Graphic Design Books

The Spectrum series is a collection of contemporary and fantastic art illustrations. I recommend it to anyone looking for discovering interesting work and contemporary artists. The work ranges from cover illustrations, paintings, sculptures to some toys, action figures and graphic novel work. The selection is usually very well done. I think the sculpture section is not as good as the graphic and painting area.

It is interesting to notice in the volume 10 the diversity of techniques presented. There are some pure digital art, but most of it is made of traditional media, or a mix with digital tools and some other technique. I imagine that the next volumes will gradually include some more digital art. From this series I ended up finding some artists I looked for entire work monographs like the sci-fi ilustrator Stephan Martinieri.

This is a wonderful book and I would recommend this to anyone interested in sci-fi/fantasy art. This book is even better than it's predessesors also. I think anyone who enjoyed the other spectrum books will enjoy this.

I recently purchased Spectrum 9, 10, and 11. These books are absolutely wonderful, and I would recommend them to any artist or fan of fantasy/sci fi art. They are extremely well put together, of high quality (reproduction wise), have a large number and variety of artists, and contain some of the most beautiful works of art I have seen. Some of the subject matter can be disturbing or somewhat sexual in nature (certainly nothing explicit, but not exactly innocent either), so I wouldn't recomend them for the very young (12 or under?) if you are a parent. These books are worth every penny and highly recommended.

I've been picking up the Spectrum collections since # 7 and I've notice an improvement both in quality and variety in the artwork presented.Within its 176 pages you'll find 300 plus reproductions. The book is divided into seven sections displaying work from advertising, book, comics, dimensional, editorial, institutional and unpublished sources.A cornucopia of styles and approaches grace SPECTRUM 10's pages. From the photo(sur)realism of Paul Bonner's watercolors portraying Orks and Minotaur to Kinuko Y. Craft's Pre-Raphaelite inspired BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to Brom's patented creepy/sexy gothic leather bound babes to Peter d Seve's delightful character studies in pencil for Disney Studios' Treasure Planet you'll find an eclectic cross section of SF/fantasy/horror illustrators working today. Jon joster (winner of the Gold Award in the comics' category) is my favorite here with his retro robots and expressive compositions.Only one thing irritates me in this book, and the only reason I gave 4 stars out of 5: these are the resin statuettes of comic book characters found in the "dimensional" section. These kitsch saturated figurines have no other purpose than to serve as "must haves" for pathological collectoholics and slightly mar this book for me. (Sorry about the soapbox spiel-guess I'm now assured of getting a good number of "I did not find this review helpful" votes.)Dispite this one caveat I highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone who appreciates fine illustration.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy artists have always seemed like illustration's poor step-children, often ignored (and sometimes sneered at) while the historical and Western painters wore the mantel of respectability. Thank goodness Spectrum came along to point out to the naysayers that Art is Art and that the practitioners of "fantastic" art are as gifted as anyone working today (if not better).

Spectrum 10 is chocked-full of beautiful and imaginative work by veterans and fresh faces alike. Personal favorites include the previously unpublished gallery paintings by jillion-times-Hugo-winner Michael Whelan, the Expressionist-flavored space ships by John Berkey, the monsterously proportioned toy robots by Eric Joyner, and the fantasy scenarios of Paul Bonner. There's art for films, paintings for books, sculptures (which I personally enjoy seeing), and work from comics; serious, mature pieces followed by wonderfully whacky and whimisical images. There's really something for everyone. It's fun to go through the book and compare the judges' selection of award-winners in each category with what *I* think should have won.

And thank goodness someone has finally acknowledged Michael Kaluta (#10's Grand Master Award recipient) as one of the most worthwhile illustrators working today. Kudos to the Spectrum Board!

About the only downsides are the occasional typos and several pages with cramped lay-outs, but all-in-all a must-have book for anyone with an imagination--and at a bargain price at that!

This book was a score! The fabric swatches are wonderful and Sally Queen has listed along with each type of fabric what its' uses were in the 18th century.

Sally's book is wonderful resource. The swatches of fabric are terrific to use for reference in purchasing period correct fabric. The information that accompany's each swatch is priceless to anyone that is interested in 18th century costume design. This book is also a perfect "follow-up", after attending any of Sally's seminars.

