Maya 2011 Video Tutorials

In Maya 2011 Essential Training from lynda.com, 3D animation expert George Maestri will take you on an in-depth tour of Maya - one of the best 3D animation, visual effects and compositing software out in the market today. If you're interested in learning Maya, take a look at some of these video tutorials from the training course. Lynda.com is a great learning resource that has tons of tech-related tutorials ranging from beginner to advanced levels. Visitors of this site can get a 7-day FREE trial to lynda.com if you wish to find out more about their online training library of over 900 courses.

Maya 2011 Essential Training - Welcome

Overview of the Maya interface: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Navigating viewports: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Configuring safe frames and grids: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Using the Hotbox: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Creating polygonal objects: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Working with Soft Select: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Working with edge loops: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Working with polygon booleans: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Introducing NURBS modeling: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Creating Bézier curves: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Using NURBS Extrude: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Trimming NURBS surfaces: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Converting NURBS to polygons: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Working with the Outliner: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Duplicating objects: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Working with selection masks: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Overview of renderers: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Using bitmaps as texture: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Using displacement and bump mapping: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Where can I view the rest of the videos?
If you enjoyed these videos and want to access the entire Maya 2011 Essential Training course, you can sign up for a lynda.com membership. Your membership will allow you to access not only this course, but the entire lynda.com online training library for as low as $25 for 1-month. That's over 900 courses with 50,000+ video tutorials. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time.

Not yet convinced? Try a FREE 7-day trial.
As a special promotion, visitors of this site can get a FREE 7-day trial to lynda.com. This free trial gives you access to their entire training library of over 900 courses.

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[Get a 7-day FREE trial to lynda.com]

Here is a more detailed description of the course:

Training provider: lynda.com training
Title: Maya 2011 Essential Training
Author: George Maestri
Duration: 9hrs 8mins
Date of release: 1 June 2010

1. Getting Started in Maya 2011
Overview of the Maya interface
Working with files and Maya projects
Navigating viewports
Reviewing the Viewport menus
Configuring safe frames and grids
Selecting objects
Using the Move tool
Rotating and scaling
Manipulating pivots
Understanding the Channel Box
Working with the Attribute Editor
Using the Hotbox
Working with marking menus
Customizing the interface

2. Polygonal Modeling Techniques
Creating polygonal objects
Working with polygonal components
Selecting polygonal components
Working with Soft Select
Using the Extrude tool
Keeping faces together
Extruding along curves
Using the Polygon Bevel tool
Smooth and subdivision surfaces
Blocking out a character body

3. Refining Polygonal Models
Working with edge loops
Inserting and offsetting edge loops
Symmetrical modeling techniques
Combining objects
Using the Polygon Bridge tool
Connecting components and splitting polygons
Poking and wedging faces
Working with polygon booleans
Modeling with nonlinear deformers
Modeling with lattices

4. NURBS Modeling Techniques
Introducing NURBS modeling
NURBS primitives
Using the NURBS curve tools
Creating Bézier curves
Creating text
Manipulating NURBS curves
Refining NURBS curves
Offsetting NURBS curves
Editing NURBS surfaces
Refining NURBS surfaces
Using NURBS Revolve
Using NURBS Loft
Using NURBS Extrude
Using NURBS Planar
Stitching NURBS surfaces

5. Refining NURBS Models
Extracting NURBS curves from surfaces
Creating curves on a surface
Projecting curves on surfaces
Trimming NURBS surfaces
Using the NURBS Fillet tool
Sculpting NURBS and polygonal surfaces
Converting NURBS to polygons

6. Organizing Maya Scenes
Working with the Outliner
Grouping objects
Creating hierarchies
Duplicating objects
Understanding the Hypergraph
Working with Hypergraph connections
Hiding and showing objects
Creating layers
Working with selection masks

7. Creating Materials
Overview of renderers
Understand the basics of materials
Creating and applying maps
Using bitmaps as texture
Working with the Hypershade window
Working with mental ray materials
Using displacement and bump mapping
Using the Ramp Shader
Using the 3D Paint tool

8. Applying Textures
Texture-mapping NURBS surfaces
Projecting textures onto surfaces
Texture-mapping polygonal surfaces
Applying UV mapping
Using the UVW Editor

9. Basic Deformations and Rigging
Creating joints
Deforming a mesh using the Skin tool
Creating IK handles
Creating blend shapes
Rigging nonlinear deformers
Finalizing the character
Rigging the character to the scooter

10. Animating in Maya
Working with the Timeline
Creating and adjusting keys (keyframes)
Editing keys
Modifying keys in the Graph Editor
Modifying keys in the Dope Sheet
Creating breakdown keys
Animating objects along paths
Animation playback using Playblast
Animating with constraints
Creating animation cycles
Using set-driven keys
Adding sound to animations
Finishing the animation

