Year-End Deals on Digital Video Games (2012) at Amazon

For those of you who are into video games, check out Amazon's Year-End Deals on Digital Video Games.

Check back every day between now and January 5, 2013 for new digital games deals.

Learning Photoshop - Tutorials for Beginners

Hello, and welcome to my page - Learning Photoshop - Tutorials for Beginners. If you're new to Photoshop, then this is a good place to start. Here, you'll find a collection of the different Photoshop tutorials I've made to help you get started with this amazing piece of software. So let's go ahead and start learning Photoshop!

Topic 1: Using the Brush Tool
In this lesson, we'll learn how to use the Brush tool so you can start creating your own digital paintings in Photoshop.

Topic 2: Working with Layers in Photoshop
Layers are one of Photoshop's most basic yet useful features. They allow you to make your Photoshop project more organized, and make editing much more efficient. Learning how to work with layers is one of the first things that every Photoshop beginner should start with.

Topic 3: The Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee Tools
In this lesson, we'll get introduced to the rectangular and elliptical marquee tools in Photoshop. These are selection tools. They allow you to select portions of your Photoshop document so that you can isolate those areas and edit them - you can paint over them, apply filters, transfer/move/extract those areas, etc. - without affecting the other areas outside of the selection.

Topic 4: The Free Transform / Transform Commands
The free transform / transform commands allow you to apply transformation changes to the contents of a layer. These transformation changes include scaling, rotation, skewing, flipping, etc...

Topic 5: Transferring Images to a New Photoshop Document
In this quick video tutorial, I'll show you how to transfer multiple images into one Photoshop document. This is useful if you want to combine different images together in your Photoshop project.

Topic 6: Copying a Portion of One Layer and Pasting it onto Another Layer in Photoshop
Watch this quick video tutorial to learn how to copy just a portion of one layer and paste it into another layer in your Photoshop document.

Topic 7: Creating a Layer Mask in Photoshop
Learn how to create a Photoshop layer mask in this video tutorial. Layer masking is a great feature in Photoshop that lets you hide portions of a layer by making them transparent.

Topic 8: Creating a Clipping Mask in Photoshop
Just like layer masks, clipping masks allow you to hide portions of a layer. Watch this video to learn how to create clipping masks in Photoshop.

Topic 9: Color Correction and Photo Retouching in Photoshop
Photoshop has some great tools and features that allow you to color correct and retouch your photographs. You can remove stains and blemishes, adjust brightness and colors, make skin smoother, and more. The videos in this topic will show you just a few of the color correction and photo retouching magic that Photoshop is capable of.

Thank you for visiting this Learning Photoshop - Tutorials for Beginners page. I hope you were able to learn a few things. I will be updating this page whenever I have new tutorials, links, or videos that I would like to share so please check back with us again in the future by visiting this page.

Photoshop Clipping Mask Tutorial (CS5)

If you know how layer masks work, then you'll understand how clipping masks work as well. Just like a layer mask, a clipping mask allows you to hide portions of a layer. The difference is that a layer mask is a part of the actual layer that you want to mask, while a clipping mask is a separate layer that is used to mask another layer. Another difference is that a layer mask only applies to one layer, while a clipping mask can be used to mask multiple layers.

To learn more about clipping masks, watch this Photoshop clipping mask tutorial:

Photoshop Clipping Mask Tutorial

Creating a Layer Mask - Photoshop Tutorial (CS5)

A layer mask is a great feature in Photoshop that lets you hide portions of a layer. Let's say that you want to remove some parts of your image - such as the background, for example. Instead of using the eraser tool to erase the background, you can use a layer mask instead. The great thing about a layer mask is that you can edit the layer mask if you make a mistake. For example, if you end up removing a part of your image that you actually don't want to remove, then you can simply edit the layer mask to bring those parts back. If you make a mistake using the eraser tool, then you can either hit the undo command or start all over again. So the layer mask is a much better option because of its editable feature. To learn more about the layer mask feature in Photoshop, watch this layer mask Photoshop tutorial:

Creating a Layer Mask - Photoshop Tutorial

AS3 Countdown Timer - Creating a Simple Countdown Timer in Flash Using ActionScript 3

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to create a very simple AS3 countdown timer in Flash.

