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Adobe Flash animation (formerly Macromedia Flash animation and FutureSplash animation) is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) platform or similar animation software and often distributed in the SWF file format. The term Adobe Flash animation refers to both the file format and the medium in which the animation is produced. Adobe Flash animation has enjoyed mainstream popularity since the mid-2000s, with many Adobe Flash-animated television series, television commercials, and award-winning online shorts being produced since then. In the late 1990s, when bandwidth was still at 56 kbit/s for most Internet users, many Adobe Flash animation artists employed
limited animation Limited animation is a process in the overall technique of traditional animation that reuses frames of character animation. Early history The use of budget-cutting and time-saving animation measures in animation dates back to the earliest commerc ...
or cutout animation when creating projects intended for web distribution. This allowed artists to release shorts and interactive experiences well under 1 MB, which could stream both audio and high-end animation. Adobe Flash is able to integrate bitmaps and other raster-based art, as well as video, though most Adobe Flash films are created using only
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-based drawings, which often result in a somewhat clean graphic appearance. Some hallmarks of poorly produced Adobe Flash animation are jerky natural movements (seen in walk-cycles and gestures), auto-tweened character movements, lip-sync without
interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...
and abrupt changes from front to profile view. Adobe Flash animations are typically distributed by way of the
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, in which case they are often referred to as Internet cartoons, online cartoons, or web cartoons. Web Adobe Flash animations may be
interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...
and are often created in a series. An Adobe Flash animation is distinguished from a
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
, which is a
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
distributed via the Web, rather than an animated cartoon.


History

The first prominent use of the Adobe Flash animation format was by ''
The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...
'' creator John Kricfalusi. On October 15, 1997, he launched '' The Goddamn George Liquor Program'', the first cartoon series produced specifically for the Internet. The series starred George Liquor (a fictional character rumored to have ended Kricfalusi's employment on ''Ren & Stimpy'') and his dim-witted nephew Jimmy The Idiot Boy. Later, Kricfalusi produced more animated projects with Adobe Flash Professional, including several online shorts for Icebox.com, television commercials, and a music video. Soon after that, web cartoons began appearing on the Internet with more regularity. On February 26, 1999, in a major milestone for Adobe Flash animation, the popular web series '' WhirlGirl'' became the first regularly scheduled Adobe Flash animated web series when it premiered on the premium cable channel Showtime in an unprecedented telecast and simultaneous release on the Showtime website. Created by David B. Williams and produced by Visionary Media, the studio he founded, ''WhirlGirl'' follows the adventures of a young super-heroine fighting for freedom in a future ruled by an all-powerful "mediatech empire". The series originally launched in the spring of 1997 as a web comic with limited animation and sound. After gaining online syndication partners including Lycos.com and WebTV, the series first adopted Adobe Flash animation in July 1998. Following her Showtime debut, the titular heroine appeared in over 50 Adobe Flash webisodes on the Showtime website and starred in a million-dollar multimedia Showtime marketing campaign. About the same time, Joe Cartoon launched the interactive animation "Frog in a Blender" to become one of the first true "viral hits" on the Internet. ''The Von Ghouls'' went live in November 1999, featuring the first music group with cartoon episodes online including original songs, in the vein of Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s. A number of popular portal sites featured Adobe Flash animation during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, including MondoMedia, Icebox, CampChaos, MediaTrip, Bogbeast and AtomFilms. Stan Lee, the late founder of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, launched an animated comics site. The Internet also saw the proliferation of many websites devoted entirely to Flash cartoons. Some of the shows from that period made the transition to traditional media, including '' Queer Duck'', '' Gary the Rat'', '' Happy Tree Friends'', and the politically-minded JibJab shorts. Occasionally, the trend has been reversed: after being canceled from both ABC and Fox, Atom Films and Flinch Studio created net-only episodes of ''
The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...
'' in 2000–2001. In another instance, Adobe Flash almost made the transition to the big screen. In 2001, production began on what would have been the first Adobe Flash-animated feature film, the ill-fated '' Lil' Pimp'', which also began life as an Internet series. As potentially controversial as its subject matter was, it had a relatively large budget, a number of well-known actors (including William Shatner, the late Bernie Mac, and Lil' Kim), a full crew, and a running time of nearly 80 minutes. Although Sony Pictures decided not to release the film, it was eventually released on DVD by Lionsgate. In 2000, another major milestone occurred in the world of animation when the first broadcast-quality Adobe Flash animation aired on television. Dice Raw's music video "Thin Line between Raw and Jiggy" appeared on the big screen at Resfest 2000, on television via BET, and the Web on sites such as Sputnik7.com, Shockwave.com, Heavy.com and was also included with the CD. Its creation became one of media history's first convergent entertainment productions. Todd Wahnish, who would later go on to create Marvel Entertainment's "All Winners Squad", pioneered the early conversion of traditional hand-drawn techniques into vector-based animation seen in the video. The video triggered a flood of Adobe Flash-based television animation. Several recording companies experimented with releasing animated music videos to promote their artists' releases online, including
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
,
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and
Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...
; however, none became the hit that allowed for the expansion of Flash animated music videos.
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...
and
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, among others, released original Internet-only animated works, but were not able to devise successful financial models and the trend dissipated, largely as a result of a lack of viable micropayment systems. Several popular online series were produced in Adobe Flash Professional, such as the
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-winning '' Off-Mikes'', produced by
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and Animax Entertainment; '' Gotham Girls'' and '' Lobo'', produced by Warner Bros.; '' Crime Time'', produced by Future Thought Productions and '' Homestar Runner'' produced by Mike and Matt Chapman. Many
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
were produced using Macromedia Flash, inspired by both the comparatively low cost of production and the unique arrays of new animation styles that can be achieved through the medium, including '' Metalocalypse'', '' Being Ian'', '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', ''
Kappa Mikey ''Kappa Mikey'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Larry Schwarz for Nicktoons Network. Despite airing on the channel, it was not a Nicktoon, being produced by Schwarz's production company Animation Collective. The ser ...
'', '' Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'', '' Happy Tree Friends'', '' The Buzz on Maggie'', '' Astroblast!'', '' Odd Job Jack'', ''
Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American Animated series, animated children's television series developed by Douglas Wood (writer), Douglas Wood and based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. Produced by The Baby Einstein Company (at the time owned ...
'', '' Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'', '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' Total Drama'', the
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Three show '' Monkey Dust'', the Channel Four show '' Modern Toss'', the
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show '' The Secret Show'', ''
Yin Yang Yo! ''Yin Yang Yo!'' is an animated television series created by Bob Boyle for Jetix. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation as the third Jetix original series, it first aired on August 26, 2006, as a sneak peek and premiered on September 4, ...
'', '' Alejo & Valentina'', '' Angry Birds Toons'', '' Aaagh! It's the Mr. Hell Show'', '' Jake and the Never Land Pirates'', '' The Mr. Men Show'', '' The Lion Guard'', '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' on The Hub (however, this show uses a heavily modified version of Flash 8),
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's '' Eli's Dirty Jokes'', '' Queer Duck'' from Showtime, '' The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show'' on
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, '' ToddWorld'' on Discovery Kids, '' Smiling Friends'' on
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and '' Shorties Watching Shorties'' on
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. Other TV shows, such as '' Home Movies'', '' Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' and '' Ballmastrz: 9009'', broadcast on
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's
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
programming block, switched to Adobe Flash Professional from other animation technology and on
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with '' Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil''. Many animation film festivals responded to the popularity of Adobe Flash animation by adding separate categories in competition for "web cartoons" or "Internet cartoons". Additionally, several exclusively web-based Adobe Flash competitions have been established. It is speculated that only the category "made for Internet" will survive, as competitions at animation film festivals are typically arranged in categories defined by film length and distribution channel, rather than by animation techniques or tools used to create it. Adobe Flash Professional was rebrand to Adobe Animate in 2016 to both more accurately reflect its market position then, since over a third of all content created in Animate uses
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, and prevent confusion between Adobe Flash Professional and
Adobe Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is a discontinuedExcept in China, where it continues to be used, as well as Harman for enterprise users. computer program for viewing multimedia ...
since they are completely different products. Adobe will continue to support Adobe Animate even after Flash Player's end-of-life deadline by 2020, hence all animations produced in Animate will survive Flash Player's death. The only change is that after 2020, animators will instead share their animations in either video, HTML5, or
WebGL WebGL (short for Web Graphics Library) is a JavaScript Application programming interface, API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-in (computing), plug-ins. WebGL is fully integra ...
format. On June 16, 2020, as part of Adobe's 'Evolving Brand Identity', Adobe Animate unveiled a complete redesign of its logo in which for the first time in almost 20 years, the main color was changed from Red to Purple, ending any association of Flash entirely.


