Recommended books about LiveMotion

Part of the Design Professional Series, this title offers from basic to more advanced skills in Adobe Photoshop 7.0, LiveMotion 2.0, and GoLive 6.0 making it a great reference for the future.

See how far your imagination can take you as you explore Web design possibilities with Adobe Photoshop, LiveMotion, and GoLive. Begin your journey with Photoshop as you take an up-close look at layers, images, and selections. Learn how color techniques such as blending and effects can transform your project. Then it's on to LiveMotion as you work with color, effects, and rollovers. Create 3D effects, animate objects, and add sound to your animations. Finish things up by creating a new GoLive site: build a Home Page, add images, and format your text. Test your newfound skills as you animate Photoshop layers in LiveMotion and use LiveMotion objects in GoLive. With a little creativity, some solid design principles, and truly powerful design tools, the possibilities are endless!

I like this book because it has very good tutorials to show you how to use go live with Photoshop together. The tutorials are useful and will teach you how to start using go live right away. You won't get lost in a mish mash of computer jargon with this either. Good for up to intermediates.

Adobe LiveMotion Visual Insight gives readers a quick-start in learning how to use Adobe LiveMotion to create high-impact, interactive animation for the Web using key features as geometric objects, filters, and the power of styles and layers. Designed in two parts, Adobe LiveMotion Visual Insight first steps readers through various tasks and techniques, such as the basic tools and their options, then builds on that base to guide readers through 16 real-world projects that make up the second part of the book. A 16-page color section illustrates color-related tasks and project results, while screenshots with caption-like text help readers to see an effect and then duplicate it on their screen rather than wading through paragraphs of text.

If you're a professional Web designer or developer who needs to create dynamic, interactive content in a variety of formats, Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 is just the tool you need. LiveMotion 2.0 offers ActionScript support, as well as design, coding, and debugging tools. And because it's created by Adobe, LiveMotion integrates seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop, GoLive, and Illustrator--so if you're familiar with the Adobe interface you'll feel right at home with LiveMotion. Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 Classroom in a Book guides you through self-paced lessons that teach you how to work with type, create animations and rollovers, use LiveMotion's scripting capabilities to add interactivity to your site, export your work, and more. The cross-platform CD-ROM contains material that supplements the lessons in the book, allowing you to follow along as though you were sitting right in the middle of the Adobe classroom, with expert instructors guiding you every step of the way.

I'm extremely disappointed with LiveMotion 2.0 classroom in a book. I've had really great luck with other classroom books, but this one is terrible. I totally agree with all the other negative reviews of this book, don't buy it! A 10 year old could do a better job then the writers of this book did!

Adobe writers simply do not know their product, nor do the techs.I find many errors, and agree with the review from Plano.

It's bad enough that the manuals Adobe ships with products are of little use but it's an absolute insult that you buy an after-market book which is published by Adobe only to find it too is riddled with mistakes, omissions, silly tututorials (not all) that have little to do with 'real world' web development situations. I returned mine and got a refund so a big Thank You to AMEX for protecting their card holders.

I've only gone through Lesson 5 and part of Lesson 6 and I've found several errors. Some are omissions, some might have been product changes while the book was being published. The omissions are unforgivable. You cannot just click on one keyframe, drag the current-time marker to another place and then change Transform settings and expect something to happen. You need another keyframe. These omissions have occurred at least 5 times now in 21 pages.I want my money back.If you buy this book, you should have already dinked around with the program or you're SOL. Otherwise, you'll be quite PO'd. (If you don't know these abbreviations, ask a sailor or someone.)

Some books go on and on about the basics of a program while others get extremely technical very quickly. The 'Adobe LiveMotion Classroom In A Book' is a perfect balance of these two techniques. Each lesson introduces you to different tools and their applications, gradually getting deeper into LiveMotion's amazing abilities. The lessons also encourage you to experiment, giving you even more experience and knowledge. This is definitely a great book for any owner of Adobe's LiveMotion!It's a book that gives beginners to Adobe products a good idea how the tools are used (tools that are pretty universal in all Adobe products) while allowing those experienced with items in the Adobe line of programs a chance to get right into learning the program!

LiveMotion is Adobe��s premiere Web graphics and animation design tool. It allows designers to work with vector and raster graphics in an easy-to-use environment, with an interface that is designed to be both intuitive and familiar to those who use other Adobe products.

A new version of LiveMotion is expected to be released in the 1st quarter of 2002. It includes powerful new scripting capabilities, using the industry standard, JavaScript. And it has greatly improved integration with other Adobe products like GoLive, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

Sams Teach Yourself Adobe LiveMotion X in 24 Hours offers a clearly written, approachable tutorial that carefully steps the reader through the basics of creating Web graphics and animations with LiveMotion. The book has been thoroughly reorganized and revised to better cover all the most important features of LiveMotion.