Textiles for Colonial Clothing is a good source book for anyone re-creating period clothing or who is researching period clothing. It contains a description of most types of fabric referred to in the 18th century, accompanied by a fabric sample of the cloth. This is helpful, since many of the terms used for fabric in the 18th century do not have the same meaning today. Anyone who is re-creating period clothing or who is researching period inventories should have access to this book as a reference guide.

First: the author is really serious about accuracy in reproducing textiles from historical dress, and this isn't something to pick up prior to whipping up a colonial-era dress for Halloween. Second: textile swatches are generous and encourage touchy-feely types to compare to modern textiles. Author has been working on this for a while, and has finally produced a reference guide to Georgian (aka Colonial) era fabrics, mostly those related to better women's wear but also a few worn by servants (I finally figured out what drougget is - that was really bugging me) and each swatch is on its own page, with technical information relating to that fiber type and its historical production and use, plus many have anecdotes and quotes to help create a real setting in which the textile existed. For any costumers passionate about historical recreation, or for museum curators or textile professionals, this will be the defining reference for the era. Principally refers to English and colonial American dress, which differs markedly from the rest of Europe. The author caught me fondling the sample book on display in the dealer's marketplace at the recent Costume College, and had I had the funds with me I would have bought a copy then and there, despite the fact that I am not a historical specialist. I'd recommend this book without reservation for anyone needing factual information about dress during the 1700's, from shifts to ballgowns.

This book is really useful in providing a few different views of the 'levels' of clothing worn in the 1700s (servant vs. middle class for example) as well as great swatches of modern fabrics that would be appropriate for colonial-era clothing recreations.

I absolutely love this book. It a clear favorite in my collection of Pulp and Pin-Up art!

Compiled by Douglas Ellis and an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and academic American Popular History reference collections, Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps is a risque presentation of the erotic art of the "girlie pulp magazines" the were published in the 1920's and 1930's. The predecessors to the "girly magazines" of today, some of these pulp magazine titles were so racy (according to the standards of the time) that they were seized in police raids. The informatively presented story of these magazines (printed and marketed simply because sex sells), is enhanced with an extensive gallery selection of full-color pin-up images and is what distinguishes Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps as a unique book of erotica images that pushed the envelope of social mores of their era.

UNCOVERED is the kind of book that revives that old line people used to use with PLAYBOY magazine: "I don't know about you, but I just buy it for the writing." In fact, UNCOVERED is a perfect balance of pulp-magazine scholarship and wild pin-up style cover illustrations, impeccably reproduced in full color.
I've been following Douglas Ellis' work for quite a long time now, and it's always been first class. With this one, he's achieved the perfect balance of art and story, sharing the history of the '30s girlie fiction magazines and their creators with a breeziness that belies what must've been an incredible amount of research, and sharing also some of the rarest and most appealing pulp covers I've ever seen.
You don't have to know anything about pulp magazines to enjoy UNCOVERED. Anyone who enjoys classic pinup art or weird American pop culture will find this opulent book to be a great addition to his or her home library as well. Highly recommended.

This is an outstanding anthology of cover art from the depression-era "girlie pulps" by such highly worthy (and undeservedly obscure) artists as H.J. Ward, Norm Saunders, and Enoch Bolles, among many others. To the best of my knowledge there's no other great source of their work in print (especially Bolles), but they're very well served here, and very little of the work seen here is reprinted elsewhere. The text is diligent, thorough, well-written, and interesting, covering the rise and fall of the magazine niche-industry that produced these amazing visual works; it is scholarly and will be of great interest and service to students of the subject, but the broader appeal- pun intended- is in the more than four hundred color images. These are beautifully reproduced at a generous size, and on slick, high quality pages. The overall design of the book is also excellent.

I'd like to see another volume, perhaps including some of the interior art, if it's worth seeing. I've also been waiting for years for someone to do "The Art Of Enoch Bolles"- how about it, Mr. Ellis?

The author's review below is very informative and interesting, with much more information about this worthy book.

