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Subject:	Re: FLASH: Flash3, Toy or serious designer tool?
From:	David Gary
Date:	Wed, 28 Oct 1998 17:37:42 GMT

Judy Miller wrote:

> Hey Dave,
> I am just getting back onto Flash, so I have a lot of catch up to do.
> Knowing very well that other programs are much stronger intheir capabilities
> for drawing, the case is that a tool always is best off used in its' native
> environment. To be able to do all the drawing, fills and such in Flash would
> be a major improvement. I have a heck of a time importing, or even
> copy/paste and retaining the looks I get from other programs.
> I downloaded the new Illustrator. The mesh tool is cool, but I would prefer
> to be able to draw a path that would spray the colour like an airbrush as in
> Fireworks.

My point exactly. The tools in FLash insure it' swf size and reliabilty.
Everythingmust be able to be created in the authoring enviroment itself.

> You can come pretty close to airbrush in Flash 3 by playing with your
> gradients and having them fade to transparent and manipulating the shape of
> the area and the fill after you place it, but you would need to layer and
> futz, it is a lot of work but it can be done and it can be done well. But
> the key is time and it takes a long time to make a small object look they
> way you want it to.

Believe me, Ive wrestled gradients in FLash for weeks to get "soft" edges
where I wanted them. Its akward and clumsy and SHOULD be much easier.
You have to create the gradient as symbols when part of the gradient is
0 alpha and layer the parts on top of each other. It makes for hours of
experimentation and frustration. IOWs an artist's nighmare.

> Fractal Expression has some beauty tools in it. I tried
> to play with importing stuff from there, but all I got was an ugly mess.

Another example of "import" ai problems. They also usually dont helpthe file
size any more than using a good bmp.

> On the other hand Dave, I have seen sites that use bitmaps not only
> effectively but absolutely beautifully in Flash. I also think that a lot of
> artists could do a lot with the brush tools and a drawing tablet as far as
> creating a mood.

Absolutely, Ive seen some creative things created with BMPs, but a designer
usually has to choose between a bmp layout or a "vector" layout. The use of both

together in most situations makes me nauseous.

Effective gradient use can tie the 2 applications much better.

FWIW, Ive got a ArtZll and its great!,......in Photoshop

> I can't remember the guys name, but there is someone on
> this list who used Flash in a purely artistic sense. Most of his work is
> using the brush tool and solid fills and I thought the work was incredible,
> even with Flash's limitations. Because he is such a talented artist to start
> with, he wasn't limited by Flash's limitations.

Yes he was."Most of his work is using the brush tool and solid fills".
His limitation was, he had no choice.

> I personally would like to see the same things as you, but from the
> viewpoint that I know my limitations as an artist. In my traditional
> painting, I strive on blending and brushing colour onto my paintings that
> fade to nothing, so the Flash world to me, is going to be many many hours
> infront of my monitor with my drawing tablet, learning to adapt to these
> tools.

We're all in the same boat here. Many many hours is many many hours I haveto
charge a client. Is the technique worth the time? Not usually, unless the client

has no bottom in his budget or a multi-million dollar coorporation with a bad
marketing dept. How many times do we run across those situations.

THe fact of the matter is, no matter how "interactive" you can get with FLash,
your only going to "interact" with limited visuals created with FLash. THis will

limit its attention, when people start relating to it. Oh thats a "Flash" site.
This is
a major limit on the designer and artist himself. Who wants to invest their
time into a
program that will categorize their work. Great sites like Matinee and Gabocorb
still have that "Flash" flat look and will continue to do so until we are givin'
more
power with gradients.

-DG-

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