11. Rendering in Maya
Lights and lighting types in Maya
Adding depth-map shadows
Using Raytrace shadows
Understanding the basics of cameras
Adding depth of field
Adding Bokeh using mental ray
Using motion blur in Maya Software Renderer
Using motion blur in mental ray
Raytracing reflections and refractions
Interactive rendering with IPR
Lighting a scene
Batch rendering

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Dreamweaver CS5 Video Tutorials

Dreamweaver is perhaps the best web design and development software out there today. If you're interested in learning how to use this powerful application, check out a few of these Dreamweaver CS5 video tutorials that I've posted on this page. It will give you an idea of how Dreamweaver CS5 works, and how you can use it to improve your web design and development work-flow. These videos are from the Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training course provided by lynda.com. Continue reading this article if you wish to find out how to access more of the videos from this training title.

Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training - Welcome

What is Dreamweaver? - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Learning web design - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

The Application toolbar - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Basic site structure - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Defining a new site - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Creating new documents - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Working with starter pages - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Adding structure to text - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Understanding style sheets - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

The CSS Styles panel - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Using the Code Navigator - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Understanding element selectors - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Working with units of measurement - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Controlling vertical spacing with margins - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Understanding image types - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Modifying Smart Objects - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Modifying image properties - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Link Basics - Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training

Where can I view the rest of the videos?
If you enjoyed these videos and want to access the entire Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training course, you can sign up for a lynda.com membership. Your membership will allow you to access not only this course, but the entire lynda.com online training library for as low as $25 for 1-month. That's over 900 courses with 50,000+ video tutorials. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time.

Not yet convinced? Try a FREE 7-day trial.
As a special promotion, visitors of this site can get a FREE 7-day trial to lynda.com. This free trial gives you access to their entire training library of over 900 courses.

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OR

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Here is a more detailed description of the course:

Training provider: lynda.com training
Title: Dreamweaver CS5 Essential Training
Author: James Williamson
Duration: 15hrs 22mins
Date of release: 30 April 2010

1. Getting Started
What is Dreamweaver?
Learning web design
Current web standards

2. The Dreamweaver CS5 Interface
The Welcome screen
Windows and Mac interface differences
The Application toolbar
The Document toolbar
Arranging panels
Managing workspaces
The Properties Inspector
The Insert panel

3. Site Control
Basic site structure
File naming conventions
Defining a new site
Managing sites
Managing files and folders
Working with browsers

4. Creating New Documents
Creating new documents
New document preferences
Setting accessibility preferences
Working with starter pages
Managing starter pages

5. Adding Text and Structure
Basic tag structure
Adding structure to text
Creating lists
Getting text into Dreamweaver
Importing Word documents

6. CSS Foundations
Understanding style sheets
The anatomy of a CSS rule
Setting CSS preferences
The CSS Styles panel
Controlling CSS through the Properties Inspector
Using the Code Navigator
Using CSS Enable
Understanding element selectors
Understanding class selectors
Understanding ID selectors
Understanding descendant selectors
Attaching external style sheets

7. Controlling Typography
Working with units of measurement
Declaring font families
Controlling font sizing
Controlling weight and style
Controlling line height
Controlling vertical spacing with margins
Controlling spacing with padding
Aligning text
Transforming text
Writing global styles
Writing targeted styles

8. Working with Images
Understanding image types
Managing assets in Dreamweaver
Setting image accessibility preferences
Setting external image editing preferences
Placing images on the page
Photoshop integration
Modifying Smart Objects
Alternate Photoshop workflows
Modifying image properties
Styling images with CSS
Using background graphics
Positioning background graphics

9. Creating Links
Link basics
Setting site linking preferences
Creating links in Dreamweaver
Absolute links
Using named anchors
Linking to named anchors in external files
Creating an email link
Creating CSS-based rollovers

10. Controlling Layout with CSS
CSS structuring basics
The Box Model
Understanding floats
Clearing and containing floats
Using relative positioning
Using absolute positioning
Creating structure with div tags
Styling basic structure
Creating a two-column layout
Using Live View and CSS Inspect
Using Browser Lab

11. Working with Tables
Reviewing table structure
Importing tabular data
Creating accessible tables
Using thead and tbody tags
Basic table styling
Styling table headers
Styling column groups
Creating custom table borders
Styling table captions

12. Working with Forms
How forms work
Reviewing form design
Creating accessible forms
Setting form properties
The fieldset and legend tags
Inserting text fields
Inserting list menu items
Inserting checkboxes
Inserting radio button groups
Inserting text areas
Inserting submit buttons
Basic form styling
Form element styling
Styling form layout
Adding form interactivity
Using Spry validation widgets

