Step by Step 3D Graphics To Flash

This month I decided to make a screen cast of a project and post it here to share with others the steps I took and some of the things that I learned. The end result (the flash movie at bottom) is nothing spectacular but the things that I learned in the process of doing it made it worth the effort. I hope that you will find some aspect of it of value as well.

If you have any questions and comments please let me know!

Blender Render Simple Man – Part 9

In this final video I link the code to the graphics and create a simple application that lets the user control the man as he walks left and right on the stage.

Blender Model Simple Man – Part 1

Step number 1, create the little man. Blender has always been a favorite program of mine – quick and powerful. The latest 2.56 version has some great improvements to the interface. They call it beta but I’ve had no issues with it.

In this video I model a pair of large boots, some rather skinning legs and a torso. I’m flying by the seat with this character. I want it to look good but the ultimate goal is to prove the concept of bring Blender art into Flash and a game asset.

The bad news is that this was my first video screencast – and it shows. The volume is too low and the aspect ratio is wrong for YouTube. I want to keep moving forward with this project so I’m going to just put up with it. I’ll learn from my mistakes and improve as I go along.

Blender to Flash via FlashPunk

I want to use Blender (a 3D program) to render the graphics needed for a simple Flash type “game”. The “game” in this case will be a man walking around the stage using the FlashPunk framework.

Why?

FlashPunk framework has capture my interest and I want to see what I can do with it. FlashPunk is all about bitmaps and animated bitmaps. I’m not much for traditional animation, I can draw a little bit but I’m never really happy with the final product. I have worked with programs like 3D Studio Max and Maya in the past and currently Blender is my 3D program of choice. Its quick to learn and use and outputs those killer images I love. So I asked myself if I could use Blender to create graphics and animation sets for FlashPunk.

To get from a blank page in Blender to a running program in Flash will go something like this;

Model a man in blender
Apply an armature to the model
Animate a simple walk cycle
Output the animation as a series of image files
Create a sprite map using ImageMagick.
Create a Flash program that uses the FlashPunk framework.
Load the sprite map and tie the animation to user input

For fun I’ve decided to capture all of the steps on video and share them. I suspect that I am going to learn a lot over the next few weeks maybe I can help someone else out too.

Games

Launchcode Type-R

The Earth is under attack. Every night a swarm of aliens descend upon us, breaking into the Earth’s atmosphere and leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake. Our only protection lies with the Global Defence Initiative’s MDS (Missile Defence System) and its ability track and destroy these incoming alien swarms. Your nimble fingers, lightning-fast reflexes and eagle-like eyes are the heart of this system. The key to the human race’s survival is at your fingertips. This exciting game has ten levels of fast and addictive game play action that will have you at the edge of your seat as you push yourself towards the final swarm. Unlike other games, this one has the real-world benefit of improving your typing skills and eventually taking it to the next level. The high-quality sound track and slick graphics provide an exciting and modern twist to a classic arcade game.

Simple Flex Audio Tone Generator

I’ve been playing around with generating sounds in AS3 and Flex. Thanks to this great tutorial over at www.hulstkamp.com I’ve but together a simple flex interface.

Sound creation is an exciting area in ActionScript that I am just beginning to explore. I thought the code might be useful to other people so I copied the files into pastebin (here and here). The following swf requires version 10+ of the flash plugin.

Star Struck – flash game

Welcome Pilot!

Your mission is to collect energy points for our home planet. To begin your journey, click your spaceship to fire up the thrusters. Your spaceship will now follow wherever your mouse points, gaining speed the faster you move.

Sunrise Typer – flash game

Type fast and accurately to lift the sun into the sky. 10 levels of increasing difficulty improves your typing and concentration skills while treating you to a beautiful sunrise over striking landscapes as you progress.

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