There are a number of manuals available on Flash, but too many of them get bogged down in details about ActionScript or interactivity. Frustrated with wading through such information in other Flash manuals, author/illustrator Mark Stephen Smith set out to make the book he wished he had when he started learning Flash. This book is both a practical primer in the fundamentals of classical, hand-drawn 2D screen animation and a basic introduction to Flash’s expert handling of recyclable symbols that make independent, web, and television animation both more affordable and more efficient. It is conveniently divided into two parts. Part I is for those who are new to the terms and techniques of hand-drawn animation, character design, and storyboards. Part II covers scanning and digitizing artwork into Flash, as well as setting up scenes and symbols.

Not Good at all.
This is a book more so about TRADITIONAL animation techniques. It hardly touches on using flash to animate. If you want to learn how to use Flash to animate look elsewhere. In fact, this book isn’t even that good of a traditional animation book. I would like to return this book to writer...in person.

Very good to get started easily
The book is really informative and well written; it is aimed at beginners in Flash animation, but also advanced users will benefit from the principles presented here. I read it from start to finish while on holiday and could comprehend everything though I did not have my computer with me to try everything out at once.

Good to get started
I have been trying to learn to animate, draw, model, 2d, 3D . spend time as and when its available on books, software, pencil and paper.
I try my hand at Maya, Anim8or, Flash, ToonBoom, Blender .. anything that lets me draw and animate.
I started looking at Flash recently with renewed vigour. I picked this book up along with a few others.

The book addresses the newbie. teaches traditional style animation using Flash. which involves quite a few things.

character design
Character construction
Thumbnails
storyboarding
Camera shots
sound track
acting etc..
which are general pieces, and then specifics on Flash such as,

basic tools to get the characters into flash,
symbols, scenes,
library
rigging etc.

This is a nice walkthrough of all the tools you need as part of mastering the trade. I would think this is a very good primer. Gets you going. then you go fill the gaps, build on it. The book provides an overview of the various stages , very simple and easy to read. The style of writing is more like that of a fellow student trying to figure out things.

I wouldn’t say this is ’the’ book, but certainly provides a good starting point.

The Best Flash Animators Guide
When I first started taking my flash animation class, it was, unfortunately, before this book came out. I was a bit concerned that it might be just like all of the other books and only focus on one thing, or two, but avoiding the main topics. I was very much mistaken. I read this book & found that it, not only, covered all of the topics and such concerning flash animation, but it also went into some cartoons as well. I would rate this book a 5 star, because that’s just what it is, a 5 star. I think that it was wrong of this novel to be rated a 2 star, I consider that an insult. I would encourage all who are looking into flash animation and cartooning to grab a copy of this book. It will not only teach you what you want to know, but it will keep you awake, unlike most of the other boring flash books. Enjoy the read, people, I did! ^-^

Meh!
There are few books out there that cover using Flash as traditional animation medium, and even fewer that are any good. The Art of Flash Animation is another book in the "not so good" column.

The fact that this book came from a small publisher like Wordware means you don’t get a lot of the frills you’d expect in an animation book. The illustrations are a bit sparse and in black & white. There’s no CD of examples or finished files. A lot of the projects he mentions can be found on his website, which I wasn’t particularly impressed with; especially the audio on his personal cartoons.

Even though the book spends a lot of time talking about animation and Flash, not a lot of usable information comes out of it. A few tidbits of animation knowledge come out, but still the best advice this book gives is to read The Animator’s Survival Kit. I don’t need a $23 book to tell me to buy a $20 book.

The Flash instruction is also rather lacking. If you’ve never touched Flash before in your life, you might learn something. If you already have a working knowledge of the program, you won’t learn a thing.

All in all, it’s quite a bit of money to spend on such a small amount of learning.