a friend told me about an animating program back in 02, so i started messing around with it. fucking loved it. i had a shaky start, and did end up quiting one summer, but got back into it and started the whole newgrounds dealeo. i was mad at my friend for not mentioning it to me sooner. > : (

At 9/30/06 10:03 AM, AloneInTheDark wrote: I once had dreams too of making it in this business, but I decided i rather stick to designing buildings.
I'm pretty sure that if I have to make stuff in order to bring bread on the table, that I won't like it as much as when I do it now in my free time when I'm motivated. I like it this way, I have no obligations to anyone and i can work on stuff whenever I want and go in any direction.
Looking back, learning flash and completing my first couple of sucky flash movies was the best time I had. So at the moment I'm a bit busy learning 3d modeling. I love it, since I can start from scratch again. Being a noob is so much fun. Never stop fucking around, learning and experimenting!

I know what you mean. When I first started 3D, once I got the basics of moving around the scene and the basic tools, learning from there was a breeze! There was so much to explore in the program and so many resources on the internet. Now I feel like I've gotten to the point where if I want to learn anything new I have to search far and wide, and most really advanced learning stuff costs money.

At 9/30/06 01:21 PM, orb wrote: I know what you mean. When I first started 3D, once I got the basics of moving around the scene and the basic tools, learning from there was a breeze! There was so much to explore in the program and so many resources on the internet. Now I feel like I've gotten to the point where if I want to learn anything new I have to search far and wide, and most really advanced learning stuff costs money.

i never could get into 3D as well as i did 2D. i love doing 3D, but i dont have the drive to do it for a very long time. oh wells.

I started back in January '05.

I had been watching various animations on Newgrounds for years. I started to admire/worship some of the front page content, and decided that this was what i would learn to do.

After viewing the rules of the forums as a guest, I was linked to what was then macromedia.com. Christmas '04, I received a receipt for Flash MX 2004 Pro (Ed. Version) which shipped in a few days.

I have been animating ever since, and continue to be inspired by Newgrounds work.

Has anyone ever taken a Flash Sabbatical? If so, do you think it's helped you in the long run with your work?

Lol what's that?

it means taking a long break/vacation from it... i have done so after my serious movie, im usually so emotionally and physically drained from it that i go into a mini-depression. Sounds pathetic i know, but hey it happens.
After till death do us part i no longer felt like i wanted to be part of the flash scene but like a dog that wanders from home, he always finds his way back sooner or later.

And when I came back I felt refreshed and once again the bounce in my step was there. So i think its important for animators more than anything to take a break from large projects after completing them... go outside do some sports or go back into society.. you'll feel reenergized as opposed to jumping right back on something.

I think its all a matter of process though, theres some people who have a more laid back approach to their work style.. like they are comfortable working at things in small bites and so they never feel as drained as someone like me who forces himself to sit for hours and deal with a project if i am hellbent on completing it.

Even still taking a break is helpful because it helps you once again absorb the world, and being a good observer of life/world is what makes a good animator because you gain a greater understanding of how people/things work and what makes them tick and you can translate that into animation and build robust characters that act and feel the way humans do.

At 9/30/06 01:56 PM, Luis wrote: stuff about sabbaticness

ah, well I took a break for 3 days recently (didn't have a reason), I'm feeling better(ish) :P.

there was me thinking it was some kind of uber tutorial thing xD.

I used to push myself to work on a single movie for a whole day non-stop, then I'd take like a week of break...

That did NOT work out, it took me 6 months to make a shitty flash. So, for future animators, DO NOT USE THAT TECHNIQUE.

:)

At 9/30/06 10:55 AM, LordTrunks wrote: I think it's Kayn Slam Dyke.... dyke being lesbian in this case?

Much wrongness about it.

It's Kayn Slamdyke, and has been the name of a good five of my signature characters for about eight years. The surname was chosen at random by stabbing the dictionary twice and looking at which words were selected to make a double syllable name.

It wasn't for a good year or so after I named the first three or so characters that the world became a lot less innocent and naive for me and Dyke suddenly stopped meaning what it should normally be associated with. By this time it had ended up as my standard net avatar (and google searching it only reveals stuff I've been involved with... wow, E-Wrestling from when I was fifteen... good times...). I'm not dropping a unique net alias.

However, a rote revised bullshit response has been arranged in case someone decides to shout that my name is offensive to homosexual women.

The coat of arms for the Slamdyke family is of a sledgehammer breaking an earthern dam apart and the river behind it rupturing. Dykes being walls to keep the sea out in places of low altitude.

