Adobe® Photoshop® 6.0 Classroom in a Book
by Adobe Creative Team

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Book Reviews of Adobe® Photoshop® 6.0 Classroom in a Book

Book Review: A Lesson In Judging Books By Their Covers
Summary: 2 Stars

I would expect that a tutorial like this one would be concise; however, many of the step-by-step instructions are so brief as to be meaningless, particularly if you don't know the program already. Photoshop is very complex and the interface is not at all intuitive. The writers introduce tools and refer to other application features without bothering to explain where to find them. Many step-by-step instructions are misleading, which is to say, the results you will get by following the intructions verbatim will not match the outcomes shown or described. (Many relatively complex procedures are not illustrated at all, or not illustrated adequately.) I have found a disturbing number of instances where the instructions are just, well, wrong. (You will figure it out, but it might require another book!)

Several people reviewing this book have mentioned that it would be better used as a companion to other reference documentation or as a companion to classroom instruction. I would agree; the book could be particularly effective as a classroom text. Presumably there would be an instructor to show you where to find this tool or that, or to explain why the book says "drag up from point E to the red dot" when the actual series of keystrokes require you to click and release the appropriate mouse button and then click and drag from point E to the red dot. I think the book would also be good for someone who knows Photoshop and just needs to brush up on features in a newer version. But it is not a book that I would recommend to learn this application. (I also question how much information any Photoshop newbie is actually going to retain. The book gives virtually no explanation about how the program operates or how various application elements relate to each other. You're mostly just pushing buttons. And if your results don't match the book's, tough nuggies. There is no attention given to alerting user to common errors and what to do about them.)

I don't know about you, but I am real tired of shelling out big bucks for impressive-looking computer books that do not fulfill their stated purposes. This book has real value; but, if you are looking to actually learn Photoshop on your own, you would probably do better to look at another resource...

Summary of Adobe® Photoshop® 6.0 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop is like having a darkroom right inside your computer. And now, with Photoshop Classroom in a Book, created by Adobe's own training experts, it's like having an expert tutor in your own book. Photoshop Classroom in a Book gives you a comprehensive set of Photoshop lessons to teach you everything you need to know to use this powerful image-editing software. And best of all, you can learn at your own pace.

Start with the basics of Photoshop, from navigating the interface to creating layers and selections to working with Photoshop tools, then move on to more complex Photoshop features, like masks, channels, retouching techniques, and special effects. In no time flat, you'll master these skills like a grade-A student, and you don't even have to bring an apple for the teacher.

Seventeen project-based lessons take you through every aspect of Photoshop. The book starts with the basics--the revamped interface, selection tools, and working with layers--and then moves on to more involved projects like retouching, using the new vector shape and clipping path features, advanced layer management, and special effects. Each lesson begins with a clear introduction and finishes with a brief review section, which is a good way of assessing how much you've learned and whether you need to go over anything again.

Anyone who is, or wants to be, a Photoshop pro must eventually tackle color management, and two lessons are devoted to this difficult subject. "Setting Up Your Monitor for Color Management" examines the principles of color management and shows you how to calibrate and create an ICC color profile for your monitor using the Adobe Gamma control panel. "Producing and Printing Consistent Color" deals with proofing images on a CMYK PostScript printer and creating color separations for commercial printing. There's also a chapter devoted to spot-color printing. The remainder of the book deals with producing Web graphics using ImageReady 3.0.

While it lacks the depth of some of the other Photoshop tomes, this is probably one of the most effective courses there is for beginners and intermediate users. --Ken McMahon, Amazon.co.uk

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