|
Adobe Photoshop CS Classroom in a Book
 |
Author: Adobe Creative Team
List Price: $45.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 032119375X
Publisher: Adobe Press (01 December, 2003)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 1,540
Average Customer Rating: 2.67 out of 5
|
Customer ReviewsRating: 4 out of 5
A good starting point for unseasoned Photoshop users
Like many people out there, I've been using computers for decades, and while I've dabbled with Photoshop over the years to do layer-based image touch-ups, enhancements, resizes, and related simplistic tasks (making tape/CD covers, greeting cards, etc.), I've never taken the time to work through a book to learn the other features of the program.Adobe Photoshop CS Classroom in a Book (CIAB) is a worthwhile starting point for users who know how to use their computers, but might only know how to use some of the functions of Photoshop. This book spends most of its time on layers, masks, pen tools, and webpage basics (slices, animation, and image maps). I found the pen tool chapter to be the most useful, since I had never really understood how vector-based drawing worked, and I am now eager to learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator CS as well. The webpage chapters are also good for those who have lots of ideas in their mind about how their webpage should look, but don't have intuitive tools to do it. ImageReady CS (included with Photoshop CS or Adobe Creative Suite) makes creating precise web graphics, image maps, etc. almost too easy. I found several errors in the book that occur in later chapters, but none of them prevented me from completing the lessons. There are some spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors throughout the text. However, these will not prevent the average user from running into roadblocks. The biggest error occurs in Lesson 15, where the image references in the sample HTML file do not correspond with the actual image filenames. Basic HTML/text editing can fix this, but as an official Adobe product, this should have been found before duplicating the CD-ROM which accompanies this book. Otherwise, the lessons are presented well and are very easy to follow. The text is clear and easy on the eyes. I was able to complete all 20 lessons in about 4 days. To get the most out of this book, it would be wise to complete a lesson, and then apply what you learned to your own project to help with retention of the material. Overall, a good first step to other more in-depth texts. I'd like to see full-color in future installments, as well as more detailed descriptions on why certain selections and options are chosen. Also, I think the monitor and color calibration chapters should be moved to an earlier part of the book. It's odd that these are the last topics covered, especially since topics like levels and color correction precede it.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Not very accurate...
This book would be good for beginners except for the fact that it skips some important steps that need to be taken. This was obviously written by someone who knows photoshop very well, however instead of going step by step as if writing for someone who has never touched photoshop he skips steps that more advanced users would catch on to, but a beginner would be left far behind wondering what they did wrong.
Fortunately it has a pretty cover and a nice price tag along with a few helpful items. If you are a beginner....look elsewhere. The manual is a better place to start.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Lack of Attention to Detail Mars Series
Subtle and blantant errors ruin what would otherwise be a decent guide into Adobe products. Most chapters in this series of books leave out vital information or the exercises on the included CDs are missing files or do not match the printed materials.
Similar Products
· Adobe InDesign CS Classroom in a Book
· The Adobe Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers
· Adobe Illustrator CS Classroom in a Book
· Adobe GoLive CS Classroom in a Book
· Adobe Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks
|