Step 1
Create a new Flash ActionScript 3 document. Select the text tool once your document opens up.

Step 2
Go to the Properties Inspector and choose the following options:

• Text field type: Classic - Dynamic Text
  
  
• For the font family, you can choose either _sans, _serif, or _typewriter
  
  
• Anti-alias: Use device fonts
  
  
• For the text color, make sure that it's different from the background color of your stage
• You can choose whatever font size that you want

Step 3
Then click on the stage to add the text field. Make sure that the text field is big enough for whatever font size you chose.

Step 4
Make sure that your text field is selected, then go back to the Properties Inspector and give it an instance name. Let's name this timer_txt.

Step 5
Create a new layer for the actions, then select the first keyframe of this new layer, and open up the Actions panel.





Step 6
In the script pane of the Actions panel, create a number variable. Let's initialize it with a value of 10.

var nCount:Number = 10;

This will be our countdown number. We will be subtracting 1 from this number every 1 second in order to create the countdown effect.

Step 7
Assign the nCount variable to the text property of the timer_txt text field.

var nCount:Number = 10;

timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();

This will display the number in the text field. We have to use the toString() method so that the number gets converted into a string. It needs to be converted into a string so that it can be displayed as text.

Step 8
Test your movie. You should see the number displayed in the text field.

Step 9
Go back to the code, and this time, create a Timer object with a delay of 1000. And for the repeatCount parameter, let's pass the nCount variable. The delay is the first value we pass to the Timer() constructor. The repeatCount is the second value that we pass.

var nCount:Number = 10;
var myTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000, nCount);

timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();

This creates a new Timer object named myTimer with a delay of 1000. The 1000 stands for 1000 milliseconds. This means that the timer will count every 1000 milliseconds (or 1 second). For the repeatCount, it's going to have the same value as the initial value of nCount. Since our nCount variable has a value of 10 when we pass it to the repeatCount parameter, then repeatCount will also be 10. This means that our timer will count 10 times and then stop.

Step 10
Now let's create an event listener function for the TimerEvent.TIMER event. This event gets dispatched at a rate that depends on the delay that was specified. Since we specified a delay of 1000 milliseconds, then this means that the event listener function will get called every 1 second. Let's name this event listener function as countdown.

var nCount:Number = 10;
var myTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000, nCount);

timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();

myTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, countdown);

function countdown(e:TimerEvent):void
{

}

Step 11
In the event listener function, we want to subtract nCount by 1 so that each time the function gets called, nCount will decrease. And then we'll display the new value in the timer_txt text field again so that it gets updated.

var nCount:Number = 10;
var myTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000, nCount);

timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();

myTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, countdown);

function countdown(e:TimerEvent):void
{
 nCount--;
 timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();
}

Don't test the movie just yet. We still need to add one more line of code.

Step 12
Lastly, let's make sure that we start the timer using the start() method of the Timer class. If we don't start the timer, then we won't see anything happen.

var nCount:Number = 10;
var myTimer:Timer = new Timer(1000, nCount);

timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();
myTimer.start();

myTimer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, countdown);

function countdown(e:TimerEvent):void
{
 nCount--;
 timer_txt.text = nCount.toString();
}

Step 13
Test the movie. You should now have a working countdown timer.

Properties and Methods in ActionScript 3

In the previous lesson, we learned about what classes and objects are. In this lesson, we'll be learning about properties and methods. Properties and methods are things that classes have. For example, here are some of the properties and methods available to the MovieClip class:

MovieClip Class
Properties	Methods
width height	play() stop()

These are just a few of the properties and methods that belong to the MovieClip class, and by extension, these properties and methods are available to all MovieClip objects.