As the author of this book, I thought I'd post a brief description of it here. UNCOVERED contains over 400 pulp cover reproductions, all in full color. In addition, the history of these magazines -- their publishers, artists, writers and their struggle to survive -- is examined in 30,000 words of text, covering titles such as SPICY ADVENTURE STORIES, SAUCY MOVIE TALES, GAY PARISIENNE, VICE SQUAD DETECTIVE, LA PAREE STORIES, PARIS NIGHTS, SCARLET ADVENTURESS, SNAPPY DETECTIVE MYSTERIES and many others. Although there were many players in the field, during the 1930's it was dominated by the magazines of Harry Donenfeld, who would later go on to greater success with the company that eventually became DC Comics. Over 100 different titles (many very rare) are pictured, by 50 different artists -- among those artists heavily represented in the book are H.J. Ward, Earle Bergey, H.L. Parkhurst, Enoch Bolles, Peter Driben, Norman Saunders and George Quintana. Others whose work is reproduced include Gene Pressler, Zoe Mozert, Charles Wrenn, Worth Carnahan, Jack Greiner, Allen Anderson, R.A. Burley, Fred Craft, Archie Gunn, Cardwell Higgins, Seymour Marcus and Joseph Sokoli. Unlike the later pin-up magazine cover art of the 1940's and 1950's, most of this art has never been reprinted and has been hidden since its original publication. In choosing images for reproduction, I made an effort to try and avoid duplication of covers reproduced in other pulp histories. Each image was carefully scanned and cleaned, for the best reproduction possible.

I tried to do as much research as possible using period sources, such as the writer's magazines and newspapers of the time, and various books published by censorship groups. In the process, I've corrected some errors that had crept into previous pulp histories. Unlike most books of its kind, UNCOVERED is fully footnoted and indexed.

It examines in depth their war with censorship groups (particularly in New York City) which sought to shut them down, and which were often successful in causing these magazines to be banned from the newsstands and, in some instances, seized by the police as indecent and burned. These groups were ultimately successful, and though the girlie pulps burned bright for awhile, by 1940 their flame had all but been extinguished. Sold "under the counter" when first published, their art and story has remained hidden from then until now.

Though focused on the risque pulps of the day, I think that almost any fan of the pulps will find much of interest in reading UNCOVERED, as many of the publishers, writers and artists crossed over into "traditional" pulps as well. The tale of how some spicy pulp publishers continually changed company names in an effort to stiff their authors on overdue payments is, for example, also typical of some of the more mainstream pulp publishers. And contrary to popular belief, other spicy titles actually were at the top of the pulp food chain in payment rates. The spicy pulps were only one segment of the larger pulp industry that supplied reading material for a significant portion of the population during the 1920's and 1930's, but their heretofore untold story is intertwined with that of this larger industry.

First and foremost, this book has a definite audience: people who need to produce graphs for somewhat sophisticated audiences. This is not a book about producing graphs for mass marketing or other flashy arenas. While this point is implicit throughout the book, it is not often stated explicitly.

The biggest strength of this book, and what makes it worth the purchase, is Cleveland's discussion about the relationship between graphing and visual processing. We've all seen a thousand pie charts, for example, but it turns out that people are not good at visually processing pie charts. The way we process visually has implications for everything from line graph construction to color choices to deciding how to code data on XY scatter plots. Although this information does exist in other places, Cleveland brings it together concisely here. Some of the discussion can get a bit technical, however, so be warned.

This is a great first book to read to learn more about how to construct graphs, and it has enough references to point you to other sources if you feel you need more. I myself have purchased several other books about the visual representation of data (including Cleveland's other book "The Elements of Graphing Data"), but this is where I started, and the information in this book has enriched my understanding of those other books immeasurably.

Behaviour elucidation is done amazingly well. This book is even more powerful than Cleveland's "Elements of Graphing Data". Key words for what you achieve: incisive, powerful, salient behaviour eludidation. The principles of graphical perception from "Elements" are great (and themselves powerful) but this book invents and emphasizes yet more incisive visualizations. These new visualizations involve considerable computation IN SUPPORT OF CONSTRUCTING the graphs. But the GRAPHS -- and the behaviours they make manifest/salient -- are the point. As in "Elements", Cleveland is not just about the techniques as if they were rote procedure; he helps you build perspective too. This book, in a very real sense, (even explicitly so stated by Cleveland himself) is an alternative paradigm to the pervasive statistical inference paradigm. No wonder, then, that another reviewer (a Statistics student) learned so much he had never even seen before. Boy was "Visualizing" useful for a project I had on univariate data in multiple categorical groups (folding durability; 6 groups of data); Chapter 2 of "Visualizing" TRULY had me seeing things I NEVER would've otherwise. The book also guides you in the computations you need to get to the visualizations.