Printed books are expensive to make, so it makes sense to use that investment wisely, something the publishers should have made Ms Holzschlag aware of.Instead, the book wastes a good deal of the reader's (and owner's) time by going into excruciating detail on some of the most elementary aspects of using any program: how to move an object by dragging it; how to change its orientation by dragging it; how to change its size, by dragging a handle. This, and much of the first six (that is, a quarter of the book) chapters take the reader on a journey of boredom that could easily have been covered in less than one chapter. That this seems to be "padding" or stretching the length of a work by including unnecessary detail is all too aparent, and the book's lack of popularity is well-deserved.I am so glad I got mine second-hand.Things pick up marginally thereafter, but it isn't until halfway through the book that things get really interesting and useful, but by then, there's not much space left for the information.Sams have produced some very good works over the years, but this isn't one of them.By all means, obtain a copy to kick-start you through learning LiveMotion, but search the web and visit the user forums to obtain the fuel you'll need to complete the journey.

The book starts off in a concise manner and the author takes great care to make sure that the reader understands the basic concepts of LM2. However, the deeper that you get into the book the lessons start to fall apart. For example the "remote rollover" section does not work as scripted in the lesson. I also noticed in some of the other lessons (ie. CH 14. The Artist section) that although the lesson works, when you try it the code does not come out clean. The author does a good job with explaining basic animation principles but a terrible job with explaining the scripting. So if you understand scripting but can't get the animation aspects down then this might be a good book. Otherwise look around for something else.

Adobe is unveiling a powerful new animation tool that will complete a suite of software used by Web designers and other dynamic graphics professionals. A familiar Adobe interface introduces users to features and utilities that will change the way they use Adobe applications for Web design. Best selling authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas, masters of the Visual QuickStart Guide format, use the proven method of teaching with clear tasks, hundreds of screenshots, and dazzling illustrations to introduce the features of Adobe's new LiveMotion software.

LiveMotion for Windows & Macintosh is an easy-to-read, liberally illustrated guide to learning and using Adobe's tool for creating animation for the Web. As with all Visual QuickStart guides from Peachpit Press, this book is geared toward the user who's new to the software that the book covers, and is designed from the ground up to get you up to speed as quickly as possible.

Every feature of LiveMotion is covered (some better than others), from an introduction to the interface and all of its palettes to animation basics, creating and using objects, using layers, using text, creating rollovers, using behaviors that are linked to objects, and exporting your work for inclusion on a Web site.

With the use of a simple two-column format, the tools, palettes, and features are explained in a balanced presentation that is half text and half illustration. Because animation is LiveMotion's forte, it gets more coverage than any other feature. Animation basics, using the timeline, working with keyframes, and adding sound are introduced in chapter 13, "Animation," while chapter 14, "More Animation," takes on advanced concepts, like animating layers, reshaping objects, animating text, using motion paths, and using rollovers. It would've been nice to see a larger section on using behaviors (chapter 15, "Behaviors," is only about 13 pages long), but that's a minor shortcoming in an otherwise valuable book. --Mike Caputo

If you're already familiar with photoshop, illustrator, and have some familiarity of flash or vector animation, this book will only have limited usage. There might be about 50 pages of actual material you might need to know as this book spends a lot of time covering basic elements (graphic/drawing), and you have to wait until chapter 13 to get to the animation. Overall, it's not a bad book, but if you're already familiar with graphics and animation, then I suggest you look elsewhere. If you're new to this whole field, then it's a good start.

If your new to animation and web authoring, this book will be a big plus for you. If you are looking for advanced material on LiveMotion, I would recommend "Adobe LiveMotion Classroom in a Book." In this title, the authors are perhaps a little too cute, in a manner that speaks down to it's readers. It begins with. "Are you a real greenhorn?," moves to a web-speak glossary (including chatroom shorthand) and wraps up with a suggestion to surf the web to study good design (not bad advice, excepting there's just so much bad design to make this a blanket tip). Of course in between these, the authors do indicate how to use the application, giving accurate descriptions of how to use each function in a relatively simple way.So again, a good book with the caveat that it is a beginner's title, not for intermediate or advanced web authors who are adding Livemotion to their tool box and want to get into the more complex aspects of this tool.