13. Building Templates
Planning for templates
Creating a new template
Using editable attributes
Creating optional regions
Creating new pages from a template
Applying templates to existing pages
Working with nested templates
Working with repeating regions
Modifying templates

14. Adding User Interactivity
Behaviors overview
Hiding and showing elements
Spry overview
Using Spry widgets
Adding Spry effects
Using the Widget Browser

15. Working with Flash and Video
Inserting Flash files
Setting properties for Flash
Dreamweaver and Flash integration
Encoding Flash video
Adding Flash video

16. Managing Sites
Running site-wide reports
Checking for broken links
Checking for browser compatibility
Adding remote servers
Uploading files
Managing remote sites

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How to use LinkedIn | Video tutorials on learning LinkedIn

LinkedIn is perhaps the biggest social networking site catering to professionals out there today. Whether you're an individual who is seeking employment opportunities, a recruitment officer looking for potential employees, or a marketing manager who wants to promote a brand or service online, LinkedIn has tools that will help you achieve your goals. If you're interested in learning how to be a part of this social network and how to be able to make use of its features, here are a couple of video tutorials that will show you some of the things you can do with LinkedIn. These are just a few of the videos from the LinkedIn Essential Training course from lynda.com. Continue reading this article if you wish to find out how to access more of the videos from this training title.

LinkedIn Essential Training - Welcome

LinkedIn Essential Training - Signing up with LinkedIn

LinkedIn Essential Training - Adding your work experience and education

LinkedIn Essential Training - Selecting an appropriate networking approach: Open vs. Closed

LinkedIn Essential Training - Why start a LinkedIn group?

LinkedIn Essential Training - Reviewing the Jobs section

Where can I view the rest of the videos?
If you enjoyed these videos and want to access the entire LinkedIn Essential Training course, you can sign up for a lynda.com training membership. Your membership will allow you to access not only this course, but the entire lynda.com online training library for as low as $25 for 1-month. That's over 900 courses with 50,000+ video tutorials. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time.

Not yet convinced? Try a 7-day free trial.
As a special promotion, visitors of this site can get a 7-day free trial to lynda.com. This free trial gives you access to their entire training library of over 900 courses.

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OR

[Get a 7-day FREE trial to lynda.com]

Here is a more detailed description of the course:

Training provider: lynda.com training
Title: LinkedIn Essential Training
Author: Richard Colback
Duration: 2hrs 36mins
Date of release: 16 February 2011

1. Introducing LinkedIn
What is LinkedIn?

2. Signing Up
Signing up with LinkedIn

3. Reviewing the Key Parts of LinkedIn with a Finished Profile
Learning the Home page
Understanding the importance of the Highlights section
Exploring the personal summary
Reviewing work experience and education
Working through additional profile information
Understanding the importance of connections
Looking at the power of groups
Understanding how companies use LinkedIn

4. Creating Your Profile
Building your profile starting with the highlights
Adding your work experience and education
Using groups to add depth to your profile
Understanding the difference between a public and private profile

5. Managing Connections
Understanding why connecting is powerful
Selecting an appropriate networking approach: Open vs. closed
Reviewing connection settings
Accepting and sending invitations and messages
Giving and receiving recommendations
Accepting automatic connection recommendations
Connecting via groups
Using the Tweets application to grow your network
Understanding what your network statistics mean

6. Being Part of a Group
Finding the right groups for you
Joining groups and selecting options
Being mindful of etiquette and communication within groups

7. Starting Your Own Group
Why start a LinkedIn group?
Defining groups
Selecting options
Building your group membership
Managing your group

8. Seeking Jobs
Looking for jobs on LinkedIn
Reviewing the Jobs section
Trolling the job board
Using keywords in your profile to increase visibility
Following companies and getting job alerts
Monitoring your network stats to know where to make adjustments
Using additional options: Buttons, service provider listings, and paid options

9. Recruiting Employees
Searching profiles to find suitable candidates
Understanding the etiquette for approaching candidates
Assessing references

10. Marketing Your Business
Using Linkedin for business
Setting up a business profile

11. Getting Involved with Communities
Asking questions and providing answers
Engaging through group discussions and news

12. Using Applications
What are apps?
File-sharing apps
Blog apps
Personal interest apps
Business info apps
Presentation apps
Professionally focused apps
Mobile apps
Removing apps from your profile

13. Editing Your Profile
Completing your profile
Editing your profile to stay relevant
Managing your settings

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How to use Flickr | video tutorials

Flickr is one of the most popular photo and video sharing social networks out there today. If you're interested in learning how to use Flickr, I've posted a few video tutorials on this page. These videos are from lynda.com's Flickr Essential Training by professional photographer Derrick Story. In this course, you'll learn the basics of using Flickr - how to upload, edit, and share images and video. Other topics include adding titles, descriptions, and captions; posting photos from Flickr to a blog; organizing images into sets, collections, and galleries; interacting with the Flickr community and more.

