FLASH AND MATH RECEIVES THE 2009 ICTCM AWARD!
The Flash and Math project that includes the flashandmath.com website and our book featured below has just been honored by the International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics (ICTCM) with the 2009 ICTCM Award for Excellence and Innovation with the Use of Technology in Collegiate Mathematics!.
OUR NEW BOOK
Our new book "Flash and Math Applets: Learn by Example" by Douglas Ensley and Barbara Kaskosz is now released. Read all about the book, download sample chapters, and browse examples. Buy now from Amazon.com.
NEW TUTORIALS
3D Card Flips with Tweens in Flash CS4 and Flash CS3 The ultimate image flip tutorial! We present two custom AS3 classes, TweenFlipCS4 and TweenFlipCS3 prepared for FP10 and FP9, respectively. Flip vertically, horizontally, customize easily tweens and speed. In the CS4 version, we use native AS3 3D methods, and provide a way of solving the blurring of 3D objects problem.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: How to Set Perspective Projection of Display Objects - Experiments in Flash CS4 If you have more than one 3D object in your movie, manipulating the perspectiveProjection property of the root may not produce good results. In this tutorial, we show how to assign instances of the PerspectiveProjection class to individual display objects. We show several ways of accomplishing that. We discuss sometimes surprising behavior of such assignments.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: XML-Driven 3D Spinning Menu and Photo Gallery in Flash CS4 Due to the great popularity of our earlier spinning gallery, we present a much improved version of the gallery and the underlying SpinnerMenu class. The new gallery is XML-driven and thus easily customizable; each instance has its own PerspectiveProjection object which makes several instances of the menu in the same movie look good; loaded images can be captioned. Don't miss this one!
Flash CS4 Tutorial: 3D News Ticker in Flash CS4 and AS3 In this effect, we show how to use our custom AS3 class 'NewsTicker' to create a cutomizable 3D news ticker in Flash CS4. We use the new 3D methods available in AS3 for Flash Player 10. News messages are loaded from an external XML file. We also examine the issue of display objects becoming blurry when placed in the 3D space, the issue particularly bothersome when dealing with text.
Loading and Unloading SWFs with 'stage' References Loading external SWF files that contain references to 'stage' requires caution and often extra steps to avoid runtime errors. We discuss all the issues involved and give solutions. We also explore the question of unloading loaded content. We explore an exciting new method available in Flash Player 10, Loader.unloadAndStop and its superiority over Loader.unload.
Contour Map Plotter and 3D Function Grapher in Flash Combined We use our custom AS3 classes to build an applet which combines a contour diagram plotter and a 3D function grapher. The user's can input formulas for functions and variables ranges. The applet uses our custom classes: MathParser, GraphingBoard, GraphingBoard3D, and many helper classes. We provide complete, well-commented source code and a pdf guide of custom classes.
The SimpleGraph Class An alternate title for this tutorial could be, "How to make a functional grapher in 30 lines of code." With the custom SimpleGraph class available from flashandmath.com, creating a graph of an expression in one variable is a snap!
Flash CS4 Tutorial: 3D Spherical Gallery in Flash CS4 The new ActionScript 3 3D methods available in Flash Player 10 and Flash CS4 make it very easy to create sophisticated 3D effects that before required advanced tools like Papervision3d. In this example, we show how to build a 3D spherical image gallery. The sphere of thumbnails can be rotated by the user or it auto rotates. When the user clicks on a thumbnail, an image loads. Building this fully functional spherical gallery requires only a couple of pages of timeline code.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: 3D Photo Gallery in Flash CS4 A stunning 3D gallery of outer space images! The new 3D ActionScript 3 methods available in Flash Player 10 and Flash CS4 make it possible to literally 'build' complex 3D objects by positioning their elements in Flash's 3D space. It's simple and easy. In this effect, we build a 3D cylindrical gallery.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: 3D Texture Mapping with drawTriangles in Flash CS4 We create a collection of 3D textured spheres, namely planets, that auto rotate or can be rotated by the user in 3D. We use the AS3 method 'drawTriangles' for texture mapping. The method is new to Flash Player 10 and Flash CS4. A comparison with an earlier version of the app, where a custom AS3 class was used for bitmap distortion, shows that the drawTriangles method significantly improves performance.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: Simple 3D Dynamic Drawing in Flash CS4 In this tutorial, we present basics of runtime 3D drawing in Flash CS4 done in the simplest possible way. We use the new Matrix3D, Vector3D classes and rotational methods to build a simple renderer for 3D objects drawn at runtime. We show examples of a cube and an icosahedron that can be rotated by the user.
