Recommended books about Illustrator

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I recently completed the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book and decided to follow up this success by taking on Adobe Illustrator. Since my first experience with the Classroom in a Book series had been so positive, I picked up their Illustrator book. When I started the Photoshop book, I already had some self-taught knowledge of the program. When I started the Illustrator book, I had never used the program, other than to complete a couple of lessons in the previous book that integrated Photoshop and Illustrator files. And, I'll admit that my skills in drawing with a mouse are poor at best. However, I hoped to walk away from the Illustrator book with a higher level of comfort with the tool and be able to utilize it for some of my design tasks.

This book helped me only partially meet my goals. Like the other books in the Classroom series, the Illustrator book was separated into step-by-step lessons for beginning users. However, in contrast with my previous experiences, this book felt less cohesive and at times poorly written. While most of the lessons in the Photoshop book centered around completing one specific project designed to teach a particular set of tools, the Illustrator book tended to jump around, having the user complete bits and pieces of several projects. I didn't get the satisfaction of looking at one completely finished piece that I could compare with the illustrations in the book. Some of the lessons were too long based on the concept being taught. For example, an entire lesson on how to use the Zoom tool seemed extraneous. Other lessons seemed to skim over more complex concepts that I felt would have benefited my foundational knowledge of the program. In addition, the instructional writing was poor in this book. I found myself reading some passages several times to determine what I was actually supposed to do. I suppose, this could partially be blamed on my lack of familiarity with the program, but if the book is marketed for beginning users, the language the authors use to describe a task should be clear and easy to follow. Overall, I was disappointed with the quality of this particular title in the Classroom in a Book series, and I seriously question whether I'll look to this series when I get ready to pursue Flash training.

So, I'm walking away from the Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book with a basic familiarity with Illustrator. I have basic competency using the available tools in the program. However, the level of instruction the book provided hasn't given me confidence that there will be lasting knowledge transfer to design tasks on the job.

Some of the chapters are just wayyyyy to basic. I do not need a whole chapter on how to use the zoom tool

I had to purchase this book for a class and even though I am completely new to Adobe Illustrator I did not find this book useful. I actually had a easier time using the Help in Iluustrator or going online. The index is mislabeled and doesn't even list everything that is in the book. I will be donating this book to my local library because I don't see me ever using it in the future.

Having never opened Illustrator before I took a class in it, this book has been a life saver. This book is utilized both with the instructor lead course and the on-line course. At the end of a session, I am often confused and struggling, but when I go back and step-by-step review the lesson in the book, it becomes clear and makes sense of what we did in class. In actuality, with this book, you don't need an instructor. You can be your own at your own pace.

Started using Illustrator about two months ago and got lost from time to time and had to spend hours trying to unravel my mistakes. This book is wonderful, it is easy to use and is a big help to the novice. I would recomend it to anyone that wants to get to know the product.
Very happy with this purchase!

Adobe Illustrator CS3 is more than just the world's most popular and powerful illustration tool: As part of the Adobe's Creative Suite 3, it's a key component of an overall design workflow that lets users work seamlessly among all of their graphics applications to create graphically rich content for print, Web, motion graphics, and mobile devices. This info-packed guide lets users get right down to work by focusing on the Illustrator CS3 features they're most likely to use and showcasing each in a stand-alone tip--complete with a relevant hint or two and a graphic example. In this fashion, readers learn just what they need to know, exploring the program in a way that makes sense to them. Before they know it, users will be using the new path eraser tool and making vivid artwork using the new Live Color feature and the updated recolor filters, as well as creating symbols and applying instances and exporting their work to Adobe Flash.

This book is great for every kind of Illustrator user. If you are new to Illustrator it gives you straight out instruction on how to accomplish several important tasks in an easy way. If you are an Illustrator expert it's perfect for looking up a feature you don't use often to get a refresh on or more insight to the feature then you had before. This book is also great for anyone upgrading from previous versions, it has a nice overview of all the new tools and features. Also this book doesn't add the fluff and gets straight down to the point which other books can take 4 times as many pages to accomplish the same points. This book is highly recommended.

This is an excellent reference for someone that simply needs to quickly know how to do something in Illustrator CS3 (should also be useful for CS4) without having to wade through too many pages to do it. The truth is, what is contained in this book covers 95% of what you need to know, and it has become the first book I grab when I need to refresh my memory about a technique. I would think a student would want to learn what is covered in here first, as it serves a good framework when they go back and learn in more depth later about various techniques, so I think it would be great in a classroom setting. Plus, it is certainly priced right for a student.

