Ping Pop Atlanta | Canvas Paddle

I finished my 2nd piece in the upcoming Ping Pop Paddle Art show. This one was a lot more work but a good time.

Someone please buy this and donate lot's of $ to Aflac Children's Cancer Center.

Ping Pop Atlanta | Art Show | Skate Paddle

We made a Skateboard Paddle over the weekend!
Check out the video. Representing East Point, ATL!

Ping Pop Atlanta | Art Show!

Rick came by today and we put together a hand made Skateboard paddle for the show. It was really fun to take a much needed break from the computer and actually craft something with my hands.

We saw some of the paddles that have been mailed back and wow; there are some super creative folks in the ATL!

See everyone Weds night. Show info here. W00t.

Fuse Cheatsheet

There is also a really great Fuse Cheatsheet.

Fuse, I love you

Ok, so I am going on record by saying that FuseKit is by far the best animation class out there. At first, I was stuggling a bit with the documentation, and how to best approach using it; flying back from FITC I spent some in depth time reading.

Simply put, it's amazing!

Here is a little breakdown of some things you can do with it. First a litle info on part of the class, and what you can pass to it: (Keep in mind, this is a VERY small part of what can be done)

public static function doTween(
targets: Object,
props: Object,
endvals: Object,
seconds: Number,
ease: Object,
delay: Number,
callback: Object): String

So, an example of that would be:

import com.mosesSupposes.fuse.*;
ZigoEngine.simpleSetup(Shortcuts,PennerEasing,Fuse,FuseFMP,
FuseItem);

ZigoEngine.doTween({ target:box_mc, _brightOffset:100, seconds:1, ease:"easeOutQuad"});

This would fade a movieClip with a burn type effect, taking 1 second, passing in an ease of easeOutQuad.

Another really nice feature is that you can set up a sequence of events to be fired one after another. An example of this would be:

import com.mosesSupposes.fuse.*;
ZigoEngine.simpleSetup(Shortcuts,PennerEasing,Fuse,FuseFMP);

var easeOutElastic:String = "easeOutElastic";
var easeOutBounce:String = "easeOutBounce";

//Let's write a fuse:
var animateBall = Fuse.open();
//
box1_mc.tween("_y", "400", 1.5, easeOutBounce, 5);
//
box1_mc.alphaTo(50, 1);
//
box1_mc.scaleTo(600, 2, easeOutElastic);
//
box1_mc.tween("_y", "240", 1.5, easeOutBounce);
//
box1_mc.alphaTo(60, 2, easeOutElastic);
//

Fuse.closeAndStart();

Now, the class knows to fire each event; line by line! Also, you can pass in a delay, callBack, etc. (I can't tell you how much I could have used something like this 3 months ago)

So, this is just a little preview of what I am learning. If this were being used in something real, I would write it a little bit more dynamic, and pass stuff in as needed. Also, I would probably wrap some of it in a function or two so it could be called upon.

If you have not yet looked into the power of the class, check out the site now. Also, make a donation to Moses.

The History of Photoshop

Wow, this take me back even more. It's amazing how much this app has become over the last 10 years.

The History of Flash

I started using Flash back in V4. How about you? Takes me back.

April 8th, 1994

I know where I was on that day, you probably do too.

April 8th, 1994

Thought Will Rise

Thought Will Rise has some nice code based examples of using Fuse and Fuse FMP filter shortcuts. I have been learning more and more; good stuff. Gives me more idea's for thinking in terms of motion. It's somewhat addictive.

All photos, Flash in The Can

All the photos from the trip can be seen here. Enjoy!

Flash In The Can (Tuesday)

Today's events I checked out:

**Democratizing Ideas: Kerry Janes and Tim Scollick from Critical Mass (Very interesting! I am sure there will be more about this one floating around)

**Iam(studio)static: Ron Gervais (I really liked the thought of how one idea can lead to another. To me, that's one of the most fun things about concepting stuff for the web)

I just found out that check out time is 12PM, so time to pack up a bit. See you back in Atlanta. Thanks for the great time Toronto.

AS2 to AS3 converter

I just ran across This AS2 to AS3 converter. this site might come in handy in the near future. Are there better ones out there?

Tweener and Nate Chatellier

Nate Chatellier now has a blog. Nate is the mind behind the Actionscript 3 version of Tweener; check it out if interested. Seems like a smart dude.

Flash In The Can (Monday)

Today's events I checked out:

**What's new in Flash CS3: Justin Everett Church (Simply put, I need to get my hands on the new App soon; there are so many amazing new things that are going to make my life a lot easier)

**New Animation Workflows in Flash CS3: Robert Penner (Ok, so we all know this guy is the one behind all the easing equations in Flash. Presentation was good, just got a bit mellow near the end. He talked about new features; I am most interested in using the new XML code based animation stuff. I think that's going to make the Designer/Developer hand off a lot easier; like with the ease of a few clicks. Anyone else already messing with this stuff?)

