In a commissioned project for Adobe, I have created a large series of tutorials on how-to develop AIR applications and Flash plug-ins that can communicate with and drive primarily Photoshop and Illustrator CS4 using the wide array of developer tools that are now available to us. I have tried to pick up where the existing tutorials that came with the SDKs for Photoshop Panels, SwitchBoard and PatchPanel have left off, while at the same time trying to push the examples further and further as the tutorials progress.
Enhanced Hello World Follow along with this tutorial to create a Hello World Flash panel for Photoshop. In this exercise, you will create a Flash plug-in within a Flex Builder MXML project. When you run the Flash panel within Photoshop, it will send code to Photoshop that when executed, will display an alert dialog box with a message.
Integrating your ExtendScripts In order to communicate to the host application (Photoshop or Illustrator CS4) using the CSXSLibrary SWC, our code is sent as a string message via BridgeTalk, which will then be evaluated once it reaches the host application. Not a big deal if we’re only sending a few lines of code at max, but when our ExtendScript code is lengthy, we would either have to manually wrap each line of code up as a string or use the work-around process we will use in this tutorial to simplify our life.
For an upcoming series of tutorials commissioned by Adobe, I have integrated the incredible WiiFlash (on my Mac with WiiFlashServerJ – thanks to Alan Ross – which is now included with the WiiFlash download) + Papervision3d with a Flash Panel that runs within Photoshop CS4 Extended.
When I rotate my wrist, the roll of the 3d object within the Flash Panel updates and when I click on the A button, the 3d object in a PS 3d layer updates it’s roll position to match it. The same 3d collada file is used in both PV3d and PS.
There’s a lot of potential here. Stay tuned to my blog for an announcement on the tutorials. In the meantime, you can jump into developing your own Flash Plug-ins for Photoshop and Illustrator using the new CSXS SWC library for Flex Builder. More info here. For more info on driving Creative Suite applications from your own AIR applications, check out Adobe’s SwitchBoard here.
— Universidad Iberoamerica in Mexico
I would like to thank the Universidad Iberoamerica in Mexico, Vinny (aka Kultnation), Josue Ibañez and everyone who attended my lecture today.
Flash on the Beach jumps shores and will land in Miami on April 6-8th, 2009! If you have attended FOTB in the past, you’ll know this is more than a Flash conference – it’s a celebration where art + technology + beyond collide. John Davey, one of the most sincere and sweet guys you’ll ever meet, orchestrates this conference – bringing together a group of inspiring and informative artists, designers and developers.
For my part, my theme for 2009 will focus on Art + Code + Apparel and what happens when these worlds collide. Here’s an early description of my show-n-tell session:
Art + Code + Apparel
This session, as told through Dr. Woohoo’s recent artwork and experiments, is as much about the latest color and painting applications Woohoo builds (using Flex Builder, Adobe AIR, SwitchBoard, PatchPanel & CSXS, in conjunction with Illustrator, Photoshop & Maya) in order to create the next version of generative art and design for textiles, as it is about his collaboration with the incredible Andy McDonald from the Centre for Advanced Textiles (CAT) at the Glasgow School of Art. In a dramatic shift away from the current mass-merchandise, one-design fits all world; they are plotting a (re)evolution of the textiles & apparel industry - a return to the Service Oriented Architecture of traditional craft production. Using the tools / skills that designers & developers already possess, the platform they are creating will give you the opportunity to construct highly interactive and collaborative experiences that enable users to design, customize and remix their own unique textile products. In challenging the status quo, their vision of a radically de-centralized model flips the economics of mass-production on its head (whilst significantly reducing the environmental impact). It’s an ambitious concept… will it succeed or will it fail? Either way, it’s going to be a fun ride!!! Come along and find out what they are planning.
< head > conference. I’m honored to be presenting at the < head > (online) conference on October 26, this Sunday, at 12pm (MST)/6pm (UTC). There is an incredible line up of presenters and there will be hubs where selected speakers will be presenting from. Attendance requires simply the registration fee and an internet connection. My session will focus on the following:
Generating Artwork: After helping Adobe kick the tires on and also develop multiple tools related to driving Adobe apps from AIR applications and Flash Panels, Dr. Woohoo has an inside view of how to combine these worlds in order to create tools, designs and animations that would otherwise be insane to attempt without them. Woohoo will demonstrate how he’s generating his artwork using two new Adobe tools that simplify the process of driving Illustrator, Photoshop (and maybe After Effects) from AIR applications and/or Flash Panels, as well as generating scripts for Maya. This inspiring session will also explore new color, brush and experimental tools Woohoo has created for Adobe and for his own company with the objectives of streamlining the creative process, while also kicking open the doors to new creative possibilities.
Dr Woohoo & Adobe
Contrary to popular belief, I am not an employee of Adobe. With that said, I am an Adobe vendor and I have had the pleasure of working with them from time-to-time. I am currently in the process of writing some articles/tutorials on Flash Panels via CSXS, SwitchBoard and PatchPanel – so stay tuned.
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