I am new to both Live Motion and to web animation/design. I have read everything I can get my hands on, from information on the internet to other Live Motion books. This is THE best information I've read to date. The instructions are very clear, it is easy to find specific information by going through either the index or table of contents, the training is easily applied to your own projects and, as you go through the exercises, you gain invaluable experience with the program. It's definitely a book that any multimedia designer will want near by at all times!In my humble opinion, this book is useful to both the new and experienced designer.

Dan Gray has been working with Adobe�� on LiveMotion�� since its conception and is the perfect choice to walk someone through this exciting program. Real-world projects let readers apply their knowledge first hand by creating intricate animations. Get a comprehensive look at the interface while getting a deeper look at intermediate functions like 3D effects, JavaScript rollovers, and working with Flash format files. Features a 32-page color studio illustrating the reader's artwork created from the projects. Covers working with other popular graphics and Web software such as GoLive��, PageMill��, Freehand, and Illustrator��.

Adobe LiveMotion is fast becoming a powerful force in Web design and animation, and Adobe LiveMotion f/x & Design offers insight, instruction, and inspiration for the creative Web designer.

LiveMotion really isn't like any one Adobe tool; it's an amalgam of several. It borrows heavily from After Effects, and has features like Illustrator and tools that are similar to those that are found in Photoshop. So, LiveMotion has a lot more depth than many people think, and this book is designed to show some of it.

Starting with a detailed overview of how LiveMotion works and the philosophies behind it, the book quickly moves into the how-tos of creating special 3-D effects, textures, and backgrounds (chapter 2); an outstanding section on creating rollover items like menus by using JavaScript and Flash features (chapter 4); using LiveMotion to build entire HTML page layouts (chapter 5); and continues with such topics as LiveMotion animation basics, SWF animation basics, object behaviors, and using mattes and textures.

The CD-ROM is full of textures, styles, shapes, image mattes, and templates, all of which are ready for use. There also are plenty of demo programs--including LiveMotion, Photoshop, and Illustrator--plus, of course, the project and graphic files from the chapters in the book.

All told, this book offers inspiration and information that goes beyond what you normally get in manuals. A generous number of screen shots, a packed CD-ROM, and clearly written text make it a solid value. --Mike Caputo

If you still haven't upgraded to Livemotion 2.0, this book is the best means of getting the most out of Livemotion 1.0. The information in this book goes beyond all other books I have seen regarding Livemotion 1.0. I seriously hope there is an update for version 2.0.

While the usefulness of the content of this book is debatable, there is one issue which can't be overlooked - the inadequacy of its binding. The book began to disintegrate a couple of days after I received it; the spine cracked and the pages started to come loose. I commented upon this on the Adobe User Forum and was immediately accused of being heavy-handed and careless, however an employee of Adobe came back with this response, '...Dan Gray is aware of the binding issue of his book'. So, I didn't just make this up.Just be aware that if you purchase from the current batch of copies, you too may find yourself with a cover and a large heap of confetti.

If you are using Livemotion and don't have this book yet, then don't wait! Daniel Gray's writing style is tremendously entertaining and his presentation methods provide gobs of fun. The book covers topics that are only glossed over by many others and has kept me from running back to Flash 5 on a number of occasions. The CD is wondeful and has mountains of useful material.

Ok, I got the book thinking that when it said Intermediate to Advanced that it would be. Well, it's not. Half of the pages (not that there are that many) are nothing more than pictures of the included textures, templates and styles. What substance there was I already picked up from the Visual Quickstart Guide (only 18 bucks though).I guess I just wasn't impressed with the layout of this book and the fact that half the pages were devoted to fluff. Also, if it's rated for advanced users, it should have advanced text and methods within it. This book doesn't do anything advanced unless you've never made a rollover before. If you're new to LM you'll do just fine with this book, but if you already know the basics don't bother with it.The included CD is pretty nice, and probably the only reason I didn't return the book, other than the binding separated from the text pages in 2 days. This one will be going to the used book store soon. The Visual Quickstart Guide will remain on my shelf as a reference in it's place.Now, would someone make a Real World Adobe Livemotion book with some substance. I wonder if Deke has ever used LM...

Offers heaps of solutions which have been bugging me about Livemotions capabilities and its limitations. Answers all of them. Terrific. Bravo. Love the CD full of *.liv files to show you actually how it is done and the book compliments the CD with small lessons building up from basic skills to master this software. Again Bravo. Showed me a thing or two.

LiveMotion is a visual product and is best learned with a visual book. The two-color interior and easy-to-read and follow graphics make visual learning easy. -- Focuses on essential tasks: The teaching approach of this book allows users to get up to speed quickly with the tasks and functions they need to know and use. -- Useful as a reference, too: The discrete organization of the book allows users to find what they need to know and refer back to specific tasks quickly.