To begin our understanding of properties and methods, it's important to think of objects in programming as being similar to real objects - things around us that we can see and touch, like a teacup, a book, a shoe or a ball. These objects have characteristics - small, large, colorful, etc... For example, a teacup can be small, a dress can be colorful, a pillow can be soft. These objects can also do things - a ball can bounce, a wheel can turn, and a phone can ring. So real objects have characteristics, and real objects can do things.

In programming, even though we can't actually touch these objects, they have characteristics and they can do things as well. These characteristics of programming objects are referred to as properties, while things that objects can do are referred to as methods.

Let's go back to the MovieClip class list of properties and methods posted above. In the left column of the list above, we see that MovieClip objects have the width and height properties. These properties define how wide and how high a specific MovieClip object is. The width and the height of a MovieClip object can be seen as characteristics, because they describe the appearance of a MovieClip. To use an analogy, properties are like adjectives - they describe objects.

In the right column of the list above, we find some of the methods of the MovieClip class - play() and stop(). Methods are basically the tasks that objects can perform. For MovieClip objects, when you talk about the play() method, this refers to the MovieClip playing the animation in its timeline. The stop() method refers to when the MovieClip stops the animation. To use an analogy, if properties are like adjectives, then methods are like verbs - they refer to the actions that objects can do. You'll also notice that methods end in parentheses. Properties do not.

How do we access the properties and methods of an object?
To access the properties and methods of an object, you type in the name of the object, followed by a dot, followed by the property or method that you want to access. This is called dot syntax, because we use dots.

Let's say you have a MovieClip object named square_mc. To access the width property, you would type this:

square_mc.width = 200;

Here, we are accessing the width of the square_mc MovieClip, and we are assigning to it a value of 200. This will make the square_mc object 200 pixels wide.

In some instances, you might just want to retrieve the value of a specific property. In the previous example, we accessed the width property and assigned a new value to it. In this next example, we'll just retrieve the value of the width property, and then compare it to another value. We won't be changing the value whatsoever:

if(square_mc.width >= 200)

{

// do something

}

Here, we have an if statement where Flash is just going to retrieve whatever the current value of the width property of square_mc is, and then compare if it's greater than or equal to 200.

So in some instances, we might want access a property and assign a new value to it. In other instances, we might just want to retrieve a property's current value.

NOTE: Not all properties can be assigned values through code. Properties that cannot be assigned values through code are called read-only properties. You can only check for their current values, NOT assign them with new ones. For example, there is a property of the MovieClip class known as the currentFrame property. The currentFrame property of the MovieClip class tells you the current frame of the MovieClip object that the playhead is on. You won't be able to assign a value to this property. The value that it's going to have, is always just dependent on the movement of the playhead within the MovieClip object's timeline.

In this next example, we're accessing the stop() method. Here, we are telling the square_mc MovieClip to stop playing:

square_mc.stop();

Provided that the square_mc MovieClip has some animation in its timeline, then this line will cause that animation to stop.

In some cases, some methods need some extra information. You can pass this extra information by placing it inside the parentheses of the method. For example, the MovieClip class has a method called gotoAndStop(). This method tells the MovieClip to move to a specific frame within its timeline and then stop right there. So when you try to use the gotoAndStop() method, you don't just call the method, you have to give it some extra information. For the gotoAndStop() method, you also have to say which frame number to go to, because you could go to frame 5 or frame 12 or whatever other frame you want. How is Flash going to know unless you specify which frame to go to? So you need to pass that information by putting it inside the parentheses of the method. So let's say we wanted the square_mc MovieClip to go to frame no. 2 of its timeline and stop there, then we would type:

square_mc.gotoAndStop(2);

This will instruct the MovieClip to go to the 2nd frame in its timeline and stop.

And those are just a few examples of properties and methods in ActionScript 3. To recap:

• properties are like adjectives - they describe the object
• methods are like verbs - they are the actions that an object can do
• methods end in parentheses, properties do not
• you can access the properties and methods of an object using dot syntax
• some properties are read-only - you cannot assign values to them using code
• some methods require added information, which you pass to the method by typing the needed information inside the method's parentheses

Classes and Objects in ActionScript 3

In this lesson, I'll be explaining what classes and objects are. We'll be understanding these terms within the context of ActionScript, but classes and objects really are concepts that are part of most programming languages. So the general idea of what you'll learn here, can apply to other programming languages as well.