**The Photoshop CS3 Tour: John Nack (Another app that I need to purchase soon. So many great new features that are going to make life on the web a lot easier)

**Time Shifting Entertainment: Kenny Bunch (Most of the Cartoon Network people sat up front to make sure Kenny was nervous. You did a great job man; well spoken and confident about what you were talking about. There were a lot of good points about user based content and the future opportunities us designers have to capture our audience and deliver media in a whole new way. I taped some of his session; I might throw that online later Anyone want to hear it?)

Dinner time. W00t!

New photos up

I have posted some new photos.

erokCom.com, enjoy.

FITC Keynote Highlights (Sunday)

**Flash Player 9 statistics. Official Flash Player penetration for mature markets is at 83.4%, nine months after it's release.

**Mike Downey showed Papervision3d samples to illustrate Flash 9 processing speed improvements.

**Key new features of Flash CS3: Photoshop and Illustrator documents import, timeline-based to actionscript-based animation conversion.

**Flash/Flex integration kit: an extensions for Flash CS3 that allows timeline-based animations to be exported as SWCs from Flash, and then imported into Flex, and controlled from within a Flex application.

**Kevin Towes demoed the new Flash Media Encoder, and a handful of Flash and Flex applications that take advantage of the new features of Flash Media Server 2.

**The keynote ended with a quick walk-through of a few Apollo applications, including the new Adobe Media Player, to be released with Apollo.

Flash In The Can (Sunday)

Whew, I am pretty tired from all the sitting. Although the presentations have been great. I saw:

**Based on a True Story: Hoss Gifford (Really funny and interesting about how little your job titles means; and how if you try, you can convince clients to do just about anything.

**Graffiti 9-5: Evan Roth (Speaks for itself)

**GmunkKickDown07: GMUNK (I first saw him back at the BD4D in Atlanta. Super talented dude, but I wanted to see more process, storyboards and less "look what I can do")

**Discovering new ways to build engaging experiences with Adobe | KeyNote (This was pretty amazing. I am excited that Abobe and Macromedia have FINALLY fixed what seems to be most of the production based issues of getting PhotoShop files into Flash. It really makes me wonder what the future will bring.

Time for some dinner.

Flash In The Can (Saturday)

Well, so far so good. As soon as I got out of the cab I was bombareded by fellow ATLiens Kenny Bunch and Jonathan Thompson + a few of the NYC RazorFish guys.

The schedule for tomorrow looks really good.

I am going to post some flicks here in a few moments so check Flickr if you want. More later...

FITC, here I come!

I am getting ready to head to Toronto for the FITC event. Should be a good time. I have created a set on Flickr that I will be updating over the next few day's. Let's see how crazy things get. :)

Follow me to FITC!

Ping Pop Atlanta

Ping Pop Atlanta is now in full swing. Check out the updated site, info, etc. "You could smear it with peanut butter and jelly and wrap it in plastic wrap. You could put it in a blender and grind it into dust. It doesn't matter. It's all good."

Ping Pop Atlanta, come out and represent!

A quick thought.

Sitting here yesterday, I was thinking to myself of interesting way’s to become inspired about design. Often I look to Nature. The beauty of the world around us and how things work in harmony is pretty amazing. Also, the Human body. Everything works for a reason. Our hands; eyes... All created to work together.

To me design is making the really complex simple. That’s always been my approach; when you look at something and can understand how it’s supposed to move and function.

I am heading to Flash in The Can here in a few day’s. Should be a good time. I still owe Mason an internet ^5 for making it possible for me to be there this year. Thanks man.

Breeds of Clients...

"There are loads of different types of clients out there and chances are at some point you’ll get to meet all of them. So let’s take a look through some typical clients and see if you recognise a few of your own in there!"

"The low-tech client will need to be handheld through everything from setting up their email to opening up PDFs. Charge accordingly. They can also be particularly frustrating if they decide to ‘work it out themselves’. A Low-tech client’s idea of how a website should work for example is often not pretty."

The Low-Tech type Client, learn more!

The Photography of Eric Shoemaker (me)

I haved moved my Photography site to a new URL.
It's now live at:

www.erokcom.com
XML feed

Enjoy!

Hanks responce to: From the Desk of...

"I'd have to say that the university systems in general are also supporting the rich. I knew a lot of kids whose parents bought them Mercedes, bmw's, lexus, $40k trucks, and harley's etc. tuition continues to go up because the rich continue to make and are willing to pay more money and the poor continue to borrow more which raises the price at an uncomfortable if not alarming rate. Students are getting into overwhelming debt and cannot support themselves post education. The rich it seems have enough money to got to college pay the asking amount with out worrying about debtors, go through school with out stressing about cash, food or heat have money to pay for nice looking projects and so on. The poor i fear, having the weight of a student loan on their shoulders have a much larger burden of pressure while perhaps not making as good of work not getting as good of jobs and having to pay interest on their loans, which can double or even triple the cost of the education.

The poor get jobs to pay for their education building systems for and educating the rich and live much differently. At times it seems to hint at a modern day serfdom. financial serfdom. we don't rent only apartments or buy houses and cars we rent the money from the rich to acquire the things that enable us to subsist.


The poor in our country are living better and education helps but the gap is getting bigger between the rich and poor. and i guess the question is what can be done."