Flickr Essential Training - Welcome

Flickr Essential Training - Setting up your account and profile

Flickr Essential Training - Editing your personal information

Flickr Essential Training - Uploading photos the simple way

Flickr Essential Training - Creating a gallery

Flickr Essential Training - Discovering via the Places project

Flickr Essential Training - Using Google to search inside Flickr

Flickr Essential Training - Single key keyboard shortcuts

How do I access this entire training course?
If you learned a lot from these videos and want to access the entire Flickr Essential Training course, you can sign up for a lynda.com training membership. Your membership will allow you to access not only this course, but the entire lynda.com online training library for as low as $25 for 1-month. That's access to over 900 courses and 50,000+ video tutorials. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time.

Not yet convinced? Try a 7-day free trial.
As a special promotion, visitors of this site can get a 7-day free trial to lynda.com. This free trial gives you access to their entire training library of over 900 courses.

[Sign up for a lynda.com membership TODAY!]

OR

[Get a 7-day FREE trial to lynda.com]

Here is a more detailed description of the course:

Training provider: lynda.com training
Title: Flickr Essential Training
Author: Derrick Story
Duration: 3hrs 45mins
Date of release: 17 March 2011

1. Getting Started
Creating your Flickr account
Exploring the home page
Setting up your account and profile
Uploading photos
Finding friends

2. Specifying Settings for Your Account
Editing your personal information
Specifying privacy and permissions settings
Specifying email settings
Adding functionality

3. Uploading Photos and Videos
Uploading photos the simple way
Using the basic uploader link
Using the Flickr Uploadr software
Uploading from photo-management programs
Uploading video clips
Connecting Flickr to Facebook

4. Viewing Photos
Getting around in your photostream
Viewing larger versions of a photo
Viewing photos as a slideshow
Sharing photos via email
Searching techniques

5. Adding Information to Photos
Creating and editing titles and descriptions
Adding tags to make photos easy to find
Searching with tags and improving visibility
Adding a photo to your map
Creating notes to identify things in a photo
Adding the name of someone who appears in a photo

6. Working with Photos
Deleting a photo that you've uploaded
Replacing a photo that you've uploaded
Changing the license for a photo
Changing the location where a photo was taken
Changing the date that a photo was taken or posted
Posting photos from Flickr to your blog

7. Editing and Enhancing Photos Using Picnik
Enabling online editing
Rotating, cropping, and resizing
Working with autofix, exposure, and colors
Sharpening photos
Applying effects
Adding text

8. Working with Your Photostream
Creating a set
Adding photos to a set
Creating a collection
Organizing sets and collections
Applying changes to a batch of photos
Creating a gallery
Viewing your archives

9. Participating in the Flickr Community
Adding a comment to a photo
Viewing recent activity on your photos
Marking a photo as a favorite
Adding contacts
Knowing when someone adds you as a contact
Inviting non-Flickr members
Creating and using guest passes
Using your contact list
Managing FlickrMail

10. Participating in Groups
What are groups?
Joining and contributing to a group
Starting and administering your own group

11. Exploring
Exploring the Explore page
Looking at videos and analog photography
Investigating the Flickr Clock
Charting the Flickr Map
Discovering via the Places project
Perusing the Commons and the Creative Commons
Reading the Flickr Blog and code.flickr
Exploring the Camera Finder
Using Google to search inside Flickr

12. Using Flickr with Phones and Other Mobile Devices
Exploring Flickr from a mobile device
Uploading from a camera phone using email
Uploading from a Flickr app
Flickr apps for iPhone and Android

13. Tips and Advanced Techniques
Single-key keyboard shortcuts
Setting up Flickr email notifications
Licensing your photos through Getty Images
Printing your Flickr images
Exploring Flickr add-ons
Using an Eye-Fi card when traveling
Seeing your site as the world sees it

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Barbie® I Can Be...™ Computer Engineer Doll - A wonderful toy for your daughter

Because Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, and Snooki aren't exactly great role models.



Get the Barbie I Can Be Computer Engineer Barbie Doll at Amazon.com.