It's roots can be traced back to the Netherlands, where the Slamdykes were a notorious group of bandits, who sabotaged the walls that held the oceans at bay around villages and towns. By doing so, they caused cataclysmic flooding, and later returned (in boats), to salvage anything that remained.

From a thread earlier this week

At 9/30/06 01:38 PM, jmtb02 wrote: Has anyone ever taken a Flash Sabbatical? If so, do you think it's helped you in the long run with your work?

I think it's not a matter of me currently being on sabbatical as it is for me trying to prepare myself for another tour. I'm currently in the process of designing a game and writing the script and worldbooks for a series - I want my next few attacks on the Portal to be worth while and memorable as opposed to the (still high scoring) parody and tribute pieces to video games.

Besides, since I last used Flash my skills in other media have grown well - so I can supplement my Flash design. I plan to use 3d stuff from 3DSMax (with Chromakey Alpha Layers) for vehicles in Convoy, and to design Rockstar using standard UML practices. And naturally my constant tinkering with Photoshop, Freehand and Fireworks means I can do a lot of tricks without relying on those Filters that Flash 8 users use.

No idea when I'll actually get around to releasing Convoy or Rockstar. But I want them to make a big impact, and so I'm on sabbatical until inspiration and drive revisit me and encourage me to sign back up for "just one more tour"

This is just a random question I just thought of, and completely off-topic: Can you make text in the trial of Swift3D? I'm wondering, I might use it :)

Much wrongness about it.

It was a wild guess anyways. Its interesting how you got that, maybe I should do that xD

Not really :)

At 9/30/06 02:30 PM, LordTrunks wrote: This is just a random question I just thought of, and completely off-topic: Can you make text in the trial of Swift3D? I'm wondering, I might use it :)

Yes, you can.

At 9/30/06 02:33 PM, Nick wrote:

At 9/30/06 02:30 PM, LordTrunks wrote: This is just a random question I just thought of, and completely off-topic: Can you make text in the trial of Swift3D? I'm wondering, I might use it :)

Yes, you can.

but i dont believe you can export anything in the trial version...i could be wrong though.

At 9/30/06 02:53 PM, 23450 wrote: but i dont believe you can export anything in the trial version...i could be wrong though.

Oh, you can't? That's a bummer...

Damnit.

Oh well :)

And now I'm having troubles importing an Mp3 >_>

Holy shit. I went away for a night and the lounge is on the same page? I'm impressed.

About that question, I don't think I've ever really gone on hiatus. My presence in the Flash Forum has dithered but I don't think I've ever really taken an extended break from Flash.

i've been on like a 4 month break due to a brain fart

i can't think of anything toanimate that will interest me
and i also am really lazy so i never want to work on my stuff

the only animation i've done for the last couple months was my anti clock day flash and that was done in a day and got a terrible score so that made me not want to do flash even more

At 9/30/06 02:33 PM, Nick wrote:

At 9/30/06 02:30 PM, LordTrunks wrote: This is just a random question I just thought of, and completely off-topic: Can you make text in the trial of Swift3D? I'm wondering, I might use it :)

Yes, you can.

I've already mentioned that this type of thing is what we are trying to avoid in this thread. Simple questions/answers. It just bumps out relevant shit and totally disrupts the flow of the thread. If its that off-topic just go make a thread about it.

At 9/30/06 04:01 PM, fenix wrote: got a terrible score so that made me not want to do flash even more

I think scores, good or bad, tell you so much about what you can do to improve your Flash. If you are scoring well, then it tells you what people like. If you get bad scores, well, the same thing applies. Read your reviews and carry on to your next Flash. Who knows, your next one, from the things you have already learned, may be a masterpiece.

i've taken a few breaks. Never too long though. It's fun sometimes to learn another programming language like c++ then stagger time between that and flash. Usually after taking a break i become swamped with ideas

At 9/30/06 01:38 PM, jmtb02 wrote: Has anyone ever taken a Flash Sabbatical? If so, do you think it's helped you in the long run with your work?

i keep trying to do flash at the moment but i keep getting distracted or lazy. I tink i need to try one of these...

At 9/30/06 05:27 PM, jmtb02 wrote: I think scores, good or bad, tell you so much about what you can do to improve your Flash. If you are scoring well, then it tells you what people like. If you get bad scores, well, the same thing applies. Read your reviews and carry on to your next Flash. Who knows, your next one, from the things you have already learned, may be a masterpiece.