My Buddy Wes

Wes and I went to The Art Institute around the same time. He is living in NYC now; I am really stoked to see his work get better and better.

"Wes Duvall is a graphic designer and illustrator. After graduating from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a BFA in Graphic Design, Wes joined the Center for Puppetry Arts as art director and designer for all the Centers print and online projects.

After leaving the Center and relocating to New York in 2005, Wes spent time under Brazilian fashion art director Giovanni Bianco, as well as Disney Publishing and Hyperion Books for Children."

Check out my Friend Wess Duvall

Are Designers The Enemy Of Design?

"Are Designers The Enemy of Design?

In the name of provocation, let me start by saying that DESIGNERS SUCK. I’m sorry. It’s true. DESIGNERS SUCK. There’s a big backlash against design going on today and it’s because designers suck."

"Are Designers The Enemy of Design?

Going Interactive, new space!

Ok, so I know I talked about this before but now they have photos up! My friends over at Going Interactive haved moved to a pretty cool new space.

"Going Interactive has firm roots in Atlanta; for almost 10 years they have been busy creating websites, presentations, videos, and other interactive media for both B2B and B2C clients. 2006 marked a banner year for the agency, and this year has already boasted employee, client and exciting new office expansions."

Going Interactive moves, click here.

From the Desk of...

"From the Desk of Angie xxxxxxx

Dear Eric R Shoemaker,

It's not everyday that we offer one of our preferred customers a line of credit up to $75,000. Based on your excellent credit, I'm confident that you will enjoy the benefits of having a Prime Equity Line of Credit with us."

Ok, so I often get these types of letters in the mail. "You are pre approved", and "Approval is just one step away" Often times I sit here and think to myself; What are they really thinking? So, I have good credit, my Wife and I pay bills on time, we don't live beyond our means. Does this mean Wachovia really wants to reach out to us for being "good" with our finances?

I am sure this is an obvious one, but the answer is no. They want me to take out a Line of Credit so they can make a lot of $ off me. How cool is that? I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I doubt they would be willing to give me that if I demanded that the interest rate was 0% through the whole life of the loan. Why? Because then what would they have to benefit?

This brings me to an even larger concept. The rich get rich, and the poor continue to get poorer. I think back to growing up. My Mom had to buy a few cars at those "Buy here pay here lots". They advertise about how friendly their service is, low cost repairs, etc. But, who do you think they are really catering to? Or, are they doing someone a favor by giving them the chance to have a car where they might not be able to have it without good credit?

IMHO the answer is they are catering to the poor. They know people get in crisis situations and need things, whether they can afford them or not. So, what happens? High interest rates, fees, reposessions and you end up paying 5X what something is really worth.

Just something to think about the next time you are out on a Sunday Drive. Happy Easter.

Old Atlanta warehouse

Hank and I somehow got in this old warehouse today and shot some photos. I did not edit these much, just wanted to get them out there. Enjoy.

Check it out on Flickr.

Friday Syndrome

I am going to put this on the record by creating a new term. I call it Friday Syndrome.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source

1. Being at work when the sun is shining in the window.
2. Lack of drive and or motivation on Friday.
3. Want to spend time with my Wife.

My first AS class

Ok, so I have been using classes for a little over a year now. (Well, using MC Tween a LOT and just now starting to use the new Tweener class; all of the need is based around the idea I have on how code is easier to manage than the timeline. I do however believe there is a time and place for both. (Depends on your needs)

A Flash developer I work with gave me a new book about OOP. After reading the first few chapters, the little I have done has not really been hard at all. Here is my first AS class:

//eric shoemaker; my first class : -)

class CustomMovieClip extends MovieClip {
function setPosition(x, y) {
_x = x;
_y = y;

}
}

(I have saved this file in the same _root as my fla and named it CustomMovieClip.as.

// Now, to use this we go back in flash and click on the Linkage Properties in the Library. In this dialog box I check the Export for AS checkbox and type CustomMovieClip as in the AS 2.0 Class text field.

Once complete, in the IDE I type out:

eric_mc.setPosition(100,50);
eric2_mc.setPosition(400,5);

This will position the two clips on the stage at the _X and _Y I defined. Dang, that's not too hard. (smile)

Again, my goal with this is not to become an uber nerd. I always want to keep my use of flash concept driven, and a way to tell stories and communicate messages with motion. However, I feel the more I know, the better stuff I can come up with. And I won't lie, I really like learning.

Going Interactive

My Friends Jason and Doug over at Going Interactive have a nice little reel of work from 2006. Check it out when you have a free moment!

Links and other fun stuff!

Wieden + Kennedy’s new site is really nice. Portland seems like a cool town. I stole the link from my buddy Mason Poe.

In other news, I helped put a little site up for a few of my friends that have started their own thing. They were the eyes behind a lot of the branding work for GameTap, etc. Expect great stuff from them. More soon.

Agency.com Names Zucker N.Y. ECD

NEW YORK R/GA executive creative director Mat Zucker is moving to Agency.com as its New York ecd. (This replaces Tom Ajello)

Agency.com Names Zucker N.Y. ECD, learn more.