Drupal 7 Tutorials | Video Training Course with Demos

Drupal is one of the most well-known and widely-used open source content management systems out there today, and it powers millions of sites and applications throughout the web. As of this posting, the latest version is Drupal 7, which was released on January 5, 2011. For those interested in learning its new features, lynda.com online tutorials has released a series of Drupal 7 tutorials. In Drupal 7 Essential Training, computer journalist Tom Geller presents a series of video tutorials that will show you how to get the most out of this powerful and robust content management system (CMS). By the end of the course, you will have learned the necessary skills that will enable you to build a website using Drupal. The course will go through the basics of how to download and install Drupal, add content and graphics to a site, change the layout and design elements, control visitor interactions, and expand the site's capabilities beyond what’s available in Drupal core. You'll also learn about established best practices to ensure that your site remains streamlined, secure, and up-to-date.

Watch these selected videos to get a good idea of the pace and flow of this course:

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Welcome

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Getting a Drupal site up fast

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Deciding whether to use Drupal

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Investigating Drupal's inner workings

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Understanding nodes

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Adding fields to content types

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Modifying image styles

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Selecting and installing downloaded themes

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Enabling styled text with a WYSIWYG editor

Drupal 7 Essential Training - Launching a Drupal site

If you liked these videos, then go ahead and sign up for a lynda.com online tutorials membership. For $25, you get 1-month unlimited access to not just this training course, but all of Lynda.com's 900+ training courses. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time. And as a special promotion for visitors of this site, you can get a FREE 7-day trial pass to lynda.com. This free trial gives you access to all of their 900+ training titles so that you can see for yourself what a great learning resource this website is.

[Get a FREE 7-day trial pass to lynda.com TODAY]

The course is 7 hours and 25 minutes in total length, and the tutorials are divided into 17 chapters. Here is a more detailed outline of the course:

Title: Drupal 7 Essential Training
Author: Tom Geller
Level: Beginner
Duration: 7hrs 25mins
Date of Release: 14 January 2011

Chapter 1: Defining Drupal
Managing content with Drupal 7
Comparing Drupal with other content management systems
Deciding whether to use Drupal
Looking at Drupal-built sites
Exploring the Drupal universe
Getting help with Drupal issues

Chapter 2: Understanding How Drupal Works
Checking Drupal's requirements
Investigating Drupal's inner workings
Learning Drupal's basic workflow
Understanding key terms in Drupal
Touring Drupal's interface

Chapter 3: Installing Drupal on Mac OS X or Windows
Installing the Acquia Drupal stack installer (DAMP)
Importing core Drupal into DAMP
Running Drupal's installer on top of DAMP

Chapter 4: Installing Drupal on a Server
Uploading Drupal with SFTP
Uploading Drupal with SSH
Creating Drupal's MySQL database
Running Drupal's installer
Installing Drupal using Acquia's Debian/Ubuntu package

Chapter 5: Controlling Drupal 7
Using the toolbar
Using the shortcut bar
Touring the administrative controls
Customizing the Dashboard
Differentiating administrator and visitor views

Chapter 6: Building a Drupal Site
Understanding nodes
Creating basic content
Changing site information, graphics, and interface
Giving visitors a way to contact you

Chapter 7: Controlling Content
Creating content summaries
Revising content
Categorizing content with tags
Going further with content categories
Publishing content via RSS
Using text formats to prevent content damage
Setting the comment policy
Managing comments

Chapter 8: Enabling Other Content Types
Adding blogs
Adding discussion groups
Adding polls
Subscribing to RSS feeds
Categorizing RSS feeds

Chapter 9: Extending Content
Creating new content types
Adding fields to content types
Exploring field types and options
Adjusting field display
Customizing field display by context
Modifying image styles

Chapter 10: Managing Users
Defining new user policies
Creating user accounts
Setting up user profiles
Defining user roles
Controlling access permissions
Canceling user accounts

Chapter 11: Changing a Site's Interface
Understanding Drupal 7 page layout
Taking advantage of block regions
Creating and modifying blocks
Selecting and installing downloaded themes
Building themes the traditional way

Chapter 12: Helping Users Find Their Way Around
Understanding Drupal 7 default menus
Creating multilevel menus
Creating easy-to-navigate books

Chapter 13: Expanding a Site's Capabilities with Modules
Installing and uninstalling modules
Configuring modules
Surveying popular modules
Enabling styled text with a WYSIWYG editor

Chapter 14: Displaying Information with Views
Understanding views
Creating views
Modifying views

Chapter 15: Administrating Drupal
Launching a Drupal site
Troubleshooting a Drupal 7 installation
Backing up and restoring a Drupal site
Updating Drupal
Deleting Drupal

Chapter 16: Going Further with Drupal
Monitoring performance
Improving administration skills
Reviewing security and permissions
Adopting best practices

Chapter 17: Developing for Drupal
Programming modules
Joining the Drupal community

[Get a FREE 7-day pass to lynda.com TODAY]

So if you're ready to start with Drupal 7 Essential Training, sign-up for a lynda.com online tutorials membership today.