I learned Illustrator on a need-to-know basis. Like many busy professionals, I learned only as much as I needed to know when I needed to know it. In the past I tried using the Classroom in a Book to increase my Illustrator skills, and while I generally like that approach - the book comes with a CD of sample files that allow the user to complete an interesting, attractive and complex project while working through each chapter - I've never managed to find the time to work through a whole chapter in one sitting. I need instructions in bite-size pieces, and that's what Adobe Illustrator CS3 How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques provides. Each technique is explained in just a few pages, so it's not comprehensive enough to turn the reader into an expert but it provides enough guidance to make the reader proficient in the use of that technique in just a few minutes.

Going through the book from beginning to end would give the reader a broad competency with Illustrator, as the 100 techniques cover the software fairly comprehensively. It is probably more effective, however, as a reference book. The book is great for beginners as it starts with the basics: creating new documents, saving and printing, finding tools, and drawing lines. Topics are arranged in a logical order, so that a technique never requires skills that weren't covered on previous pages in the book, but there is no progression from topic to topic. Techniques are arranged by topic into eleven chapters. The reader is not instructed to create a project and then build on it as he or she progresses from technique to technique or chapter to chapter. Each technique stands alone, and it is up to the reader to create a new AI file and try out the technique in his or her own unique way. At the end of the book I had screens full of interesting doodles and shapes, and a head full of new information, but no satisfyingly professional-looking image - as with the Classroom in a Book approach - that I could show off proudly and say "I made that."

The book includes many screen shots, but none of them are in color. This makes it less visually interesting than other books, but it does not interfere with instruction - everything is illustrated clearly. Another thing you won't find here is creative ideas for using Illustrator. This is a straightforward technical manual. It explains the basics, step by step, and it is up to the reader to provide the creativity and inspiration.

This is an excellent series of books. I started out with Photoshop and went on to study Illustrator and Dreamweaver. Is less then a quarter of the size of all the other instructional books out ther but packs ten times of easy to read and understand knowledge. I highly recommend it!

it's a good book, but it's all in black and white, not like other design books that have magazine paper and color photos explaining the points. there's a lot of text, but not many pictures or diagrams explaining, which in my case helps.

The definitive full-color book on mastering Adobe Illustrator �| now fully updated for Illustrator CS3

For years, Sharon Steuer and her international Wow! team have been reaching out to the world of professional illustrators to showcase the range and quality of work these artists are doing in Illustrator. In this revised edition of the best-selling and award-winning Illustrator WOW! Book, youll find tips, tricks, and techniques derived from actual projects from more than 100 of these top Illustrator artists. Using Adobe Illustrator CS3, Sharon shows you how to perform magical color changes using Live Color, and prepare animations for Flash. You'll not only learn how to�gthink in Illustrator�hwith the Zen of Illustrator lessons, you'll also master the newest, hottest, and most challenging techniques.

This edition is loaded with new lessons on these subjects, and many more:

Using the new Live Color features
Creating animations and integrating Illustrator with Flash
Working with Live Trace and Live Paint
The basics of using layers, templates, the Free Distort tool, and more
"Opacity Mask 101�h based on the cover image
Applying blending modes and transparency to raster images
Masking with live type
Simulating ink and watercolor paintings
Working with live fills, multiple strokes, and Live 3D
Basic to advanced blends, gradients, and mesh
Colorizing photos
Demystifying photorealistic mesh

NOTE:
User Level: This book is for Intermediate through Professional-level Illustrator artists and designers.

This book is amazing for graphic artists. It's full of tons of tricks to perfect your design game. I recommend it!

I was very disappointed in this book. The cost of the book, even used, does not justify the content; sparse on instructions for a highly complicated program. Illustrator requires detailed instructions because it is not necessarily user intuitive nor friendly. The book features many pages of fancy colored illustrations created w/ the program but does not go into any details on how they were created. Even some of Illustrator's advanced features like Live Trace and mesh blends; not enough instructions provided. Important areas such as Pathfinder and custom brush, I felt was glossed over. The help files on the accompanying CD is no better. Tutorials on the bezier pen tool is marginal at best. You'll find much better tutorials on Adobe's website. Its a good book for getting inspiration with the full color gallery section but don't expect much on clear detailed instructions.

