Adobe Creative Suite 2, Adobe’s tightly integrated set of design tools, offers enough goodies to make any graphic designer swoon. Since the Premium edition of this software collection includes Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS 2, InDesign CS2, GoLive CS2, and Acrobat 7.0 Professional–as well as a handful of other shiny new tools–users will find everything they need to create beautiful content for print, the Web, and mobile devices. Here to make sure you master it quickly and completely is a self-paced guide from Adobe’s Creative Team--the folks behind the software. With the Classroom in a Book series, you learn by immersion. Step-by-step, project-based lessons walk you through sample real-life projects, while review questions at the end of each chapter reinforce the new skills you’ve learned. The companion CD, filled with lesson and media files, will have you working on print, Web and PDF projects in no time. Whether you’re a graphic design novice, student, graphic designer, educator, or are just new to the Adobe Creative Suite, this book will give you a solid overview of Adobe’s creative design software.

ISBN: 0321349822, Author: Adobe Creative Team, Publisher: Adobe Press, Pages: 320, Publication Date: 2005-07-22

After years of fielding questions at seminars from Photoshop users, Dave Cross realized there was a lot of common ground: there were many questions that were indeed "frequently asked." In addition, most questions seemed start with “How come I can’t…." "How do I…." or "Why won’t the (fill in the blank) tool work?" This book addresses the most common problems and questions in Photoshop by both providing answers to the most frequently asked questions, and outlining strategies that can help you avoid problems in the first place. You’ll see: • Where to start when things don't work: from tool settings to re-installing Photoshop • The most common warning dialogs: why they appears, how to fix them, and how to avoid them • The Photoshop CS2 Checklist: what to check when things go wrong, or before you start working, to help avoid problems • Solutions to typical problems when using the Adobe Creative Suite • How to avoid problems by creating flexible documents (adjustment layers, layer masks, groups, smart object, layer comps, and more) • Frequently asked questions—and their answers—in all key areas of Photoshop CS2: • general operations (palettes, workspaces, menus, etc.) • color (CMYK, color management, spot color, choosing color, etc.) • type • selections • making adjustments • layers • preferences and settings • image capture (resolution, Camera Raw, file size) • sizing (canvas size, image size, copping) • automation (actions, batch, built-in automation commands) • common image problems (exposure, focus, noise, color cast, etc.) • painting (brushes, choosing color) • output (web, PDF, video, printing) • special effects (filters, layer styles) • tools (that don't fit into any other category) • How to customize Photoshop CS2 to work the way you want it to (actions, menus, workspaces, shortcuts, preferences) • How to make your own brushes, swatches, shapes, styles, and patterns

ISBN: 0321337042, Author: Dave Cross, Publisher: Peachpit Press, Pages: 304, Publication Date: 2005-06-27

Self-paced, self-guided instruction is all well and good, but at the end of the day, most people could use a little feedback--especially when they're ready to build a design portfolio and hit the job market. Not to worry, this book provides actual instructor feedback along with the self-paced, individualized instruction in Photoshop and Illustrator that designers need. Written by the faculty of New York-based, accredited online design school Sessions.edu, the book uses the school's trademark project-based curriculum to teach essential design concepts with Photoshop and Illustrator. After a brief intro to the world of graphic design, Sessions instructors provide quick "refresher course" chapters on the two programs. Then, armed with Photoshop and Illustrator basics, readers tackle a series of projects that stretch their imagination and creative muscles involving logo design, magazine layouts, illustrations, poster design, digital imaging, book cover design, packaging design, and more. Best of all, readers are encouraged to post their work for expert feedback from Session.edu faculty on "Studio Sessions," the custom Web site created for this book.

ISBN: 0321336585, Author: Sessions.edu, Publisher: Peachpit Press, Pages: 384, Publication Date: 2005-08-25

If you're ready to go from blindly following step-by-step instructions to "Aha, I finally GET Photoshop!" this is the place to start. In these pages, world renowned Photoshop instructor and best-selling author Ben Willmore writes in his signature style–intuitive, crystal clear, and in-depth–helping you gain the deep understanding needed to master Photoshop's most essential features. Complex concepts like Curves and Channels are broken down into easy to digest metaphors and descriptions, and features new to Photoshop CS2–such as Bridge, Smart Objects, the revamped Layers Palette and Camera Raw dialog box, as well as the awesome new Warping and Vanishing Point features–are all covered in the depth they deserve, making it possible to quickly adapt them into your daily workflow. Whether you’re a photographer, designer, production artist or hobbyist, the knowledge you gain in this book can dramatically change the way you think about Photoshop.

ISBN: 0321321898, Author: Ben Willmore, Publisher: Adobe Press, Pages: 592, Publication Date: 2005-08-27

AutoCAD: Professional Tips and Techniques



Build Your Skills with Hundreds of Helpful Ideas from Two AutoCAD Superstars

Two AutoCAD experts distill years of combined experience into hundreds of the most useful AutoCAD tips and techniques you'll ever find. Fun, easy to read, and packed with information, this beautiful guide equips you with inside tricks on critical AutoCAD features and functions--all in fast, easy-to-digest nuggets. Discover keyboard shortcuts and little-known system variables or punch up your style with expert tips on visualizing, publishing, and 3D modeling. No matter what your experience level, you're sure to increase productivity and master professional-level techniques with this lively, practical book.

The Art of Flash Animation: Creative Cartooning



There are a number of manuals available on Flash, but too many of them get bogged down in details about ActionScript or interactivity. Frustrated with wading through such information in other Flash manuals, author/illustrator Mark Stephen Smith set out to make the book he wished he had when he started learning Flash. This book is both a practical primer in the fundamentals of classical, hand-drawn 2D screen animation and a basic introduction to Flash's expert handling of recyclable symbols that make independent, web, and television animation both more affordable and more efficient. It is conveniently divided into two parts. Part I is for those who are new to the terms and techniques of hand-drawn animation, character design, and storyboards. Part II covers scanning and digitizing artwork into Flash, as well as setting up scenes and symbols.

Creative Photoshop is an exciting new book written by Derek Lea and published by Focal Press.