Android Game Development - Creating Android Games Using Flash CS5

If you're interested in creating Android games using Flash CS5, then check out Lynda.com's Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices video training course. This course on creating Android games will show you how to translate your existing Flash skills so that you can use them to design a game in Flash and publish it as an AIR for Android app. By the end of the course, you will have learned the following game concepts: collision detection, random enemy creation and movement, shooting capabilities, creating multiple levels, and displaying high scores.

Want to try out the entire Lynda training library of 900+ courses for FREE?

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This course also goes beyond game functionality and shows you how to incorporate the use of mobile device capabilities such as the accelerometer and gestures to control graphics, and the hardware keys to activate menus. You'll also learn how to optimize your game so that it plays well on mobile devices. Once you've designed and created your own Android game using the skills you've learned from this course, you'll probably want to distribute it through the Android Market; this course will teach you that as well.

This training course consists of a total of 3 hours and 35 minutes worth of video divided into different chapters. You'll be viewing clearly presented video recordings of the author showing you how to create the Android game. No need to go through long pages of text, and best of all, you'll see exactly what's happening on the author's screen so that you can easily follow along.

Here are a couple of sample videos from the course that will give you a better idea of the kind of game that you will be creating:

Introduction - Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices

Adding code snippets - Flash CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices

This video talks about Flash CS5's handy feature known as code snippets. Code snippets are pre-made customizable code that you can easily add to your project.

Adding elements of randomness and chance to your game - Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices

This video will show you how to create an element of chance when generating the number of enemies that come up in your game. You'll also learn how to randomize the movement of these enemy characters.

Using the accelerometer to enable the user to move the game character by tilting the device - Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices

This video will show you how to use the AS3 Accelerometer class in order to take advantage of an Android device's accelerometer sensor, which detects if the device is being tilted by the user, so that it can be used to make the character move.


If you liked the sample videos, then go ahead and sign up for a Lynda.com membership to view the entire course. For $25, you get 1-month unlimited access to not just this training course, but all of Lynda.com's 900+ training courses. No long-term commitment required. You can cancel your membership at any time. And as a special promotion for visitors of this site, you can get a Free 10 day pass to lynda.com. Go ahead and see for yourself what a great learning resource this website is.

Get a [Free 10 day pass to lynda.com]

Here's a more detailed outline of the course:

Title: Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices
Author: Paul Trani
Duration: 3hrs 35mins
Date of Release: 15 February 2011

Chapter 1: Introduction to Mobile
Understanding the user
Flash content on Android devices

Chapter 2: Mobile Game Setup
Reviewing the game
Creating a file in Device Central
Reviewing the game structure
Adding code snippets

Chapter 3: Basic Game Movement
Animating the intro screen
Moving the player
Adding enemies
Adding movement
Adding chance and randomness

Chapter 4: Advanced Interactivity
Adding lasers
Detecting collisions
Adding explosions
Removing assets from the stage
Adding audio

Chapter 5: Scoring
Adding scoring and levels
Subtracting lives and ending the game
Creating a results screen
Displaying the score
Saving and loading game results

Chapter 6: Mobile-Specific Functionality
Detecting movement with the Accelerometer
Using the swipe gesture
Using hardware keys

Chapter 7: Optimizing for Mobile Devices
Handling exits and idle mode
Handling activation and deactivation
Optimizing graphics
Optimizing ActionScript

Chapter 8: Publishing
Creating the application files
Creating the app (Mac)
Creating the app (PC)
Publishing to an Android device (Mac)
Publishing to an Android device (PC)

Chapter 9: Uploading to the Android Market
Uploading to the Android market
Downloading from the Android market

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So if you want to start learning about Android game development so you can start creating your own Android games, then sign up for Lynda.com's Flash Professional CS5: Creating a Simple Game for Android Devices training course.

Sample code from today's class on AS3 Tweens (2011-02-17)

I talked about the AS3 Tween class today and how it can be used to create motion tweens using AS3 code. For the example discussed in class, I used a for loop to create multiple sprite instances, and multiple tween objects to animate those sprites. The size, color and movement properties of each moving sprite were randomized as well. I also talked about the MOTION_FINISH event related to the AS3 Tween class, and how it can be used with the yoyo() method to make the tweens loop back and forth. Some of my students asked if I could post the sample code from our session today about the AS3 Tween class, so I'm posting it here. I also created another version that has more randomized properties. The AS3 Tween class is great for creating simple motion tween animations using code.