I had to purchase this book for a Adobe Illustrator class I am currently taking. I have to admit, this book really hasn't helped me learn a thing. It is very hard to follow and I am constantly lost during the sample exercises in each chapter. My professor has even told us to not follow quite a few of the steps and shows us the right way to do it. I'm so thankful I have a lecture to supplement reading, but at the same point that means I cannot miss one class! I have given up on the book as of now, the eighth week of class. I took a class last semester on InDesign, the text book was amazing (Exploring InDesign by Terry Rydberg)! I wish this book had the same type of format.

I got the my book even before the date that was promised as it was offered^^ excellent service! Thank you very much.

This was required material for my digital Illustration class. Needless to say Adobe Illustrator beginners beware. Yes, this book has great content but does not take you through step by step with directions. Most of the exercises only supply a general overview of how to apply the techniques. Even though I am not a beginner with Adobe Illustrator there were points where the rest of the class as well as myself were completely lost with the instructions. I am going to go through a tutorial now and then I will try the exercises again, hopefully I will have better luck with it then.

Visual QuickStart Guide�|the quick and easy way to learn!

Now revised and updated, this book uses simple step-by-step instructions, loads of screen shots, and an array of time-saving tips and tricks, serving both as the quickest route to Illustrator CS3 mastery for new users, and a handy reference for more experienced designers. This edition of the Visual QuickStart Guide covers Illustrator CS3's newest features, including new tools in Live Color, enhancements to essential drawing tools and controls, improvements to the powerful Control panel, the new Eraser tool and Crop Area tool, and much more. A full-color section of inspiring Illustrator artwork and highly readable text create a winning combination for Illustrator users of every level.

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through Illustrator and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations let you get up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.

I am taking a series of courses on the Adobe CS3 design programs. These books are the required texts.

I am extremely pleased with the content and support they provide for me to learn the programs.

They are a mix between "techbook" and "textbook" - they are NOT as dry as other technical manuals, yet cover "just enough" material to help out in a tight spot.

There may be other books that other reviewers prefer, however I wish to point out that they are titled "QUICK START" guides, not "every single thing you need to know about this piece of software" guide.

If you are trying to learn the software on your own, might I suggest the Adobe Press "Classroom in a Book" series. Also the Adobe Press "Real World" book series gives insights into the software that these quick start guides do not. If you are learning with a teacher, these books fit the bill.

I am learning illustrator for the first time and found this book to extremely helpful. If you are struggling with illustrator, you need to buy this book!!

This manual provides someone just getting started using Illustrator with clear explanations for each menu option, tool, and function, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use them. All the other manuals inevitably assume that the reader is familiar with earlier versions of Illustrator and take too much for granted. The tool-by-tool organization and step-by-step instructions of this manual are refreshingly clear and specific, and tell the reader exactly how to use this powerful software.

I buy books to use for the online and classroom classes that I teach. I have used a number of the Visual Quickstart Guide books because my students love them and they really cover the material well. I purchased this book for versions CS, CS2 and CS3 and as I started to develop the class I realized that there were no example files with the book. Usually the author tells you where you can download the examples from. Since many of their examples start from content that is already created, it makes it very hard for a student who like to use hands-on to follow along in the book to do so. I tried contacting the publisher to see if there was any way to get the files but I have yet to receive a reponse.

It's a good reference, but I don't recommend it as an aid to learning the application.

The fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe Illustrator CS4

Adobe Illustrator CS4 Classroom in a Book contains 15 lessons. The book covers the basics of learning Illustrator and provides countless tips and techniques to help you become more productive with the program. You can follow the book from start to finish or choose only those lessons that interest you.

Learn how to create artwork for illustrations, logos, stationery, page layouts, posters, and integrate with Adobe Flash�� movies, Adobe InDesign�� layouts, and more!

�gThe Classroom in a Book series is by far the best training material on the market. Everything you need to master the software is included: clear explanations of each lesson, step-by-step instructions, and the project files for the students.�h �|Barbara Binder, Adobe Certified Instructor, Rocky Mountain Training

Classroom in a Book��, the best-selling series of hands-on software training workbooks, helps you learn the features of Adobe software quickly and easily. Classroom in a Book offers what no other book or training program does�|an official training series from Adobe Systems Incorporated, developed with the support of Adobe product experts.

