At this point in our snow scene tutorial, we will generate a random number for the Y position for each snow flake using the Math.random() method. The built-in ActionScript Math class contains methods that perform common math functions such as generating random numbers and rounding numbers.

When you want your code to repeat the same task many times, you can use a code loop in ActionScript. Basically, this is code that uses an incremental counter to count the number of times the loop is performed. We then tell Flash to repeat the loop until a certain number is reached.

In our first Flash snow scene tutorial, we learned how to use a modular function and ActionScript to animate more than one instance of the same movie clip. In this second tutorial, we will take a look at code loops for our particle system.

In the next few tutorials we will create a particle system snow scene animation with ActionScript and Flash. There are many snowflakes falling and each flake is one instance of the same movie clip. So we need an ActionScript modular function to animate all of the snowflakes on the stage.

In this tutorial, we will introduce event listeners and event handlers for Flash and ActionScript 3.0. You will use this code if you want to run a function when an event occurs. We will draw a star in the center of the stage and then rotate the star.

In this tutorial, we will explore the properties for a Movie Clip object in the Properties Inspector and then write ActionScript 3.0 code that will set values for these properties.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to declare a data type for a new variable.

The video tutorials and reference guide does not cover Flash basics as thoroughly as most books. However, it is a great way for the beginner to become familiar with Flash via a visual presentation before tackling the Flash manual.

As Flash gets more robust, the challenge of teaching Flash gets more complicated. However, ActionScript 3.0 for Adobe Flash CS3 Professional by Todd Perkins will not disappoint you.

Many of the great Flash special effects are created with a simple masking technique. One example of this technique that is commonly seen is the spotlight effect. In this tutorial, we will create this effect.