What is a class?
In programming, a class is a set of instructions that's used to build objects.

So from classes, we can create objects.

In some sense, a class is kind of like a factory. Factories are where products are built. A car factory produces cars, a toilet factory produces toilets, and so on.

Similarly, classes are used to produce objects.

Here are just some examples of ActionScript 3 classes:
MovieClip class
Sound class
TextField class

So from the MovieClip class, we can create MovieClip objects. From the Sound class, we can create Sound objects, and so on.

But what exactly are these objects then?
In programming, these objects are the different elements that make up the parts of the application that you're building. In the same way that a car has different parts - an engine, a steering wheel, doors - applications are also made up of different parts. These parts are referred to as objects, and these objects are needed in order for your application to do what it's supposed to do.

When you're building an interactive Flash movie, for example, Sound objects are used so that your application can play audio. TextField objects are used so that your Flash movie can display text. And MovieClip objects are used so that you can add some animation. Each type of object has a specific role. Sound objects are for sound. And TextField objects are for text. You can't use a Sound object to display text, and you can't use a TextField object to play sound.

All these objects are important, and you'll need to create these different objects depending on what your application needs to do. A car without an engine would not run properly, in the same way that a Flash music player application, for example, won't run properly if it doesn't have any Sound objects.

So how do you create these objects using ActionScript 3?
In ActionScript 3, you can create objects by using the new keyword, followed by the class constructor. The class constructor is a special function that "constructs" or creates an object. The constructor function uses the same name as the class. So for example, the constructor function of the MovieClip class would be MovieClip(). The constructor function of the Sound class would be Sound(). So whatever the name of the class is the name of the constructor function as well.

So if we wanted to create a new TextField object:

new TextField();

Creating an object is referred to as creating an instance of the class. So in the example above, we just created an instance of the TextField class. But this is still incomplete. This instance must have a name. In most cases, we shouldn't have a nameless TextfField object. What if we had 10 of those? Then it would be terribly confusing to distinguish which one is which. Our objects need to have names so that we can effectively communicate with them and give them instructions through code.

So how do we give it a name then?
We can give our instance a name by assigning it to a variable, like so:

var myTextField:TextField = new TextField();

Using the var keyword, we begin the variable declaration. It is then followed by the author-defined variable name that we want to give the instance. So in this example, the variable name is myTextField. We then follow it up with the data type. In this example, the data type is TextField. The data type you use would be whatever the class name is.

So the syntax for creating an object would be:

var variableName:DataType = new ClassConstructor();

In the example below, 4 new objects have been created:

We won't go into detail as to how these objects can be used. For now, I just want you to know how to create them. In future lessons, we'll be taking a look at some of the the most commonly-used ActionScript 3 classes in more detail.

Symbol instances are also objects
Did you know that when you convert something into a button or movie clip symbol that you're actually creating an object as well? Yes! In Flash, buttons are actually instances of a class called the SimpleButton class, while movie clips are instances of the MoveClip class. This would be referred to as creating symbols at authoring time, because we create the symbols while we are "authoring" or making the Flash movie. If you create an object using code, then that would be referred to as creating an object at runtime, because the object gets created only when the Flash movie itself starts running.

DISTANCE LEARNING - CS175 A - SEM 01 SY 2012-13

July 24, 2012
Today, we'll start with Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. This is Adobe's popular video editing software.

Video editing is the process of making changes to a single video clip or multiple video clips. This could be something as simple as shortening the length of a video clip, or this could be a more complex project that involves combining multiple video clips together, and adding other things such as sound, pictures, and titles.

Download the following video files so that you have clips to work with when you start doing the learning activities:

Windows users: dog01.wmv | dog02.wmv | dog03.wmv | dog04.wmv

Mac users: dog01.mp4 | dog02.mp4 | dog03.mp4 | dog04.mp4

Let's start off with this first video where I talk about how to create a new premiere pro project.