How often have you wished you had access to the team behind your favorite software--in this case, Adobe Illustrator--so that you could really pick their brains about all of its coolest features? With this book, you do. In these pages, the Adobe Creative Team gives you a guided tour of the graphics powerhouse, Adobe Illustrator CS2. Best of all, it does so at your pace. Whether your beautifully designed graphics end up in print, the Web, broadcast video, or even cell phone displays, this book shows you how to get them there--easily, elegantly, and efficiently. You'll find step-by-step, project-based lessons in all of Illustrator's key features, including those that are new to CS2: Live Trace, Illustrator�fs powerful bitmap-to-vector tracing tool; Live Paint, a revolutionary paint tool that lets you apply color to vector graphics intuitively and easily; the new Control Palette, which makes tools easier to locate and select, the Adobe Bridge file browser, tighter integration with Photoshop CS2, and more. Each chapter contains a project that builds on your growing knowledge of the program, while the companion CD includes all the files you need to complete the book's lessons.

My husband asked me to find a book of some kind for Adobe Illustrator because he knew WHAT he wanted to do, but couldn't figure out HOW. I did the research on my favorite site (Amazon!) and picked this one. He loves it!! He's been going through chapter by chapter and learning all kinds of new stuff. Thank you Amazon.com, and thanks to all the posters for the reviews.

Recieved item on time, right when we were told it would arrive. Book in very good condition.

Generally a good book and handy tutorial. The CD is helpful and the books give users a quick aptitude for the programs. Which is what we want. I give this three stars for the one big problem I have with this and the rest of the Classroom in a Book series: they are often inaccurate! There are a lot of frustrating little inaccuracies that make the user wonder if he has gone crazy or is doing something wrong. Please, Adobe, edit these books a little more carefully!

I bought this book because it was required for a graphic art class. We went through the first 5 chapters, and now we are going to learn Photoshop. It is not good as a reference book, but more as a step-by-step "cookbook". The accompanying CD was very helpful in learning techniques. Anyone want to buy it from me?

I've been working with Illustrator over the past months, and this book helps me to understand some quite useful topics. The books is writen in a easy-to-follow way, so you can go chapter by chapter, or just jump to a desired function. Also, the book is full of highlighted items, so its easy to follow one example that leads you to new and useful tips and tricks.

Your one-stop guide to Adobe Acrobat 9

Create and publish feature-rich electronic documents that retain the look and feel of the originals. How to Do Everything: Adobe Acrobat 9 explains how to edit PDFs, collaborate with other users, and optimize PDFs for print or the web. You'll also learn how to secure your PDFs and maintain document integrity. With coverage of the Adobe Acrobat Standard, Pro, and Pro Extended editions, this book helps you maximize all the new and improved features of this versatile program right away.

• Open, view, and search PDFs
• Convert virtually any document to PDF
• Capture PDFs from a scanner or web page
• Create navigation devices including bookmarks, thumbnails, and links
• Review, edit, and annotate PDFs
• Add digital signatures and apply document security
• Optimize documents for print, CD/DVD applications, the web, and other uses
• Add multimedia elements
• Create a searchable index
• Create forms with Adobe LiveCycle Designer
• Batch process PDF documents

Adobe insider Ted Alspach helps you unlock the power of CS3

The new CS3 version of Illustrator is light years beyond previous versions, and whether you're a novice or veteran designer, you'll want to get quickly up to speed on this powerful new tool. With clear explanations and plenty of examples, Adobe insider Ted Alspach reveals the secrets on how to best use Illustrator CS3 for Web graphics, integrate it with the rest of the Creative Suite, work in 3D�|and above all, why it's such a radical step up from CS2. Tap the power of Illustrator CS3 for your projects with this in-depth guide from an industry expert.

• Use Live Color to get color options you never had before

• Integrate Illustrator CS3 seamlessly with Photoshop and Flash

• Quickly start new documents with preset profiles

• Work easily with transparency, fonts, styles, and effects

• Get more out of Illustrator with hundreds of tips and tricks

• Learn about scripting and Web graphics generation for online design

Customize the Illustrator workspace

Generate color sets with Live Color

Create graphics for the Web

I purchased this book because of the quality of the "Bible" series I have purchased in the past (Word, Project, Access, Excel, QuickBooks, Dreamweaver, Visio, PowerPoint, etc). This was by far the most disappointing.

