by Jed Clampett

June 1, 2001

The Flash 5 Cartooning book is wonderful for aspiring Flash cartoonist. The author, Mark Clarkson is a former software analyst for Boeing and has written for Computer Gaming World and others. His cartoons are also featured on AtomFilms.com.

This book is illustrated in color throughout. I'm always a sucker for full color, but what about the content and quality of teaching? You won't be disappointed, Mr. Clarkston does an admirable job of presenting the subject manner in a way you can understand and fully grasp. The cartoons are inspiring as well, no bouncing balls!

Some of the topics which set this book apart is the emphasis on using Flash 5 as a tool for cartooning and telling a story. Storyboards, scripts, squashing and stretching, walk cycles and character design. The teaching style is a project based one, you learn the techniques as you build or design your cartoon.

You are encouraged that even if you aren't an artist (the author isn't) you can still make cartoons, you can even use digital photography for cartoons. There is a list of the books in the authors library, this can be very helpful for the serious cartooner who wants to expand their knowledge.

Some of the topics are:

How to watch cartoons
Learning to draw
Writing a cartoon
Donde Esta La Biblioteca?
Why did Yogi Bear wear that necktie?
Recording dialog and other sound
Keyframes, tweening and animatics
Tweening, manual and automatic
Walking, running and cycling
Facial Animation
Layout, style and camera moves
Interaction
Making a movie
Selling your work


If you want to learn the basics of cartooning in Flash or simple ActionScript this book will get you going. The user level is rated Beginning to Advanced. Maybe advanced in some of the cartoon concepts, movement etc. but no in the ActionScript part, that is quite basic.

Copyright 2001, Jed Clampett, All Rights Reserved