Description:
The folks at Friends of Ed do such a great job of writing instruction manuals. In Foundation Photoshop 6, they cover all the basics that every beginner will need in order to become a master at manipulating images, whether for print or the Web. Experienced users aren't left out--the book helps bring them up to speed on all the new version 6 features. Since this is a team effort, with a team comprised of hip, professional designers, there're lots of insider tips.The illustrations are mostly black-and-white, but there are so many of them, readers won't feel cheated. In fact, there's just the right text-to-image balance--what the words don't explain, the screen shot will, and vice versa. This is the kind of book where you can learn by just looking at the pictures. The text has a light, humorous touch (but not the kind of over-jokey style that clogs up the Dummies books). Just about every sentence adds to reader's skill set. There are several mini exercises in each chapter and a larger case study that runs through most of the book (a printed postcard and Web site that uses rollovers, image maps, slices, and optimized images). You won't get lost if you skip around--each section works well on its own; for example, intermediate users who want clear, hands-on instruction in using layer masks can jump to chapter 10. With an exhaustive index and appendices that cover online resources for stock art and fonts, file types (BMP? EPS? PNG?), and how to calibrate your monitor, this is yet another essential book for the Friends of Ed bookshelf in your studio. --Angelynn Grant Topics covered: Tools, selections, paths, layers, color (especially for print), Web graphics, image/color correcting, filters, slices, actions, PDFs, and much more.
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