The power of the Bible series is in the projects & examples included in each manual and accompanying CD; step-by-step instructions on "how to" use the features of the software. The CS3 Illustrator Bible contains very few examples; it is wordy and will not help you much if you want to explore and learn to use the CS3 Illustrator software.

If you are looking for a resource to learn "how" to use CS3 Illustrator, I would suggest searching for a different book...

This is a book that has everything you ever wanted to know about Illustrator CS3. The only draw back to this book is that it has no tutoring projects and for me that's an important part of a book.

I just love this book! I started learning Illustrator with CS2. I was connecting the dots with CS3 and decided to get the Illustrator CS3 Bible. By not having classes with Illustrator CS3, I was missing out on all the cool new tools like Live Trace. A great designer always has the best refrence books! I also have the Photoshop CS3 bible and the InDesign bible... get them all!!

I purchased this book to help migrate from Fireworks 8 to Illustrator CS3. I have read six chapters so far.

Another reviewer commented on the "newspaper" pages, and while the pages are somewhat thin, it doesn't detract from my reading process.

The book's first few chapters covers all of the basics any newcomer needs to start drawing simple designs and my reading was going rather well until I read about symbols.

The author's description of a symbol is, well, nothing. The first mention of symbols is, "Since the addition of the Symbol tools in Illustrator 10, the world has never been the same. Small children can now, with ease, make a sensible drawing using the Symbol Sprayer tool."

So I read on, expecting to be enlightened, and he never even tells the reader what a symbol is, or why "the world has never been the same"! Such a bold statement with absolutely no supporting dissertation. There are 6 pages dedicated to symbols with not one mention of the fact that the concept significantly increases productivity and efficiency.

Luckily, I know enough about symbols to know the author really missed the mark, and instead of exposing their true power, passes them off as art that can be spray painted on the the canvas. Yeah, that's kind of helpful in certain situations, but those situations are far and few between.

If I wouldn't have already understood what symbols are and how they work, I wouldn't have figured it out by using this book. I am, therefor, lead to question how much information is left out. Am I going to be left in the dark on some other basic and important concepts that the author either doesn't understand or doesn't care to share? Probably.

This is the only time I have ever wanted to return a book...I simply don't think I can trust it as an authority on the subject.

It has been 2 years from last "Illustrator CS2 Bible" and now we have updated version of it to CS3.
This time book again written by Ted Alspach alone and he stays the guard of this reference from version 7 (in far 1997). And the most interesting thing that every time Ted tried to power this book on 100% with information.

Bible keeps not only it's author, but also great style. With minimum clear explanation it gives you the most full information on an object. There're couple of color insert with nice Illustrator examples (seems very creative). Book consist of 700 pages. Pages are not not white shiny to make you blind, but pretty good indeed and in calculation of (book information*paper quality)/price buyer wins a couple of times.

All information you need is included: from novice to professionals - this reference is for everybody. To study new features or start from basics, to draw simple lines up to combine them in one complicated object and up to professional printing process of your work.

Great information order, information presented very clear and it is easy to follow, easy to find and it is explained step by step.

As we all know Illustrator belongs to Adobe family products, that's why almost every month such programs as Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop and other are used together to make work more easy and productive. Ted took one chapter of this time to explain the very basics of this programs integration (to expand our vision on this program and it's possibilities).
Illustrator is also a very powerful program and has a lot of "hot keys" and the complete list of it you can find in Appendix.

For people who never used Bibles, I would like to give table of content to let you know what you can expect from Bibles:

Part I: Illustrator Basics
- What's new in Illustrator CS3
- Understanding Illustrator's Desktop
- Working with Illustrator Documents
- Understanding Drawing and Painting Techniques
- Creating Objects, Graphs and Symbols
- Learning how to select and edit
- Understanding Color, Gradients and Mess

Part II:
- Using Illustrator to Organize Objects
- Working with Type
- Using Creative Strokes and Fills with Patterns
- Applying Transformations and Distortions
- Using Path Blends, Compound Path and Masks
- Using Live Trace
- Using Live Paint
Part III:
- Working with Graphic Styles, Filters and Effects
- Creating 3D in Illustrator
- Customizing and Automating Illustrator

Part IV:
- Understanding PostScript and Printing
- Creating Web Graphics

Appendix: Shortcuts in Illustrator CS3
Index


But in couple of words, we have here a titanic work of Ted Alspach that was put on paper for your satisfaction. And I really can't imagine a person that would not enjoy it. This book is really all you need.