Distribution

While the creation of animation using Adobe Animate can be much easier and less expensive than traditional animation techniques, the amount of time, money, and skill required to produce a project using the software depends on the chosen content and style.
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distribution is considerably easier and less expensive than television broadcasting. Many Adobe Flash animations are created by individual, independent artists, and many that are first distributed on the web became popular enough to be broadcast on television, particularly on such networks as
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and G4.


Professional studios

Adobe Flash animation production is enjoying considerable popularity in major animation studios around the world, as animators take advantage of the software's ability to organize a large number of assets (such as characters, scenes, movements, and props) for later re-use. Because Adobe Animate files are in
vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...
file format, they can be used to transfer animation to 35 mm film without any compromise in image quality. In 2003, Big Idea Entertainment used Animate (back when it was called Flash) to make Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures. This feature is used by several independent animators worldwide, including
Phil Nibbelink Phil Nibbelink (born June 3, 1955) is an American animator and film director as well as comic book writer and illustrator known for his work on films as the Academy Award-winning ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' and the 1991 cult animated sequel ''An ...
, who saw his 77-minute feature film '' Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss'' released in theaters in 2006, and Nina Paley, who released '' Sita Sings the Blues'' in 2008. For Disneyland's 50 Magical Years film featuring Live action Steve Martin interacting with Donald Duck, the hand drawn animation of Donald Duck was cleaned up and colored in Flash. '' The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!'', a straight-to-DVD feature of the animated series '' Drawn Together'', produced by
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and released in April 2010, discarded the series' traditional animation and used Flash animation instead.


Creating Flash animations using other software

There are a number of other software packages available that can create output in the .swf format. Among these are Vyond, Toon Boom, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer, Serif DrawPlus, Toufee, Express Animator, CelAction 2D and Moho. These front-ends often provide additional support for creating cartoons, especially with tools more tailored to traditionally trained animators, as well as additional rigging for characters, which can speed up character animation considerably.


See also

* CSS Animations * SVG animation * List of animated Internet series * List of Adobe Flash animated television series * List of Adobe Flash animated films


Notes


References

Other sources * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adobe Flash Animation Adobe Flash Animation techniques Internet culture Web animation