☆ ::: How To ? > A Webpage Like This ::: ☆

[brysonprice]

I've never built a webpage before, but I'm pretty experienced with Photoshop. I'm looking to build a website to promote my music and I want to model it after this one:

 

blackatomproductions .com

 

I know how to make cool sounds(like the ones on the website), but I need help with the Flash animations. Where can I start to learn about flash and what techniques do I need to learn to build a website like this?

 

Here are some more examples of websites that I like:

 

creaktif .com

 

2advanced .com

thanks for the help!

Edited January 19, 2011 by administrator

[falkencreative]

KillerSites does offer Flash courses: http://killervideostore.com/videos-flash.php that discuss Flash basics/the interface. The sites that you like are pretty advanced examples of Flash though (2Advanced is pretty well known for being experts with Flash), and realize this isn't something that you will be able to learn overnight.

 

I'm sure you can find other Flash tutorials online: http://www.kirupa.com/developer/flash/index.htm, etc.

 

Make sure that Flash is the right technology for this particular project and your audience though. Keep in mind that not everyone likes autoplaying music (PLEASE make sure there are obvious ways to turn off music/sound effects, and ideally, sound shouldn't play without the visitor turning it on) and there are a variety of negative side effects of using Flash, like the fact that search engines have difficulty indexing Flash content, leading to lower search engine rankings. Don't use flashy effects just for the sake of using flashy effects - they have to have a reason for being there. Personally, I closed the BlackAtom productions site within 15 or 20 seconds -- just too much unnecessary animation and time spent on the transition between pages. I just want to see the actual content. If I want to view the "contact page" I want to go directly to that content - I don't want to have to wait 10 seconds while the page contorts and animates into place. Just my opinion though.

[brysonprice]

 

Keep in mind that not everyone likes autoplaying music (PLEASE make sure there are obvious ways to turn off music/sound effects, and ideally, sound shouldn't play without the visitor turning it on)

 

too much unnecessary animation and time spent on the transition between pages. I just want to see the actual content. If I want to view the "contact page" I want to go directly to that content - I don't want to have to wait 10 seconds while the page contorts and animates into place.

 

Ben,

 

thanks for these tips : ). Now that you pointed it out, I see the BAP website does spend too much time to transition between pages.

BUT, the thing I really like about this site is the intro (could be a little shorter though) and I like the 'glitchy' effects that happen when you hover over the tabs. Is that hard to do?

[falkencreative]

BUT, the thing I really like about this site is the intro (could be a little shorter though) and I like the 'glitchy' effects that happen when you hover over the tabs. Is that hard to do?

I can't really comment on the intro, since I don't work with Flash. However, I would think it wouldn't be that hard to do -- I'm not seeing any difficult 3d effects, mostly just items moving on the screen. Just make sure to add some sort of option to skip the intro if the user has seen it before.

 

The glitchy navigation probably doesn't even need to be Flash -- you could probably do something similar by using an animated gif that animates through a couple different images, causing the text to jump around a tiny bit.

[brysonprice]

 

The glitchy navigation probably doesn't even need to be Flash -- you could probably do something similar by using an animated gif that animates through a couple different images, causing the text to jump around a tiny bit.

 

What program would be best to use for an animated gif? My university has all adobe products

 

once again, I appreciate your help

[falkencreative]

You can create animated GIFs in Photoshop: http://creativetechs.com/tipsblog/build-animated-gifs-in-photoshop/ or search for "animated gif photoshop" and you should get additional tutorials.

[mzsade]

gifninja.com/,

Sorry for not enlarging on my answer, but i am not making any progress with Javascript and am bitter and frustrated...

 

And then there's our mutual friend Mr. Google whose search will yield results which you can possibly adapt to your needs..http: //www.google.co.in/#hl=en&biw=836&bih=491&q=how+to+join+gif+files+online&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=how+to+join+gif+files+online&fp=96e11be8b29b542e

 

Once again, this is a very bitter man speaking, please bear with me.