The GIMP, an image editor whose power and ease-of-use rivals that of Adobe Photoshop, is one of the world's most popular free software projects. Artists and designers have relied on the GIMP since 1995 to retouch photographs, composite multiple images, and create new artwork from scratch.

The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects shows you how to harness the GIMP's powerful features to produce professional-looking advertisements, impressive photographic effects, as well as logos and text effects. And author Michael J. Hammel, who has used the GIMP since its first public release, won't mince words or waste your time. His extensively illustrated, step-by-step tutorials are perfect for hands-on learning and experimentation. After a crash course in using the GIMP's interface and core tools (such as brushes, patterns, selections, layers, modes, and masks), you'll learn:

Photographic techniques to simulate ripped edges, create sepia-toned antique images, swap colors, produce motion blurs, alter depth of field, and even fix rips in an old photo

Web design techniques to create tiled patterns, navigation tabs, rollovers, and fancy buttons and borders

Type effects to create depth, perspective shadows, metallic and distressed text, and neon and graffiti lettering

Advertising effects to produce movie posters and package designs; simulate clouds, cracks, cloth, and underwater effects; and create specialized lighting

Interface design tips for creating textures, navigation bars, and buttons

Whether you're new to the GIMP or you've been playing with this powerful software for years, The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects is sure to teach you some new tricks.

Visit the book's companion site for additional tutorials and resources. http://www.graphics-muse.org/artistsguide/

In my opinion, there can never be too many books like this one by Michael J. Hammel. This project-based book has great examples of how the graphic designer can use the GIMP software to get the job done. Each tutorial in this book is an individual project, allowing the reader to pick which tutorials best meets his or her needs. But read them all. Each technique is not presented in a vacuum. Hammel discusses these techniques in a way that prepares the readers to reproduce the results in their own projects.

Besides being a project-based book, I also liked that Hammel did not waste the reader's time, and his own, discussing every detail about each panel, menu command and keyboard shortcut. Instead, he commits those pages to more information that you can really use. Don't get me wrong, he does give a short overview of the GIMP workspace in order to orient the novice to the software. But he does a good job of giving the readers only the information that they will need for the rest to the book.

So what does Hammel cover in this book? He writes each project-based tutorial from the point-of-view of the graphic designer. He begins with a short description of the design criteria for the project and ends each tutorial with suggestions for other projects where the reader might apply these techniques. He divides the book into six chapters and each chapter covers a different area of graphic design. Once he covers the basics, he moves on to techniques for the photographer, web designer, advertising designer and UI designer. Throughout each chapter, he discusses how type applies to the project and he also devotes a chapter to type effects.

For the photographer, he begins with some simple techniques for adding steam to a photo and creating a vignette. Then he covers more advanced techniques such as simulating depth of field. Have you ever wondered how graphic artists get type to look so good on top of any background? Hammel shows you how this is done, along with some other nice text effects. Also, he has one of the best techniques for converting a photo into a sketch that I have seen so far. His technique goes beyond the usual examples that you find in books and on the web.

Moving from photography to web design, Hammel states that "color is king" on the web today. Only just a few years ago, books were preaching just the opposite. But now with the better monitors, Hammel can share some of his techniques for creating mood, simulating 3D and reflections, and "popping" an image. He also has some great techniques for creating folds from texture and gradients and for creating the popular Toon style.

With the advent of widgets and other ways to create your own desktop applications, graphic designers are being asked to design user interfaces (GUI) for these applications. Hammel devotes the last section of his book to take you through the design process for creating a UI for a video player. He starts with the face plate and designs each part of the UI individually. However, these same techniques could be used to create environments for digital games and other design applications.

Hammel has been working with GIMP from its beginnings in 1996. He has authored and co-authored many GIMP related books and articles.

If you don't know what GIMP is, it's an alternative to Photoshop that allows you to do the same things (essentially) but is free.

I was impressed and surprised (in a good way) on the depth of tutorials in this book. I was really looking for something that would give me a good overview of using GIMP from the top, and was surprised at how many things you can do creatively that I hadn't even thought of. My only criticism is the paper used is flat and it would be nice to have something a little glossier for the images. The images are in color, which is nice though. I've used photoshop and now GIMP from probably a pretty basic level (I'm not a graphic artist) for album coverwork for compilation CD's for myself and friends, posters, and just playing around with abstract art to frame and hang on my own wall. I've been impressed with GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop and I think this book is a great companion to help me get the most out of it. If you've tried GIMP, which is free to download, and want to get more out of it, I would recommend this book.

