1. Free and Trial Animation Programs
It's not hard to figure out why this one's so popular. This page lists a number of animation programs that you can try out without ever paying a single penny, as well links to where to download (or buy, if you're getting a trial version). The page also now features links to About.com reviews of a number of the programs.
2. Embedding an SWF in a Web Page
Back to basics - but it's the basics that count the most, and all the Flash animation knowledge in the world won't help us if we don't know how to show it to the world by putting it online for all to see.
3. Ask the Magic 8-Ball
A popular childhood toy gets a revamp and ends up regaining its popularity online with a lesson on how to create your own Magic 8-Ball...and a working demo that you can ask questions and shake over and over again for randomly generated (yet always right, never doubt the 8-ball!) answers to your most pressing life questions.
4. Your First Animation
Do you remember your first animation? Mine was a hinky little flip book that I made using tracing paper and construction paper, when I was about 8 years old. These days we're taking our first steps in a more advanced environment, though, and for beginners they can try out Flash to create their first animation: a basic motion tween that gets an object from point A to point B.
5. Flash Basic Walk Cycle
Before you can walk, you have to crawl; this lesson is basically the "crawl" version of the walk cycle, which breaks down a standard 8-frame step using a stick figure with easy-to-follow motions and simplified progression.
