there's a whole lot more to work than money" you are imlpying "I will do anything no matter how bad the pay is as long as I like it." I don't believe that.

Same applies to 3D, you need the artistic skills, understanding of light, an eye for motion, etc.

No sh*t. Why do you think colleges have programs dedicated to animation under ART? It is no different from photography, film making, or any other art medium where a pleasing image/piece is created. Photoshop, Illustrator, Bryce, Freehand, LightWave, 3DSmax, MS PAINTBRUSH.... etc. etc. etc. They are all just different mediums for one to express themself. And like painting, or modeling with clay, or charcoal sketches. You have to know art theory before you can successfully and consistantly create pleasing works.

adam,
little crabby today?? I didn't see any reason for your last post... other than to try and get Fig in some flame or piss him off (which he most likely would not get involved in anyway). So drop the 'tude' if you would...

Wow adam, wrong side of the bed this morning? My comment about walking into ILM is simply in regards to the fact that the 3d industry is quite different than it was a few years ago and a whole lot more competitive. You can't just learn a software package and expect to get a job, and even if you're really good the majority of the folks, as you know, don't work at ILM.

and since you seem to like to quote:

And we resort to stating the obvious.... I know. I'm sure almost everyone else knows. I don't think that we have to hit people in the face with what they already know.

Well, that sure isn't what you said. "Learn what will give you the most payback" sounds a bit different than that to me, maybe I'm just misinterpreting. As far as what I mean by "there's a whole lot more to work than money", I mean "there's a whole lot more to work than money" I've made more money at previous employers than I'm making right now and I could care less. I love where I work and the kind of work I'm doing, great creative environment with cool people. A few extra bucks wouldn't be a bad thing, but a few dollars isn't worth not wanting to go into work every day. Does that mean I'd work for nothing? No, that'd be kinda silly, I wouldn't think I'd have to state something that obvious ;)

As far as art/design skills, the individual asked what skills it takes to make sites like the ones they've seen. The design skills are as a big a part of it as anything else, and you seem to agree, and that was something that hadn't been mentioned yet in any of the responses. Instead we'd had remarkable insights like "Flash is stupid". Forigive me for stating something obvious to you that may not be as apparent to someone else.

Now go get a cookie or something, sounds like you're having a bad day

Chris

"The big key is design, not learning the software."
Tyler's words coming out of my mouth. This sentence is some important stuff.

flash isn't stupid, but it is usually used stupidly.