Goo

This book was recommended highly to me by a former university professor (and now consultant). It exceeds my expectations. The figures and acompanying explanations are very clear, as is the language throughout. Visualizing Data discusses several tools with which I was not familiar, and clarifies tools that I thought I understood (including box plots). I have taken several university statistics classes, but I believe this book would help anyone involved in displaying or interpreting data. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when your business depends on it, a well-defined plot or graph can be worth much more. Visualizing Data enables you to produce well-defined plots and graphs with confidence.

Simply the best book of its kind.

The book is well written and is a great overview of the VJ culture, the DVD is full of excerpts form live perfomances by the major artist around, interviews and CGI videos. A must-have for VJS!

Just finished reading this book and have to say its amazing.

very insightful cross section of the Vj community. Much to be learnt about the wide range of VJs out there.

It has a good mix between articles on specific issues, looking at the world of VJs, and technical articles explaining how established VJs have their setup.

The DVD has been produced to a very high standard, and like the book lots of informative content is on it.

The book looks beautiful with all the UV pages, and so much design work has gone into it.

anyone who has not got this book yet is missing out big time, recommended to the highest degree.

I was contacted by D-Fuse for an interview for a book a few months ago. I am a VJ as well and I was expecting some sort of paper bag book when it came out. I got it yesterday, a day after my birthday in fact and I have never seen a book (if you can call it just that) with so much detail and so much artistic value.

The audio-visual art + vj culture is one of those books you need to have in your livingroom for your friend to look up despite its content yet. Tp make it better there is so much information inside, even a graphic on how many VJs are per country.

Is a book compared to those of Frank Lloyd Wight. Is one of those books that make you feel like having one even you do not know what is about. The best thing is that you will learn a lot because of the way all reference are managed. And you know what? I'm on page 160!!!

Really good work regarding content and desing, I am very very impress. I am about to get another one, one to show to the people and another one for me.

This book is a brilliant piece of art as much as it is a great resource for beginning and established VJs. The presentation of pictures and graphics is stunning, and looking at all of the eyecandy in the book can be inspiring.

This book does a great job of showcasing the best talent in the business in the form of interviews and articles. There are also some really great tips and how-to guides that even the most experienced VJ can learn from. Equipment hardware and software is covered thoroughly and explained in detail.

This is truly a book all VJs should add to their bookcase because it will always serve as a great reference tool as well as entertain and enage you as a casual reader. I highly recommend this book to all VJs and people that have a passion for motion graphics and live performance art.

This book was several years in the making, and I admire the dedication of those involved in getting it to print.

Unfortunately, that means that in such a rapidly-moving field, it's a bit out of date. Several of the acts featured have disappeared off the radar by now, and there are some quite glaring omissions - such as the EyeWash DVDs, Resolume software (currently used by around a third of the world's top VJ's) and uh... PC's. This wouldn't bother me as much if not for the tagline on the back cover which touts 'full details of the hardware and software available for VJing are provided'. I'd suggest that 'examples of hardware and software available for Mac-based VJing are provided'.

If you get the impression that you need a pair of Mac Powerbooks to VJ from the setups and info given in this book, don't worry - that's not the case. The scene featured in this book is just one aspect of international VJ Culture, and it's been curated from a particularly Mac perspective.

It's a graphic-design triumph - you couldn't ask for more beautiful, slick presentation. The background of Faulkner and other members of D-Fuse as print-based graphic designers with decades of experience between them really shows. Personally, I find the layering and shiny panels a bit distracting and hard to read at one sitting, and I feel like I should put on gloves every time I pick it up as the slightest touch leaves great grubby fingerprints on some of the shinier pages. But it's a stunning, jaw-dropping book, which is just what the scene needed.