import fl.transitions.Tween;
import fl.transitions.easing.*;
import fl.transitions.TweenEvent;
import flash.display.Sprite;

var nSprites:Number = 25;
var aSprites:Array = new Array();
var aTweenX:Array = new Array();
var aTweenY:Array = new Array();

for (var i:Number = 0; i < nSprites; i++)
{
     var nRadius:Number = Math.random() * 25 + 10;
     var nColor:Number = Math.random() * 0xFFFFFF;
     var nStartX:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageWidth;
     var nEndX:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageWidth;
     var nStartY:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageHeight;
     var nEndY:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageHeight;

     aSprites[i] = new Sprite();

     aSprites[i].graphics.beginFill(nColor);
     aSprites[i].graphics.drawCircle(0,0,nRadius);
     aSprites[i].graphics.endFill();
     
     addChild(aSprites[i]);

     aTweenX[i] = new Tween(aSprites[i], "x", Elastic.easeInOut, nStartX, nEndX, 3, true);
     aTweenY[i] = new Tween(aSprites[i], "y", Elastic.easeInOut, nStartY, nEndY, 7, true);

     aTweenX[i].addEventListener(TweenEvent.MOTION_FINISH, onMotionFinish);
     aTweenY[i].addEventListener(TweenEvent.MOTION_FINISH, onMotionFinish);
}

function onMotionFinish(e:TweenEvent):void
{
 e.target.yoyo();
}

Here's another version with even more randomization. The duration for each tween is randomized. The easing used is also randomized. The different easing functions are placed in an Array. Then we get a random number that's anywhere from 0 to the highest index value in the array, and use that to retrieve an easing type randomly from the easing functions Array:

import fl.transitions.Tween;
import fl.transitions.easing.*;
import fl.transitions.TweenEvent;
import flash.display.Sprite;

var nSprites:Number = 25;
var aSprites:Array = new Array();
var aTweenX:Array = new Array();
var aTweenY:Array = new Array();
var aEasing:Array = new Array(None.easeNone, Back.easeIn, Back.easeOut, Back.easeInOut, Bounce.easeIn, Bounce.easeOut, Bounce.easeInOut, Elastic.easeIn, Elastic.easeOut, Elastic.easeInOut, Regular.easeIn, Regular.easeOut, Regular.easeInOut, Strong.easeIn, Strong.easeOut, Strong.easeInOut);

for (var i:Number = 0; i < nSprites; i++)
{
     var nRadius:Number = Math.random() * 25 + 10;
     var nColor:Number = Math.random() * 0xFFFFFF;
     var nStartX:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageWidth;
     var nEndX:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageWidth;
     var nStartY:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageHeight;
     var nEndY:Number = Math.random() * stage.stageHeight;
     var nDurationX:Number = Math.random() * 5 + 2;
     var nDurationY:Number = Math.random() * 5 + 2;
     var nEasingX:Number = Math.floor(Math.random() * aEasing.length);
     var nEasingY:Number = Math.floor(Math.random() * aEasing.length);

     aSprites[i] = new Sprite();

     aSprites[i].graphics.beginFill(nColor);
     aSprites[i].graphics.drawCircle(0,0,nRadius);
     aSprites[i].graphics.endFill();

     addChild(aSprites[i]);

     aTweenX[i] = new Tween(aSprites[i], "x", aEasing[nEasingX], nStartX, nEndX, nDurationX, true);
     aTweenY[i] = new Tween(aSprites[i], "y", aEasing[nEasingY], nStartY, nEndY, nDurationY, true);

     aTweenX[i].addEventListener(TweenEvent.MOTION_FINISH, onMotionFinish);
     aTweenY[i].addEventListener(TweenEvent.MOTION_FINISH, onMotionFinish);
}

function onMotionFinish(e:TweenEvent):void
{
     e.target.yoyo();
}

AS3: Detecting if the Mouse is Idle or Not Moving

In ActionScript 3, you can use MouseEvent.MOUSE_MOVE in order to detect when the user moves the mouse in your Flash movie, but I needed something that could detect the opposite. I needed to check whether the mouse was idle or not moving. I needed to find a way to check if the mouse pointer is being still and is just staying put in the same spot. So I noodled around a bit with some code, and what I came up with was an ENTER_FRAME event listener that would constantly check for the current x and y positions of the mouse pointer to see if the values were changing. To be able to check if the values were changing, I created 2 variables for each of the coordinates - 2 variables for the x coordinates, and 2 variables for the y coordinates. I made 2 sets so that I could compare them to see if the position of the mouse pointer has changed. I had posXa & posXb for the x coordinates, and posYa & posYb for the y coordinates. And then I used stage.mouseX and stage.mouseY to alternately assign the current position of the mouse pointer to the 2 sets of variables every time the ENTER_FRAME event gets triggered. The first time the ENTER_FRAME event listener runs, the location of the mouse pointer is assigned to posXa and posYa. Then the next time it runs, the location is assigned to posXb and posYb instead. And then it just continues to alternate each time the ENTER_FRAME event gets dispatched. I have a switcher variable, which is just an integer that switches back and forth between 0 and 1, and I am using that to tell Flash to alternately assign the values to either set. The idea here is to constantly check whether the values in set A and set B are the same or not. If they are, it means that the mouse is in the same spot, and is therefore not moving. Here's the code:

