Video: Stretch & Squash

Stretch & Squash in Flex 3, the next episode in CodeDependent series, is now available from Adobe TV.

This show is a continuation of the episode Bouncing Ball Behavior, in which we saw how to use easing functions in Flex 3 to add bouncing motion to a bal in Flex 3. This time, we'll see how to apply some techniques from traditional cartoon animation to make the bouncing ball seem more lifelike.

Here's the video:

Here is the demo application:

And here is the source code.

Have a (stretchy) ball.

Video: Bouncing Ball Behavior

Bouncing Ball Behavior, the next and bountifully alliterative episode in the gripping and suspenseful series CodeDependent, is now available from Adobe TV.

This show is a continuation of the episode Easing Does It, in which we saw how to use easing functions in Flex 3 to create different kinds of motion. This time, we'll see how to use what we now know about easing functions to add bouncing behavior to our ball using Flex 3.

Here's the video:

Here is the demo application:

And here is the source code.

Have a ball.

JavaOne slides posted

Sun has posted the PDF for the presentation that I did at JavaOne this year with Romain Guy, Move Your Users: Animation Principles for Great User Experiences (you'll have to join the Sun Developer Network to access that URL, but it's easy and free).

The demos were a big part of the presentation, of course (as was Romain doing a running jump off the stage and blowing the microphone), and those aren't in the slides. But most of the demos either already exist online (we showed a few from Filthy Rich Clients) or (in the case of the Flex demos) will be shown here as I post blogs and videos that talk about those applications in detail.

Enjoy...

Video: Flashcamp Presentation on Flex 4

I gave a quick talk at a recent Flashcamp at the SF Adobe building. If you want a (very) quick overview of the Flex 4 effects architecture and some examples of how to use the various new effects, check out the verbosely-named Using Effects and Animation in Flex 4. Actually, there were a lot of great, quick talks that evening by other folks on the Flex, AIR, and tools teams: you'll probably want to grab some popcorn and watch more: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flash/videos/#flashcamp In face, that same page has other video tutorials on Flex, Flash Builder, and Flash Catalyst. What the heck, just watch them all. You don't have work to do today, do you? http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flash/videos/

Effects in Flex 4 SDK Beta: Part 2

Finally, the long-awaited cliff-hanger ending to the extensive, rich, and diverse series that began with Part 1: allow me to introduce Part 2.

This second article on the new effects in Flex 4 concludes my discussion of the new effects. This second article covers the new effects based on the new 3D and Pixel Bender shader capabilities in Flash Player 10.

As with Part 1, there are code snippets throughout the article and all of the demos are packaged up in SWFs and source form for convenient download.

Enjoy...

Video: Easing Does It

Easing Does It, the next episode in the gripping and suspenseful series CodeDependent, is now available from Adobe TV.

This show is a continuation of the episode A Moving Comparison, in which we saw how to create simple animations in Flex 3 and Flex 4. This time, we'll see how to add 'easing' behavior to our Flex 3 animation to create non-linear motion.

Here's the video:

Here is the demo application:

And here is the source code.

Enjoy.

Interview: InformIT

InformIT has just published an interview that they did recently with me and Romain Guy. We talk about Java, Flex, our book, and random client-y stuff.

Effects in Flex 4 SDK Beta: Part 1

As part of the beta launch, I wrote an article about the new effects that are part of Flex 4.

They asked for a single article of about 2500 words, and I churned out a monster weighing in at over 10,000 words. Apparently, I have a way with words: way too much.

After much gnashing of teeth and painful whittling down, we compromised on 2 articles. Part one, which covers the Animate superclass of the new effects and a handful of the more basic effects, is now live. Look for Part 2 soon. (Update: Part 2 is now live)

Check out the other articles while you're there - my articles focus specifically on effects and ignore a lot of the other great changes in the release (because I knew other articles would cover them and because I was having a hard enough time getting the article down to a reasonable size without trying to explain more). For example, Matt Chotin (Flex Product Manager) wrote an overview of the new features in What's New in Flex 4 SDK beta and Joan Lafferty (on the Flex SDK QA team) covers differences in this release and the last one in Differences between Flex 3 SDK and Flex 4 SDK beta.

Lots of stuff to read. Should keep you busy while we keep working on finishing the release.

Flex 4 SDK: Beta than Eva

It's here, it's hot, and it's beta than ever - it's the Flex 4 SDK Beta release!

This release has it all, including a new component model, new states syntax, declarative graphics, and new effects. Check out the articles on the Flex Devnet Site for more information about the release. Flex 4 Beta represents what we've been aiming at for the Flex 4 release. For the most party, we just have some minor tweaks left on some of the features, some bug fixing to make it rock solid, and of course fixing any issues that come from beta feedback.

Go grab the beta build, try it out, and let us know what you think.