In a recent discussion, we bandied about speculation about internet media, animation - and whether Adobe Flash is still the tool of choice for publishing animation to the web. My argument was that Flash is still the vehicle of publication; we use SWFs and FLVs to publish content to the web, but don't necessarily produce that content in Flash. Instead animators, especially freelancers and hobbyists, are starting to seek less complicated animation programs that not only cater more to the traditional animator, but also cost less, have more flexibility in style and drawing options, and don't release so many pricey upgrades so often. Most professional studios don't even use Flash. Others posit that Flash is still the way to go, and still the top choice of the average animator. It's definitely still a large part of the market, and for good reason; Flash makes it easy for anyone to create and share animated content without painstakingly drawing every last frame. What do you think?

Is Flash Still Top Dog?

• A. Flash is still definitely the way to go, and the tool I use; it won't go out of style.
• B. I use other animation tools for actual animation, but publish it in Flash format.
• C. I use other animation tools, but only because Flash is too expensive.
• D. I use other animation tools, but only because Flash is too difficult / complicated.
• E. Both C and D.
• F. I use Flash and like it, but only because I pirate it to avoid the costs.
• G. I prefer to use other tools because they better suit my style or have more animation-related features.
• H. I prefer to use other tools because professional studios use them.
• I. Both G and H.
• J. Other / will explain in comments.

Current Results

Yes, it says CS3 (what? CS4 is expensive), but this works in CS4 too; another of the nifty little tricks available in newer versions of Flash is the ability to add a beveled effect to your text. Don't know what a bevel is? It's a shading effect that creates the illusion of highlights and shadows caused by a directional light source, giving the text a raised, 3D appearance. And now it can be done in a few easy clicks, with all kinds of customizations.

Although I've had this talk with my father before, he made a huge blunder this past Christmas; in searching for something to sate my baby brother's Dragon Ball Z obsession, he ordered several yaoi doujinshi off of eBay. Don't know what that is? Neither did he, until he opened the package and flipped through the books to find drawings of many DBZ characters in some rather interesting (and not child-safe) situations. Needless to say my little brother didn't get his manga, and I ended up going on an emergency internet scavenger hunt for rare DBZ figurines that could ship in time for Christmas. While I relished the chance to lecture my father about something for once, I couldn't help thinking this all could have been avoided if he'd read my Parent's Guide to Keywords in Japanese Import Media - as I'd asked him to ages ago when he first told me my little brother was turning into an anime fanboy.

Why do we call a dreary day gray? Why is a sad mood blue, but an angry one red? Why is yellow mellow? Colors have a long history of association with moods, to the point where people often decorate in certain shades and combinations in the hope of influencing their mood any time they're in a particular room. Color association is also used to determine one's mood and state of mind - sometimes accurately, sometimes erroneously. Just for the fun of it, I tried my hand at creating a color quiz. What's your mood?