Adobe Flash

I‘ve always been fascinated with the computer as a story telling device. Even though the role of an artist as programmer is an argument that will likely be debated for years, I enjoy getting as deep into the craft as I can, and was excited to explore elements of design that are only possible on the computer. A Cosmic Knot would not only be an exploration of symbolism, art, and design, it would be a study of the computer as a story-telling medium.

Adobe Flash was chosen as the primary scripting platform for the project. I brought several years of Flash experience with me to the Academy, and would use this knowledge and new techniques to produce the project. There is no doubt that keeping up with technologies is a challenge for the computer artist. I first learned Flash in 1996, when it was released as the Future Splash Player.

I learned and developed with nearly every version of Flash since then, but I never had what I thought was a professional handle on the product. The courses at the Academy gave me the opportunity to study those tools in a structured environment, and gave me a solid background to confidently produce my final project. During my term at the Academy, I saw three new versions of Flash and a migration of the Flash scripting language (ActionScript) to a new version.