Last updated 8/12/2007
Understanding Adobe Photoshop
Understanding Adobe Photoshop
Author: Richard Harrington
Publisher: Peachpit Press
393 pages ... $44.95
ISBN 0-321-36898-3
Digital Image Concepts and Techniques
Understanding Adobe Photoshop
is about understanding Adobe Photoshop, its tools, and how to use them. The book is very well written, clear, and easy to use.
As an example: Eyedropper Tool
The Eyedropper tool lets you sample colors from an open document. This can be a useful way to choose colors that work well with an image. Lets try out the tool:
- You are told to open a file from the provided DVD
Select the Eyedropper tool from the Toolbox or press the keyboard shortcut I.
Adjust the sample size in the Options bar:
You are then told about the three different sample sizes and why you might choose each.Click the brick area to set the Foreground Color.
Option-click (Alt-click) the sky area to set the Background Color.
You read this, you follow the instructions with the provided image, and you understand the Eyedropper Tool. This book could be the best reference there is for when you need to select and use a tool when you are working on your own projects, or when you are reading another book on how to do some project and use of a tool is not as clear.
The back of book lists 10 exercises you can do for practice. There is a one page pdf with an outline of the processes you could use and there are source images and a final result.
With this book you get a DVD which includes over 4 hours of video training, all the image files, projects, exercises, and Flash-based quizzes.
On the video, Richard Harrington introduces each lesson and then demonstrates things that are easier to understand in a video. He speaks slowly and clearly explaining what he is doing during the demonstration.
You are to use the video on the DVD and not to copy it to your hard drive. If you have a defect, or develop one, in the DVD within the first 90 days you can send in the serial number and a copy of your invoice for a free replacement. After that replacement is at the desecration of the publisher.
I much prefer unprotected videos that you can copy to your hard drive for two reasons, convenience and having a backup copy.
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