To be honest, I don't see this as a book to read so much as to show-off. VJing is a very visual artform, so what better way to communicate what it's all about than in gorgeous, awe-inspiring imagery? Even if it's a bit of a struggle to actually sit and read it cover-to-cover, it's the PERFECT coffee-table book. You couldn't ask for a better showcase for potential clients, newbie wannabes or... well... your Mum... to show what VJing is and why you're dedicating yourself to it despite the bad pay, the expensive equipment, the long hours, etc etc.

A friend of ours runs a Band House, where touring members of bands stay when they're performing in her town. She's a VJ, and so in a good position to plug 'have you thought about using visuals?' on a daily basis. She said this book's been the perfect way to do that - she just leaves a copy lying around and the muso's thumb through it over their breakfast.

The DVD is a huge improvement over that provided with Spinrad's 'the VJ Book'. There's a load of great material on it, and most of it's of an equivalent standard to the imagery in the book - the glamour, high-end of the VJ scene. Positively wow-worthy, and the most impressive DVD collection of live VJing I've seen to date. Some of my favourite parts though were cut very short - eg just a minute or two long - and then there's the bizarrely out of place inclusion of long swathes of content by Elliott Earls, most of which has little to do with the VJ scene - eg a long mockumentary called the Saranay Hotel. Given that there was so much other great VJ content that could have gone on there, I can't work out why Earls' doco was included. It's got nothing to do with VJing or audio-visual art, and the quality is so vastly different to everything else on the DVD.

Like Spinrad's VJ Book before it, I've bought multiple copies of this book/DVD to give away whenever I can afford it. I take a copy to meetings with new clients, and I lend copies to newbie VJs that come along to our Plug n Play nights. The real problem is keeping a copy for myself, as everyone wants to take it home.

The VJ scene is really still very young - maybe equivalent to the DJ scene of two or three decades ago - and we need some impressive look-at-me Superstar VJ's to get the public to take notice, so that the rest of us can get on with doing what we do with hopefully a bit more attention being paid to what's going on behind the scenes on the screens.

I think this book is probably the single biggest factor so far in that process of getting the public to take notice. It's a lush, visually stunning celebration of a new phenomenon. Thanks so much to Faulkner and the rest of D-Fuse for giving this to the scene. Every VJ should own a copy. Or three.

VJ kattyb, VJzoo.com

I loved this book. It is rare to have a computer book that you can read cover to cover but this is one. It is meticulously researched and written, with good questions and exercises at the end to test what you learned. The only thing I didn't understand was why there were only answers to odd questions, but it didn't really matter. Finally there were excellent online references for future learning. This is a classic.

As a Flash beginner, I found this book to be the perfect starting point: concise, clearly written, and full of practical advice for creating basic Flash animations.

Kay writes in an accessible and engaging style, walking readers through basic Flash concepts like vector graphics, the stage and timeline metaphors, up through more advanced topics like coding interactive behaviors and working with sound. Finally, he introduces readers to the basics of Actionscript, the advanced Flash programming language used to create more complex applications.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for beginners like me who are interested in getting started with Flash.

The Web Wizard's Guide explains not only how to use Flash, but how to design with Flash. Tech-manual writers are notorious for leaving out context when describing a software interface, which makes learning most programs difficult. Kay's down-to-earth writing style simplifies the process. He uses practical, realistic examples to explain the concepts behind each menu command. He teaches you to know when to use Flash, and when not to use it. Read this book to learn good Flash design and keep the product manual around simply for reference.

I am a busy Art Director/Designer who, at last, is making the necessary transition from print to the web. The Web Wizard's Guide to Flash by Michael Kay has just become my most recent bible. I just love this book and can't put it down . . . it's like having your own web wizard always at your fingertips.

Michael Kay has done a great job in presenting a lot of intimidating technical information in an accessible way. The instructions are direct and clear and the language of the text is simple and friendly--not loaded with dull or confusing tech speak. The format of the book relies on well honed step-by-step technical objectives which, when applied, give fantastic results.

Best of all, I have been able to use these lessons directly in my day to day layout and design process. After working through this book, my web pages are now alive with animated motion and pizzazz, finally breaking me out of the amateur design crowd!