NOTE: If you find that the windows and panels in your Premiere Pro workspace are all messed up, you can reset it by choosing Window > Workspace > Reset Current Workspace. The workspace layout I'm using in the video tutorial is the Editing layout.

After you've watched the first video, let's move on to the next topic...

Once you have a Premiere Pro project, you can start importing the media files that you want to edit. These media files are the video, audio, image, and title clips that you want to use for your project. Watch this video to learn how to import files in Premiere Pro - Importing Files in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

After importing the files into your project, watch this quick video to learn how to preview your clips - Previewing Clips in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

And now that you have clips in your project that you can work with, let's learn about the timeline. The timeline is the part of the video editing software where you do the actual editing work. This is where you go to put clips together and to make adjustments to them. In this next video, we'll learn a little bit about the timeline -  An Introduction to the Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 Timeline.

July 26, 2012
In the previous session, you were introduced to the timeline. You've learned that the timeline is made up of multiple audio and video tracks. If you're wondering why we would need more than one audio and video track, watch this short video to see some examples: What are multiple audio and video tracks for?

Next, we'll learn how to add some video transitions and effects:

• Adding Video Transitions
  A transition refers to the movement of the playhead from one clip to the next clip in the sequence. This video shows you how to add animated transitions to your clips. One example of an animated video transition is the cross dissolve. In a cross dissolve transition, the first clip gradually fades out, while the succeeding clip begins to fade in.
• Adding Video Effects
Video effects are another creative tool that can help make your videos more interesting. Learn how to add video effects in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 by watching this video.
• The Effect Controls Window
  The effect controls window allows you to change the properties of clips, as well as the properties of the effects and transitions that are applied to a clip. If you are unable to find the effect controls window, go to the menu bar and choose Window > Effect Controls.
• Transforming Video Clips
  You can go to the effect controls window to change the properties of a clip such as the size, rotation, and position.
• Creating a Picture in Picture (PiP) Effect
  This video shows you how to create a basic picture in picture effect.

July 31, 2012
Hi, everyone! For today's lesson, we'll start by discussing the concept of keyframing. Keyframing is a process that allows you to animate the effects that you apply to your clips. For example, if you wanted to make your clip move from one side of the screen to the other, then you can use keyframes to make that happen. Watch this introductory video to give you an idea of what keyframes can do. You'll see a few simple examples on the applications of keyframing - Introduction to Keyframing.

Once you've watched the video, you can now move on to learning how to apply keyframes to a video clip - Keyframing in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

Next, we move on to titles. Titles allow you to add text and shapes to your video project. Watch this video to learn how - Creating Titles in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

Here's another video about titles. This one teaches you how to create a rolling title. A rolling title is a title whose contents scroll vertically (similar to standard movie ending credits). Here's the link to the video - Rolling Titles in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

In this next student guide, we'll create a title clip and then animate it using keyframes:
Keyframing the Rotation Property PART 1
Keyframing the Rotation Property PART 2
Keyframing the Rotation Property PART 3


Aug 14, 2012
You can import audio files into your Premiere Pro project as well. There are many different ways that you can use audio to improve your video project. You can add background music, sound effects, and voice-over narration.

Importing audio clips follows the same process used in importing video clips. Go to File > Import, and then choose the audio files that you'd like to bring in to your project. Once imported, you'll see the clips inside the project window together with the video clips that you've already imported.

To add audio clips to the timeline, just click and drag them from the project window down to any of the available audio tracks. If you want to mix different audio clips together, then you can place them on separate audio tracks. For example, you can have background music that plays simultaneously with some voice-over narration. To do this, you would place the background music clip on one audio track, and then then the voice-over narration audio clip will be on another audio track either above or below it. With audio clips, it doesn't really matter which clip is on a higher or lower audio track since we can't see audio anyway.

To learn how to adjust the volume of an audio clip, watch this video - Adjusting a clip's volume.

