Rating: 
Summary: A Little Jumpy
Review: The ideas and concepts in this book are excellent. However, there is a significant amount of redirection...if you like, this look in this chapter, or we'll see more on this later in this chapter. Combined with the many sidebars and tips, the overall effect is a little distracting, and gets in the way of some very valuable information and concepts.
Rating: 
Summary: Sharon does it again... another BLOCKBUSTER
Review: The latest addition to Sharon's long list of fabulous 'WOW' books has arrived at the Design-Bookshelf.com, and everyone agrees it's not only the BEST of the WOW series, it raises the bar for illustrator how-to books from this day forward. Agreed: Sharon has retained some of the lessons from past WOW books. These lessons still hold true to the spirit of essential training, and should never be discarded. The pull-out "Finger Dance" card is indispensable, and no one -- read my lips -- no one does a better job of teaching the Pathfinder tools and the Gradient Mesh. Sharon's visual explanation of Clipping Masks and Opacity Masks in just a few pages goes further than 20 pages in the pulp books. The new content easily offsets the price with glorious color visions of the most striking Illustrator work being created today. And then you get the insider details on how they were done. It's not just about teaching the software. You can lecture on Envelopes and Warps until dark, but nothing comes close to the "how-did-they-do-that" spark of enlightenment to fully learn the technique. Along with the "how" there's got to be a "WHY" or you're spinning your wheels. We seriously disagree with another reviewer here who seems to find a lack of "WOW" in the new edition. Hold a mirror under his nose! If the Gallery samples are not wowing you, and the new series on typography doesn't wow you -- and the warping, crunching and filters section doesn't wow you... or the fabulous art and tutorials on the CD don't wow you . . . you may not be breathing! I fully recommend this book to my "Intro To Digital Graphics" students at James Madison University. And, with each new roll-out of Illustrator, I find the WOW books the most inspiring and most useful teaching aid available today. I encourage the students to have the spine shaved off and the book drilled for 3-ring binder use -- so it lays flat for use during the exercises. They do it and they thank me. I also believe the Illustrator Visual Quickstart books are excellent. I require them as well for use as a "shop manual" -- but the Illustrator WOW book is the one that inspires the students to greatness. If you've never purchased an Illustrator WOW book, then you MUST. We at the Design-Bookshelf.com believe that no matter how many WOW books are on your shelf, if you paid your blood-money to Adobe for the CS version, your investment in software will go much further by adding this new WOW book!
Rating: 
Summary: Great but not for the beginner
Review: This book is one of the better books I've come across as far as learning the tricks that you need to make realistic artwork and almost anything else. The tutorials do take a lot of practice and adjusting on your own to really figure out what they are offering. They dont go over things step by step by step like beginner books do so if you dont have the basics down dont bother. Once you get those basics down though, this should be the first book you get. It teaches you all the tricks of the trade that are necessary to be true masters of Illustrator.
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