The Essential Guide to 3D in Flash

The Essential Guide to 3D in Flash will provide you with a complete introduction to creating 3D content for Adobe Flash. We focus on the open source Away3D engine for ActionScript 3.0 in the examples throughout the book, though the theory covered here is applicable to any 3D engine for Flash.

Rob Bateman and Richard Olsson share their many years of professional experience in Flash 3D development to get your own 3D programming skills up to speed quickly and easily. You'll start by setting up a working environment using the Flash development tools of your choice. After that, you'll be guided through all the aspects of 3D programming in Flash, paying particular attention to the key features available in the powerful Away3D engine, including models, materials, text, animation, and interaction.

You'll learn how to code various types of 3D content from code and load content in from external applications like Blender, 3ds Max, and Maya. Along the way, you'll animate and interact with that content, affording you an in-depth understanding of real-time 3D in Flash. With this book, you can take your creativity to new levels and spawn the next generation of cutting-edge 3D experiences for the Web.

Beginners are welcome here. No prior knowledge of 3D modeling or math is required to understand the techniques presented here, although some experience with ActionScript 3.0 is assumed in the code examples. When you're ready for new challenges, you'll also find a special chapter dedicated to the tricks of Flash 3D professionals. Several core Away3D developers around the world contributed these tricks specifically to help you enhance the performance and aesthetics of your 3D creations.

Welcome to The Essential Guide to 3D in Flash and to the exciting world of 3D Flash content!

Richard Olsson is a Swedish freelance Flash developer, Away3D team member/developer, and author of official documentation for the ongoing Away3D documentation project.