In this next video, I show you how to unlink audio and video clips that are attached to each other in the timeline. When you shoot some video footage, most cameras will have microphones that will record the audio during the scene as well. And when you transfer that footage onto your computer, the audio and video are usually linked to each other. When you bring these clips down to the timeline, they'll be attached to each other. The video goes onto the video track, while the audio goes onto the audio track. They're on separate tracks, but they're still attached to each other. When you reposition the video clip, the audio moves along with it. In some cases you might want to unlink them so that you can work on them separately in the timeline. Watch this video to learn how - Unlinking audio and video.

Aug 16, 2012
Keying refers to the process of removing the background of a video clip. This is usually done so that the background can be replaced with something else. Usually, footage for keying is shot in front of either a green or a blue background. These types of footage are referred to as green screen or blue screen footage. In this video, I show you how to remove a green screen background using the Ultra Key in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

Aug 23, 2012
Once you're done editing a video project, you'll want to convert it into a format that allows you to share your video more easily. You may want to upload it onto the web or save it onto a mobile device. What format you choose depends on how you want to share your video. This process of converting your video editing project into a specific video format is called exporting. Here's how you can export your video project in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

Sept 11, 2012
When you start a new premiere pro project, you'll be asked to create a sequence. When choosing the sequence settings, you should base it on the properties of the video files that you'll be working with. There are a couple of sequence presets to choose from - DV-NTSC, Digital SLR, HDV presets, etc... You also have the option to customize your own settings.

Choosing your sequence settings can get a bit confusing. So here's a video that talks about how to figure out which sequence settings to choose especially if you're not sure about the properties of the video clips that you'll be using for your editing project: http://youtu.be/53YDIzI9Rhg

DISTANCE LEARNING - CS179.11 A - SEM 01 SY 2012-13

July 24, 2012
Hi, everyone. So for this session, we will be starting with ActionScript. The learning resources below will teach you what ActionScript is, and how to add some ActionScript code to a Flash project - that's going to be what's covered in the video: What is ActionScript?

This next one is a text tutorial. You'll learn how to change the appearance of a move clip symbol using ActionScript code. Along the way, you'll learn a couple of key points:

• what instance names are and how to assign them to symbol instances
• what dot syntax is
• what properties are

Here is the link to the tutorial:
Assigning AS3 instance names and modifying some AS3 movie clip properties

July 26, 2012
We'll start off today by learning about ActionScript 3 variables. We'll begin with this video where I show an example of a variable being used. There's some code in this example that we won't be taking up until we move further into the semester, so don't worry if you don't understand those yet. What I just want to show you in this video is one example of a variable being used.

Here is the link to the video:
An example of a variable being used in ActionScript 3

After watching the video, read this 3 part student guide that explains what variables are and how to create them:

• PART 1: Creating ActionScript 3 Variables and Assigning Values to them
• PART 2: Variable Naming Rules and Conventions
• PART 3: Fun with Variables - Complete the Story

Our next topic is all about functions in ActionScript 3. Let's start off with this video that uses an analogy to try to explain what a function is: ActionScript 3 Functions - An Analogy

After watching that introductory video on functions, move on to the next resources:
Writing Functions
Adding Function Parameters
Creating Optional Parameters in AS3
Local and Global Variables in AS3

July 31, 2012
First, we'll learn about expressions and operators.

An expression is something that evaluates into a single value. For example, the expression 10 + 5 evaluates to a value of 15. The expression 10 - 5 evaluates to a value of 5.

Expressions are made up of operands and operators. In the expression 10 + 5, the operands are 10 and 5, while the operator is the plus sign (+). The operands are the values being manipulated, modified or analyzed in the expression. The operator dictates how these values are to be manipulated, modified or analyzed. For example, the plus operator (+) dictates that the operands will be added. The multiplication operator (*) dictates that the operands be multiplied.

Watch this video to see an example of expressions being used in ActionScript 3 - Expressions and Operators (Video Introduction). Then read this student guide that enumerates many of the different kinds of expressions and operators that can be used in ActionScript 3 - Expressions and Operators in ActionScript 3

Our next topic will be about if statements.