MOST REQUESTED TUTORIALS:
Simple 3D Drawing in Flash CS3 A step-by-step tutorial that walks you through the basic techniques of 3D rendering in ActionScript 3. We begin with a revolving cube and end with a parametric surface.
Loading External Clips and Videos in Flash CS3. Learn how to load and control external swf files at runtime, including those contaning Flash Video (flv) files.
Cube in Bloom: Distorting Images in AS3, 3D Menu on a Cube We construct a vibrant gallery of flowers on a cube. We provide custom AS3 classes: BitmapTransformer, CubeMenu, and ImageLoader. These classes make it easy to customize and to create 3D menus, galleries and other applications that require image loading and distortion.
Magnifying Glass Effect in Flash CS3 and AS3, Displaying Load Progress of Runtime Assets We show how to easily create a magnifying glass effect. When the user mouses over an image, a magnified portion is displayed. We use the bitmapFill method rather than masking to accomplish the effect. Since a high resolution image is loaded at runtime, we show how to create a simple load progress display.
Loading Random Images from an XML List in Flash CS3 Learn how to store images' addresses in an external XML file and load them randomly at runtime. We give a few simple examples: a random image is loaded when a button is clicked; a random image is chosen when the swf loads; several images are randomly shuffled. We illustrate the difference between the AS3 Loader and the URLLoader classes.
Tween Tricks in ActionScript 3 and Flash CS3 In this tutorial we explore less common ways of using the AS3 Tween class. The class is remarkably flexible. Instead of tweening properties directly related to motion or appearance, we tween a property of an auxiliary object. We show how to use the technique to create tweened nonlinear motion, tweened text effects, and a 'balloon' effect. We also illustrate the built-in AS3 easing functions.
3D Particles Experiments in AS3 and Flash CS3 Four stunning 3D particle experiments by Dan Gries. A sphere separates into several spheres based on the particles color; particles revolve and tend to a gravity center; particles transition throughout a cube, and more. You can rotate and manipulate the particles in 3D. Don't miss this one!
AS3 Experiment: A Bitmap Rotating in 3D Explodes into Particles Don't miss this stunning visual effect. An image revolving in 3D dissolves into a changing cloud of thousands of particles. The cloud can be rotated with the mouse before the particles come together again.
Billboard Transition Effects in ActionScript 3 and Flash CS3 Clever transition effects reminisent of billboards. Images (or display objects) are divided into slices that rotate in 3D to change the image. You choose the number of slices and the horizontal or vertical flip. The code is encapsulated in an AS3 Billboard class that makes it easy to create your custom billboards. If you set the number of slices to one and use two images, you obtain a simple and efficient playing card flip effect.
A Simple Function Grapher in Flash CS3 In four setps, we explain how to built a simple function grapher in AS3. The user can choose the x and y ranges as well as the function being graphed. This simple applet uses our mathematical expressions parser, the custom AS3 class MathParser.
ColorPicker Component in Flash CS3, Drawing with the Mouse in AS3 This tutorial shows how to apply the new and really cute ColorPicker component in Flash CS3. We built a simple applet in which the user can draw on the screen using the mouse. The user chooses color using the ColorPicker.
A Gallery of Customizable 3D Surfaces in Flash CS3, A Custom 3D Surface Class in AS3 We build a collection of spectacular 3D surfaces that can be rotated by the user. Then we create a custom ActionScript 3 class that makes it easy to use the collection for creating a variety of visually engaging Flash apps. Don't miss this one!
Using the Tween class in Flash CS3 and ActionScript 3 We give several examples of using the new class in AS3 - the Tween class. This class allows for easy creation of interesting visual effects and animations. We build control panels that smoothly slide in and out of place, with a nice 'bounce' to them. We also show a 'spin and snap back when dragged' example.
Introduction to Writing and Using Custom ActionScript 3 Classes with Flash CS3 We discuss the three ways that AS3 custom classes can be used with Flash CS3. Then we present a simple applet. In the initial version of the applet, the code is placed on the MainTimeline. We show how to move the code into a custom class.
Flash CS4 Tutorial: 3D Bitmap Book in Flash CS4 and AS3, Flipping Text in 3D In this effect, we show how to use our custom AS3 class 'Book' and a sequence of Timers to create a 3D animated book that spins, rotates, and travels through 3D space. We also demonstrate how to flip TextFields and other DisplayObjects in 3D. We use images of our book but the source code can be easily customized.