I know it doesn't happen often, but I really don't agree with you.

I think scores on Newgrounds tell you basically nothing.

Things have gotten so competitive, and there's so much upvoting, downvoting, proxying, mass voting and more that it makes Newgrounds scores unreliable. I say to people do NOT judge how good your game or movie is based on its Newgrounds score. If anything, look at the intelligent reviews to get a feel for what people think. But when looking at reviews, you have to know how to throw out the ones written by idiotic 13 year olds.

If there's one thing on Newgrounds that really needs improvement, it's the scoring system. I'm praying the site redesign addresses a lot of problems with it.

Here is a good question, how do you guys manage school/work and flash?

I'm seriously having trouble with this, because now that I'm in high school I have a shitload of homework, and then I have a social life, and then I still have to keep up in all of my TV Shows, leaving me nearly no time for hobbies. Except weekends, in which I'm generally so drained that I just want to sleep and chill or hang out with friends.

I have an animation I'm actually wanting to finish for once, and for the first time I have some serious motivation, but now I'm lacking the time.

life is full of dilemmas

I take breaks but unwanted breaks.

That's why my current project has currently talken me about 6 months, and i'm only about 50% done. I go on the computer evey day and the first thing i do is open flash, i look at my game, look at my list of glithes i have to fix, but never actally get round to doing anything, I think flash has gotten quite boring for me since i go on it evey day =/

At 9/30/06 05:39 PM, animoney wrote: Here is a good question, how do you guys manage school/work and flash?

this is a major problem i have had a few times. one thing i did was i took my computer down and put it in my closet. my fucking math mark whent up 10 fucking percent in that one month! other marks whent up as well. its a good idea if you happen to be fialing, which i was (i came out with a 68 in math, so whateva).

At 9/30/06 05:41 PM, reelbigcheese wrote: I take breaks but unwanted breaks.

That's why my current project has currently talken me about 6 months, and i'm only about 50% done. I go on the computer evey day and the first thing i do is open flash, i look at my game, look at my list of glithes i have to fix, but never actally get round to doing anything, I think flash has gotten quite boring for me since i go on it evey day =/

DITTO!
i open flash, think what i need to animate but then give myself some lame thing like oh ill think of something in a minite. But it never comes and i cant be botherd to sit there and think about what i need to animate so i get bored and end up bumming around on the bbs :(
Motivate me!

Link

Everyone check these out. They are mock up photos of English comedians in past situations, for example the infamous Paul Gascoigne/Vinnie Jones testical grab incident, Queen album cover, and more.

Better if you get the jokes, and know the comedians :)

Johnny Vegas's at the end, are great.

Anyone know the average salary range for a Flash developer?
And how's the market? Is it still in high demand with low supply as I perceive it to be?

specifically for me....what's a proper starting salary in New York, NY?
Thanks~

At 9/30/06 06:28 PM, H3 wrote: Anyone know the average salary range for a Flash developer?

Number out of thin air and a quick browse on jobserve.com...
Between £20-27k per annum. That's between $37-50k methinks

And how's the market? Is it still in high demand with low supply as I perceive it to be?

There's a fairly high demand for exceptionally qualified Flash Artists...
I think "exceptionally qualified" translates to "can post on Newgrounds and not get blammed, preffering those who can get Daily Awards" in some places, and "makes dELTA and Inglor and Denvish combined look n00bish" in others... still, plenty of opportunity out there.

Try checking an online job search engine.

specifically for me....what's a proper starting salary in New York, NY?

Add maybe one or two thousand because it's the City, and I think the figure above would be fair.

At 9/30/06 06:28 PM, H3 wrote: Anyone know the average salary range for a Flash developer?
And how's the market? Is it still in high demand with low supply as I perceive it to be?

For a flash devoloper? not a clue. but some people have made a living off of it (luis, denvish, etc) but i would not count on it for a future job. i dont think there are alot of company out there spacifically using flash to make all thier money. some, but not many.

and im sure these jobs are not easy to find, and there is not a major shortage of flash developers out there i dont think.

specifically for me....what's a proper starting salary in New York, NY?
Thanks~

thats a little to spacific. you probably wont get an answer for it.

At 9/30/06 06:35 PM, KaynSlamdyke wrote: ... still, plenty of opportunity out there.

really? i always thought of a job in flash to be a little out there, like proffesional golfer or something. not that its not there...but i wouldn;t think there are millions of jobs outt here for it, like in actual animation or actual programming. but then again i havn;'t really looked into it much...