Rating: 
Summary: so like uhhhhh..... can you say OMG!
Review: So i bought Dreamweaver, and Photoshop was given to me by a friend who bought 6.0 (the newest one), and i was thinking "great, now i can make some REAL artwork for my site" Little did i know, the book would help me win a dreamcast in an art contest, and land a permanent gaming site job. Most people use photoshop, and for a while think that they can find all the help they need, with the free online tutorials, e-mailing people with the big "how did you do that" question, and of course trying to use actions and filters to make the art look good. DO NOT COVER UP YOUR WORK! It is you, your own creation! Make what you want to make! With this book i have relearned the entire program. I was trying to mask my work with cool effects and layers, and downloaded actions, but now i can do it all on my own. I look online and see a wallpaper someone did, with a perfect blend effect, and the rust he made himself is exactly what i need... with this book youll make it for yourself, dictating the whole time every little detail, so when your done youll get exactly what your looking for! And even if your like me (a perfection artist, who doesnt save often... DOH!) you might get mad at yourself and redo it a bunch of times, but after the third time i learn every step, and i have learned what photoshop IS, not just what it does. I actually have learned how it works and what layers and masks do. Even if you spend late nights messin with photoshop, (even just a little) this investment will turn it all around into so much more FOR YOU. I feel like a student again, theres so much to try and i have only had the book for a few months! Basicly, if you dont buy it, its like not upgrading your 56k to DSL highspeed, for free. To be honest its stupid- really stupid- .........................
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book...but.....
Review: Somehow, I have trouble recommending a book...regardless how well written...when the accompanying CD is bad. Put it in my cdrom and everything was there and would function, but the cd decided it owned my computer. I could not get the cd to eject by any means other than manually forcing the door open, and even then...with the cd removed...the computer insisted that the cd was there and would not allow any other action. Made three attempts in three PCs with the same result each time. NOT worth my time or money.
Rating: 
Summary: Basic for the experienced, too vague for beginners
Review: The authors may have used Photoshop to produce some wow effects, the beginner will find it hard to follow and the experienced user irritated by the elementary bits such as the touching up of photographs. Take out the photographs and one gets a very ordinary textbook. Go get a copy of Peachpit Press Visual Quickstart Guide instead if you want to learn to drive this powerful software.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW is right!
Review: THE PHOTOSHOP 6 WOW BOOK by LINNEA DAYTON & JACK DAVIS
This book has some of the best project tutorials I've ever seen. They are fun, amazing and all can be applied to projects and issues facing today's designers.Besides instruction, the WOW includes wonderful screen captures and special sections with beautiful color plates of other digital artists work, including a synopsis of their methods. The authors also generously include many extra pre-set goodies on the CD rom along with before and after images for the projects. Thankfully, the "after" files are with the layers in tact, so you can peek at specific settings when you need to in order to match settings, which do vary from the text specifics at times. The beginning of the book has in depth definitions and "how to's" of Photoshops commands, functions, tools, palettes etc. The rest of the book is divided into 9 category specific tutorial sections. There are many tutorials which cover different ways to approach desired outcomes. The authors also do some of the work for you, so it is most benificial to read through several paragraphs before attempting "hands on" and to be observant of the "before image" layers, channel, and paths palettes. The authors include Alpha Channels storing the selections for most of the projects that require selections; this saves much time for the Photoshop student so they can get into the heart of the project without having to spend time making selections. I especially like this book for its in depth coverage of the new features & tools of Photoshop 6. The amazing things you can do with Shape Layers and it's interchange with Adobe Illustrator is my most favorite new feature. That alone will make you shout "WOW!" I teach Advanced Photoshop for Designers at Nashville State Tech and this was my choice "hands down & thumbs up" for the class textbook!
Rating:
Summary: Marvel of Art is Inspiring
Review: There are many examples within this book that are just amazing, and this book will introduce you to ways to recreate such beautiful effects. In the process, you'll learn to unlock the power of PhotoShop.Be warned though, this is not a book that will hand hold you and walk you through "What is a pencil tool" and "how to use it". If you know PhotoShop a little, or an intuitive knack to figure things out, then you can learn a lot from this book. I found at least one of the guides not to work correctly across platforms (Mac OS vs. Windows), but fortunately with the CD, there were some styles that I can plug in and use immediately. I was able to add some spice to my dull web pages. So in summary, this is not a general purpose tutorial. It will show you some spot techniques and tricks that give you inspiration and bring some techniques of the trade into your mental palette as well as increase your PhotoShop knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: Marvel of Art is Inspiring
Review: There are many examples within this book that are just amazing, and this book will introduce you to ways to recreate such beautiful effects. In the process, you'll learn to unlock the power of PhotoShop. Be warned though, this is not a book that will hand hold you and walk you through "What is a pencil tool" and "how to use it". If you know PhotoShop a little, or an intuitive knack to figure things out, then you can learn a lot from this book. I found at least one of the guides not to work correctly across platforms (Mac OS vs. Windows), but fortunately with the CD, there were some styles that I can plug in and use immediately. I was able to add some spice to my dull web pages. So in summary, this is not a general purpose tutorial. It will show you some spot techniques and tricks that give you inspiration and bring some techniques of the trade into your mental palette as well as increase your PhotoShop knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: It is the explanations in this book that are WOW!
Review: There are so many things covered but I will use one example:
the Unsharp Mask filter ... in two pages you understand what it
does, when to use it vis a vis the other filters in the sharpen
family, how to apply it, several specialized uses for it to
improve overall image sharpness, and when in your sequence of
things you are doing to a photo to apply this filter to get the
best results. The entire book is loaded with great info and I
come back to it again and again. The CD materials are really
handy too...
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: This book assumes the user is somewhat familiar with the layout of PhotoShop. That being said, this is an outstanding tool. The book shows you specific techniques and in many instances, explains why you are doing certain things. Having files on a CD to use right along with the step by step instructions in the book is a great idea. I have found that doing the examples in the book several times, helps to instill the techniques in my brain. If you want to take PhotoShop past the beginner level, this is the book to buy!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the beginner
Review: This book contains great color pictures and examples. I learned some new shortcuts and found some useful explanations in the book. However, I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who is a Photoshop beginner or just interested in learning how to use Photoshop to modify pictures and create text for web-based applications. This book is definitely targeted to the intermediate - advanced Photoshop user.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book! But not for beginers.
Review: This book is truly amazing! I have on my bookshelf 8 books on Photoshop from INSIDE PHOTOSHOP 6 to PHOTOSHOP 6 ARTISTRY. And this book is by far the best in its content. But my advice to you all is to learn the basic, before you purchase this book, otherwise you will be intimidated by the magic of Photoshop. Finally, I just want to say thank you to both Dayton and Davis for making me a better user of Photoshop!
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