If statements allow you to write some code that will only be processed when certain conditions are met. In other words, simply writing the code doesn't guarantee that those lines will run. Certain conditions have to be met first before the code is executed. It's kind of like a stop light. If the light is green, then you have the go signal to move. If the light is red, then you stop. With if statements, if the condition is true (light is green), then execute the code. If the condition is false (light is red), then don't execute the code.

Here's an example:

if(score >= 75)
{
     trace("Congratulations! You passed.");
}

In this example, the trace statement will only run, if the condition is met(in other words, if the condition turns out to be TRUE). The condition specified here is whether the score is greater than or equal to 75. If it is, then go ahead and run the trace statement. If not, then don't do anything.

So in english, this example would basically translate to: IF the score is greater than or equal to 75, then say "Congratulations! You passed.".

Watch this video to learn all about if statements in ActionScript 3 - If Statements - Intro to ActionScript 3.

Then in this next tutorial, we'll learn about the this keyword - The AS3 this keyword and how to randomize the size of a MovieClip instance on the stage.

Lastly, we'll learn all about ActionScript 3 event handling. This part is very important, so please pay extra attention to this part. Also, make sure that you've already read the tutorial on Assigning AS3 instance names and modifying some AS3 movie clip properties and the tutorials on functions before you start reading this. Those tutorials are from some of the previous sessions.

Again, this is very important so make sure you spend some time on this.

Here are the links to the student guide on ActionScript 3 event handling:
Part 1: Introduction to AS3 event handling
Part 2: How to create an AS3 event listener
Part 3: The AS3 event object

We also have an activity on this, so please log on to our moodle page and look for the activity called Simple Button Events.

August 9, 2012
Here are the students guides for today's session:
Classes and Object in ActionScript 3
Properties and Methods in ActionScript 3


August 14, 2012

Topics for today are:

• the AS3 Timer class
• the ENTER_FRAME event

We'll start with the Timer class. Here are the learning activities:
Introduction to the Flash ActionScript 3.0 Timer Class
Creating a Simple Countdown Timer in Flash Using ActionScript 3

Up next is the ENTER_FRAME event.

In our introductory lesson on event handling, we used mouse events as examples. Recall the MouseEvent.CLICK event - this event occurs whenever you click on a button or movie clip (movie clips are also clickable). So here, the event is pretty obvious - when the user clicks, then the CLICK event occurs.

But with the ENTER_FRAME event, it isn't very obvious, because this event gets dispatched even though there seems to be nothing that's happening in the Flash movie. You can just be watching an empty Flash movie, and not clicking on anything or pressing any keyboard keys, but behind the scenes, the ENTER_FRAME event is happening. And not only that, the ENTER_FRAME event happens repeatedly at a constant rate. With a mouse click, the event only happens every time the user clicks on a button or movie clip. This doesn't happen at a steady rate. It's very arbitrary. It just depends on when the user decides to click on something, which we can't always predict.

As for the ENTER_FRAME event, this event gets dispatched at the same rate as the frame rate of your Flash movie. So if you have a frame rate of 30fps, then the ENTER_FRAME event gets dispatched 30 times every one second. And just to reiterate, it gets dispatched even if nothing is happening in the Flash movie. As long as the movie is open, then the ENTER_FRAME event gets dispatched. Nothing else has to happen. And the Flash movie can even be completely empty! Kinda weird, right?

Try this. Create a new ActionScript 3 document and add this code on the first keyframe:

this.addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onEnter);

function onEnter(e:Event):void
{
 trace("Hello!");
}

When you test the movie, Flash will just keep displaying the "Hello!" message in the output window repeatedly. If you're frame rate is 24fps, then this means that Flash will say "Hello!" in the output window 24 times for every second that the movie is running. And it won't stop until you close the movie.

Now close the movie and then change your document's frame rate down to 1fps. Then test the movie again. You'll still see the message displayed repeatedly, but this time, it will be much slower. Since your frame rate is down to 1 frame per second, then this means that the ENTER_FRAME event listener function gets called only once per second.

