GoToAndLearn.com by Lee Brimelow
When I was starting out and trying to learn as much as I could about all facets of web design, I was going to night classes at the local Technical College for things like Flash Animation, Actionscript, PHP, and so on, and it was during the less than impressive class for Flash Actionscript that I realized this had all been a mistake. All the instructor did was basically walk us through a textbook, and he didn’t even do that well, not appearing to know much more about the subject than us students. That’s when I eventually stopped taking night classes and instead began seeking out resources on the web from which to immerse myself in the craft, and just let me say that without a doubt the best website and source for Flash Tutorials, bar none, is Lee Brimelow’s GoToAndLearn.com.
I probably learned more from just one of Lee’s tutorials than I did in the eight, 3-hour night classes at that technical college (24 hours at $400) and he covers a broad range of uses for Flash, although he focuses primarily on Actionscript, the language that gives Flash it’s infinite powers.
* For a more basic approach on how to use Adobe’s Flash software, I recommend Flash CS3 Professional for Windows and Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)
I discovered Lee’s website a couple of years ago, and since then it has undergone several changes and rapidly evolved from a series of nicely presented tutorials into the top notch tutorial command center you see today, a popular destination for Flash Developers, Flash Developer wannabes, and people who just want to learn how to do some cool things and expand their horizons, which is all the website has ever endeavored to do.
GoToAndLearn is now a burgeoning community with a faithful following that mans the forums, and there’s also Lee’s equally informative Flash Blog which is one of only a couple of Blogs I’ll actually make time for because it’s worth the read.
The more recent tutorials have left me behind a bit, because as time passes they’ve advanced from the earlier lessons on how to build an mp3 player to more current topics that delve into applications like Adobe AIR and Papervision 3D. However, he’s made all the tutorials, past and present, available to view or download and includes all the source files as well so you won’t miss a beat (sweet !).
There’s a lot of disappointments on the web, especially when it comes to sites selling inferior product just to make a quick buck, so it’s websites like GoToAndLearn.com that tend to put a smile on your face and make you realize this is what it’s really all about.
