Rating: 
Summary: Highly accessible, for the hard media/digital artist
Review: This is a wonderful book for any artist working in hard media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.) who wonders how Photoshop might supplement their creative process. Likewise, those working in Photoshop will see possibilities for expanding into hard media. Steuer presents the material in a highly accessible manner. She does not overwhelm one with all the features of Photoshop, but concentrates on those of greatest relevance to the artist. You learn how to scan in a problematic painting and scale and move around the various elements to achieve a better composition. You can then use this as a reference, or in some instances you may switch to this digital image and refine it into your completed work. Likewise, you learn how to adjust the hues and brightness, how to add one image into another, even how to use filters to transform your artwork into something else entirely, which you then refine into a very different artwork. The possibilities are endless, and Steuer does an excellent job of presenting examples of each and showing how to experiment further. As an oil painter myself, this book has been a revelation, and I thank Sharon Steuer for having written it.
Rating:
Summary: Highly accessible, for the hard media/digital artist
Review: This is a wonderful book for any artist working in hard media (oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.) who wonders how Photoshop might supplement their creative process. Likewise, those working in Photoshop will see possibilities for expanding into hard media. Steuer presents the material in a highly accessible manner. She does not overwhelm one with all the features of Photoshop, but concentrates on those of greatest relevance to the artist. You learn how to scan in a problematic painting and scale and move around the various elements to achieve a better composition. You can then use this as a reference, or in some instances you may switch to this digital image and refine it into your completed work. Likewise, you learn how to adjust the hues and brightness, how to add one image into another, even how to use filters to transform your artwork into something else entirely, which you then refine into a very different artwork. The possibilities are endless, and Steuer does an excellent job of presenting examples of each and showing how to experiment further. As an oil painter myself, this book has been a revelation, and I thank Sharon Steuer for having written it.
Rating:
Summary: At last a Photoshop book for artists and photogrpahers
Review: Unlike loads of other Photoshop books, Steuer's book teaches you how to use Photoshop like a creative tool. It's not full of recipes for effects that you have to memorize. Instead it teaches you how to explore and create your own style, technique and imagery. You don't have to know much about Photoshop to get going and she teaches you how to experiment and improvise quickly and easily. Her wonderful examples show how Photoshop can be a personal, painterly and deeply artistic tool in the hands of an artist. The "Techniques at a Glance" chapter was great to help me indentify projects that concentrate on specific tools and techniques I want to explore more, such as how to improvise with color. At the end of every chapter she offers more project suggestions as well. This is a great book for artists and photographers who want to get to know Photoshop by learning it as an artistic tool, not a piece of software. This book is also ideal for teachers who want project ideas that will inspire their students to delve in deeper and see Photoshop from a unique artist's perspective. It is a fountain of inspiration!
Rating:
Summary: At last a Photoshop book for artists and photogrpahers
Review: Unlike loads of other Photoshop books, Steuer's book teaches you how to use Photoshop like a creative tool. It's not full of recipes for effects that you have to memorize. Instead it teaches you how to explore and create your own style, technique and imagery. You don't have to know much about Photoshop to get going and she teaches you how to experiment and improvise quickly and easily. Her wonderful examples show how Photoshop can be a personal, painterly and deeply artistic tool in the hands of an artist. The "Techniques at a Glance" chapter was great to help me indentify projects that concentrate on specific tools and techniques I want to explore more, such as how to improvise with color. At the end of every chapter she offers more project suggestions as well. This is a great book for artists and photographers who want to get to know Photoshop by learning it as an artistic tool, not a piece of software. This book is also ideal for teachers who want project ideas that will inspire their students to delve in deeper and see Photoshop from a unique artist's perspective. It is a fountain of inspiration!
Rating:
Summary: "BEST BOOK" Award for 2002
Review: We at the Designer's Bookshelf have just awarded this book a "BEST BOOK" award for 2002. These awards are given by the editors and staff at the Design Bookshelf, DT&G Magazine, and the Graphic Design network as top choices for all those involved in the design, publishing and visual arts fields.
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