GIMP, or the GNU Image Manipulation Program to give it its proper name, is a graphics-editing program broadly similar to Adobe Photoshop in terms of functionality. The GIMP is an open source program that can be freely downloaded and installed on most computers, including maps. But on the downside it doesn't come with a manual, so figuring out how to use GIMP can be tricky.

But 'The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects' isn't simply a book explaining what all the different tools and features do. Michael Hammel pitches this book quite a bit higher than that, focusing instead on how to use GIMP to perform a variety of useful and common tasks. From trick photography to building graphics for web sites, Hammel leads the reader expertly through nicely illustrated tutorials. The end result is more than simply a better understanding of the program, but a richer appreciation of what the program can be used to do.

There are six chapters, the first of which introduces many of the basic concepts. Although there is some attention given to where the relevant tools are found and how to use them, the focus here is on what they do and why you need them. Fundamental to success with any graphics program is understanding how different tools work when applied together, and Hammel finishes off this chapter with a set of multi-function tutorials that underline this point.

The second chapter concentrates on manipulating photographs. These include softening images, adding motion effects, and creating reflections. In each case the process is taken step-by-step, with clear text and relevant screenshots. At this point it's also worth mentioning something about the layout of the book. No Starch has really done a good job here. The book is wider than it is tall, and each page holds two columns of text. The flexible binding lets the book stay open at any page. As a result, it's an easy book to use alongside the computer.

The next chapter is about creating artwork for web sites. These include things like tiles for web page backgrounds, buttons, tabs, and menu bars. The first tutorial in this batch is all about creating glossy, gel-like buttons of the type Macintosh users will be familiar with. One of the later tutorials looks at the ubiquitous rollover buttons, though from the perspective of creating the actual artwork required rather than the necessary JavaScript or CSS coding. That said, if you use a WYSIWYG web page layout program like Freeway, you probably won't need to manually any of that sort of code to your page anyway; all you need are the graphics.

Like all the other chapters, the web design chapter finishes with a collection of useful tips. Some of these should be required reading for any web designer, and it's great to see the author lay them out fair and square.

The fourth chapter is very unusual but actually makes a lot of sense. It's a chapter devoted to creating advertising. While no substitute for a degree in marketing, there's some great stuff here for anyone who needs to produce things like packaging and posters. Small businesses attracted to GIMP by its low cost will likely find this chapter worth the price of the book alone. On the other hand, some of the tutorials in this section are only incidentally useful for advertising purposes though, and could be just as relevant to anyone creating computer artwork. Again, there's a wrap-up section with a slew of useful tips and tricks.

Chapter five brings text into the mix. This chapter kicks off with some tutorials covering things like neon, metallic, and gel-like text, among other typographic effects.

The last chapter is specifically for software developers, and illustrates the ways in which GIMP can be used to design and prototype application interfaces. While a clever and potentially useful chapter, what was obviously missing from this section of the book was something on designing icons for programs. The book then rounds off with a detailed index.

For $45 this isn't a cheap book, especially when you consider that GIMP itself is free and comes with its own online guides and tutorials. The question is whether having things laid out clearly and logically in a nicely illustrated book justifies the cost. In the opinion of this reviewer at least, the answer is yes. For the GIMP user looking to go beyond simply cropping and resizing digital images, this book is highly recommended.

Should have purchased this book months ago. Not for the absolute beginner, but a must have for the advanced beg or int user who wants to learn more about using gimp.