var switcher:int = 0;
var posXa:Number = stage.mouseX;
var posYa:Number = stage.mouseY;
var posXb:Number = stage.mouseX;
var posYb:Number = stage.mouseY;

this.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, checkMovement);

function checkMovement(e:Event):void
{
     if (switcher == 0)
     {
          posXa = stage.mouseX;
          posYa = stage.mouseY;
          switcher = 1;
     }
     else
     {
          posXb = stage.mouseX;
          posYb = stage.mouseY;
          switcher = 0;
     }

     if (posXa == posXb && posYa == posYb)
     {
          trace("not moving");
     }
     else
     {
          trace("moving");
     }
}

Simple AS3 Collision Detection Using the AS3 hitTestObject() Method

In this tutorial, we're going to learn how to create basic AS3 collision detection using the AS3 hitTestObject() method of the MovieClip class. Collision detection refers to the process of checking whether 2 or more objects are hitting each other - if parts or the whole of each object are occupying the same space on the stage (i.e. if they are overlapping). For this exercise, we'll put two square shaped MovieClip instances on the stage and make one of them draggable. When the user drags and then drops that instance, Flash will check whether the user moved it to a new location where it is now hitting the other instance.

Let's begin.

1. Create a new Flash ActionScript 3 document.
2. Draw a square shape on the stage and convert it into a Movie Clip symbol.
3. Put a total of 2 instances of this Movie Clip symbol on the stage.
4. In the Properties Inspector, give one of them an instance name of square1_mc, and give the other one an instance name of square2_mc.
5. Create a new layer for the ActionScript.
6. Bring up the Actions panel and add the following code:

square1_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, drag);
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, drop);

function drag(e:MouseEvent):void
{
 e.target.startDrag();
}

function drop(e:MouseEvent):void
{
 stopDrag();
 if (square1_mc.hitTestObject(square2_mc))
 {
  trace("Collision detected!");
 }
 else
 {
  trace("No collision.");
 }
}

When you test the movie, you should be able to drag and drop the square1_mc MovieClip instance. And when you drop it, Flash will check whether it's hitting the other MovieClip instance or not. If they are hitting, you will see a message in the Output window that says: Collision detected! If they are not hitting, the message you will see is: No collision.

Here's the same code for our simple AS3 collision detection using the AS3 hitTestObject() method, but with comments:

/*You can use the AS3 hitTestObject() method of the MovieClip class
to test whether 2 objects are hitting each other. Hitting refers
to whenever objects collide or overlap on the stage.

Example:
mc1.hitTestObject(mc2);

The example above tests whether mc1 and mc2 are overlapping.
This statement returns a boolean value - true if the objects
are hitting and false if they are not. You can use this method
in an if statement condition.

In this example, we should have 2 MovieClip instances on the stage -
square1_mc and square2_mc.
We are going to make the square1_mc MovieClip
draggable. And when the user drops it, Flash will
check whether square1_mc and square2_mc are hitting.*/

/*Add the MOUSE_DOWN event listener to the MovieClip
instance that we would like to make draggable.*/
square1_mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, drag);

/*Add the MOUSE_UP event listener to the stage.*/
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, drop);

/*This event listener function will make the first
MovieClip instance draggable.*/
function drag(e:MouseEvent):void
{
 e.target.startDrag();
}

/*This event listener function disables the dragging.
It also checks whether the MovieClip instance being dragged
overlaps with the other MovieClip instance after
it was dropped.*/
function drop(e:MouseEvent):void
{
 /*Drops the MovieClip that's currently being dragged.*/
 stopDrag();
 
 /*This if statement uses the AS3 hitTestObject() method to check
 whether the first MovieClip instance is hitting the 
 second one.*/
 if (square1_mc.hitTestObject(square2_mc))
 {
  /*Flash outputs this message if they are 
  hitting each other.*/
  trace("Collision detected!");
 }
 else
 {
  /*Flash outputs this message if they are 
  NOT hitting each other.*/
  trace("No collision.");
 }
}

And that concludes this tutorial on creating simple AS3 collision detection using the AS3 hitTestObject() method.