Now close the movie, and don't forget to bring your frame rate back up. You can just set it to around 24 fps.

So when would I want to use an ENTER_FRAME event listener?
This event is useful if you want to create an event listener function that runs constantly. It really could be about anything. It could be a function that constantly updates a text field. It could be a function that contains an if statement so you could constantly check whether a certain condition is being met or not. It could be anything you need. As long as it's something that you want Flash to do repeatedly while the movie is running, then you might want to consider an ENTER_FRAME event listener as one of your options.

To give you a more concrete example, here is a video tutorial that makes use of the ENTER_FRAME event to create some code-driven animation. This is probably one of the most common uses for the ENTER_FRAME event. Instead of using tweens, the animation is done using code - Using the AS3 EnterFrame Event to
Create Animation in Flash.

August 28, 2012

Today's topic: working with text fields using ActionScript 3.

Here are the links to the student guides:

AS3 TextFields - The Basics
Working with AS3 Input Text Fields
Formatting Text in AS3
ActionScript 3 String to Number Conversion
ActionScript 3 Number to String Conversion
Enabling the User to Submit the Contents Inside an Input Text Field
[PART 1] Working with External Text in Flash ActionScript 3 - Loading the Text
[PART 2] Working with External Text in Flash ActionScript 3 - Formatting the Text
[PART 3] Working with External Text in Flash ActionScript 3 - Scrolling the Text

September 4, 2012

For this day's session, we will learn how to control sound using ActionScript 3. Here are the links to the student guides:

Student Guide: Introduction to Working with Sound in AS3
Student Guide: Playing Sound from the Library and Making a Sound Clip Loop in AS3
Student Guide: Pausing Sound in ActionScript 3.0
Student Guide: Creating a Simple Volume Bar in Flash
Student Guide: Adjusting Volume in ActionScript 3.0

September 18, 2012

This week's lessons are about Arrays and For Loops in ActionScript 3:

Arrays in ActionScript 3
For Loops in ActionScript 3
Creating a Simple Quiz in Flash Using AS3
Creating Multiple TextFields and Positioning Them Using Arrays and for Loops in Flash ActionScript 3.0
Retreiving the Index Value of an Item in an Array in Flash AS3

Photoshop CS5 Color Correction and Photo Retouching Video Tutorials Collection

Photoshop has some really awesome features that will allow you to color correct and retouch your photographs. You've got different healing tools that will let you remove stains, blemishes, and other unwanted objects. You also have adjustment layers that allow you to make changes to the color composition of an image. You can adjust brightness values, shadows, and color saturation to name a few.

Below, you will find some Photoshop CS5 color correction and photo retouching video tutorials that will demonstrate just some of the capabilities that Photoshop has to offer. These videos are excerpts from the following training courses, which you might be interested in viewing. Click on the links to learn more:

• Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects
• Photoshop CS5: Fashion Retouching Projects
• Photoshop for Photographers: Portrait Retouching

These training courses make up hours and hours of information that will teach you many of Photoshop's amazing color correction and photo retouching features. If you want to view these courses in full, you can sign up for a free 7-day trial to get complete access to all the videos in these training courses.

Here are some sample videos:

Correcting the small photographic details - Photoshop for Photographers: Portrait Retouching

Making structural improvements - Photoshop CS5: Fashion Retouching Projects

Correcting an overly backlit photograph - Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects

Creating an edgy muted and contrast look - Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects

Adding color without increasing contrast - Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects

Enhancing a photograph with HDR for black-and-white conversion - Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects

Applying soft focus to skin - Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects

If you enjoyed these Photoshop CS5 color correction and photo retouching video tutorials, then sign up for a free 7-day trial to get complete access to all the videos from these courses:

• Photoshop CS5: Creative Effects
• Photoshop CS5: Fashion Retouching Projects
• Photoshop for Photographers: Portrait Retouching

START LEARNING TODAY!

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