The GIMP is an image editor whose power and easy use rivals the industry standard Photoshop - and is a popular free software item. While The Artist's Guide to GIMP Effects could've been explored in our Computer Shelf area, it's reviewed here to alert every artist working with computer images. It shows how to use the GIMP's powerful features to apply to ads, photos, and business pursuits, and comes from an author who has used GIMP since its first public release. From specialty photographic techniques available within the GIMP model to advanced web design features for special effects, no photo artist using the computer should be without THE ARTIST'S GUIDE TO GIMP EFFECTS - and any collection strong in Photoshop-type books needs it.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Real World Adobe Illustrator CS3 is the definitive reference to Adobe's industry-standard vector graphics software. With an easy, engaging style, author Mordy Golding takes readers through all of the features of the program, explaining not only how to use the multitude of features but also why and when to use them. This edition has been thoroughly updated for Illustrator CS3, including insightful techniques on using the new Live Color environment and its tools, a new Isolation mode for working on complex artwork, and new tools for drawing, erasing, modifying, and cropping graphic. New integration features with Flash CS3 are also covered in depth; for example, readers learn how symbols can be defined as movie clips for use in Flash. Now that Illustrator and Flash are both part of several bundled offerings of the Creative Suite, this coverage is a key part of the entire uninterrupted workflow from initial concept to final execution.

Along with tips, sidebars, and expert commentary, there are also numerous illustrations and screen shots included to offer readers the most complete coverage on this extraordinary application. Designers from all fields--illustrators, animators, package designers, graphic designers, web designers, and more--will find Real World Adobe Illustrator CS3 their one-stop guide to creating powerful designs in Illustrator

As a relatively new Illustrator user I purchased this book because it covered a broad range of topics, and seemed to have extra detail on features that were of particular interest (e.g., graphs, clipping masks). I am somewhat disappointed so far. The introduction is short -- not enough to even learn where all the tools are located -- yet the topics do not provide enough depth to master the topics. There aren't many pictures (and only 16 color pages), so when the book says "Use the Direct Selection Tool" for the first time without a picture, a novice needs to turn back 3 pages to remind themselves what that is. (An expert obviously already knows what this is and has no use for this section at all.) So this seems to be a book for people who have some familiarity with Illustrator but not enough that they will tire of only 3-4 pages per topic.

A major pro to the book, however, is that the topics are very accessible. I am getting a good introduction to a variety of topics, and learning the lingo enough to be able to Google for more information when necessary. Many of the Adobe programs are difficult to break into, and this book does make that possible for Illustrator.

Although this book was not what I expected from the cover descriptions, it is serving an alternate purpose.

Real World Adobe Illustrator CS3 (Real World) All too often, when trying wrap your mind around a particular piece of software, the guru who writes the how-to book tries to dazzle you with a whole lot of extraneous, "dig me!", "look what I can do!" "I am so clever!" "watch me pull a flaming monkey out of my butt!", nonsense, when all you want to do is learn how to use a certain tool. Mordy's not like that. His book makes Illustrator way easy to learn. I'll give you an example. In all the books I've bought over at least a decade to learn several applications, I've always had to "hack my way through the underbrush", in the effort to discover and highlight key points. In Mordy's book, I haven't underlined anything, 'cause it's all concise, with no added fluff. When I need to look up something, I grab Mordy's book, go right to the correct page, scan down the instructions, bang, bang, bang, got it, toss the book aside, back to the computer, and I'm there. Seldom have to pick up the book a second time to look up the same thing again. It's easy to remember because I didn't have to wade through numerous digressions into obtuseness. A friend purchased an Illustrator book by another author and she has a couple pages of diagrams on the correct finger placement on certain combinations of keys. "Finger-dances", she calls them. If I was in a class this person taught, I'd run screaming out into the hallway. Come on, I'm not learning to play the piano here or how to read Braille. Don't make things more difficult than they have to be. By now I know how to find the Control, Shift and Alt keys. I can even find the Spacebar. (Whoa! Hold me back!) And don't waste expensive pages showing me other people's work. I can buy a big stack of magazines at a garage sale for a couple bucks if I want to look at other artists stuff. Okay, rant over. If you want to learn Illustrator pretty easy buy Mordy's book. That's all you need.

Great book. Very insightful explanations.... it's very obvious that
the author is master of the subject. This book has been a great resource in my Illustrator class; it's also the assigned textbook. Highly recommended!

I can only comment on the Web and Mobile Design chapter as that's all I read (put the book down after that!). It's as if the explanation of web safe color palettes and dithering were lifted right out of 1998. In fact I double-checked the cover to make sure it was for CS3! I'm a professional web developer, and let me tell you, for the most part you don't have to worry about the "216 web safe colors". My jaw is still stuck open...

This volume is a great disappointment. I'm sure Mordy could answer my questions but the book sure doesn't.
Deke McClelland's version (Real World Illustrator 10) is a far more thorough book. If you're a novice this book is
ample. I'm looking for more detail and it's just not here.