I highly recommend this text as a must read for any web designer or student or teacher who wants to learn and apply Flash - fast - in a painless, easy-to-read-and-use format. It should also be made more available on book store shelves in general.

as a web design instructor, i've read many books on flash and i am always looking for new reference/learning material to recommend to students. this one covers all the important topics very well. from the basic screen tour up through the nitty-gritty of actionscript, this book does a fantastic job of breaking down a difficult set of topics for a beginning flash animator. i would suggest this book to someone just starting out with the program, or for a person who's self-taught and is looking for the 'correct' way to do something. definitely a good investment.

As a graphic designer who does web sites only occassionaly, I use my manual extensively when I forget a Dreamweaver technique. It's easy-to-understand, clear content is a great guide.

As a novice web page designer, this manual provided detailed, hands-on instructions that were easy to follow on everything from basic page creation to adding more complex design elements. The manual's format and structure is easy to follow and was valuable both as a primer becoming familiar with the software, and as a reference tool now that I've become more comfortable with the software. A great, practical resource for anyone using Dreamweaver.

the book gives you step by step (hence the name) commands to work on your own to create your own web sites. I was able to do it, although the complexity of the program precludes it from being effortless (would that it were). And the manual didn't have dummies in the title. Boy did i feel smart

I've used this manual extensively to create my own website and I refer to it over and over again for quick reminders on the Dreamweaver application. I had first purchased "Dreamweaver the Missing Manual" and "Dreamweaver Visual Dictionary" but found this Noble Desktop manual easier to follow. It has concise instructions and tutorials that are very useful and needed knowledge when designing in Dreamweaver. Whether you are looking for just a basic intro or a more indepth look at some of the bells and whistles of Dreamweaver, this manual is a must have.

I was also able to attend a tutorial session by the folks at Noble Desktop and I have to say that they are very thorough and consise in their direction for people like me who have always had a problem with this particular program. I was even able to go home and follow the easy step by step directions that are illustrated in the training books. They are highly recommended.

This workbook is a great learning tool if you're just starting out in flash. There is a cd included that has files and activities for you to work from. The book is very clear and gives you helpful tips throughout. You'll learn the very basics from using the tool palette to applying sound and inserting video. Overall, well worth the money.

Just like the classes given at Nobledesktop, the training manual is straightforward and easy to understand and follow. The exercises are practical, giving you the tools to get up and running quickly and to accomplish tasks that you will use daily in real life Flash production. Heavily illustrated. Gives instructions for both MAC and WINDOWS users.

After struggling forever with Flash, I just wanted a book that explained everything in a straightforward manner. I didn't want to read a 500 page manual to get what I wanted. This book was exactly what I needed. It's not that long, and just tells you what to do to make a simple animation. Basically it walks you through a lot of great examples and once you're done you can go do your own stuff. I feel like I *finally* get this program!

This is truly a must have resource for the serious digital photographer! Mark's clear, well documented, and concise presentation of the subject matter will make studying this topic a breeze. The organization is such that a relative beginner can grasp the concept of digital work flow and the procedures used in Lightroom in a short time. The book contains many examples and situations common to the needs of most serious photographers, both professional and amateur.

Mark Fitzgerald has created a Lightroom book that truly distinguishes itself from the rest of the books on this popular subject. He has created a workflow guide that is succinct and easy to read and follows a path that makes intuitive sense while not getting bogged down in excessive detail.

The aspect of this book that really sets it apart is the coverage of the interactive nature that Adobe has built in between Lightroom and Photoshop. After reading this book, one should be confident in knowing how to address all image management issues, including when to use Lightroom and when to use Photoshop, as well as what to do in these programs when one gets there.

Although this book doesn't go in to great detail in a few technical subjects, it strikes a good balance between presenting what one needs to know with keeping the text readable. I would highly recommend it to intermediate amatures to seasoned professionals.

As a serious amateur photographer and Photoshop fan for several years, I loved this book! Mark gave me the tools to get my workflow under control. I have read around 30 books on Photoshop, Lightroom and Camera Raw and this one best explained how each of these terrific programs work together to bring order and fun back into my photography.
Mark is a particularly gifted teacher. He has a way of explaining things with just enough detail to thoroughly explain each concept without getting bogged down in unnecessary side trips.
I recommend this book for anyone who needs help putting their workflow all together so that it works seamlessly from the time the photos leave the camera until they are output!

I'm a professional portrait photographer. I work both in-studio as well as on-location and I have used Photoshop intensively for 6 years and Lightroom since beta. That said, I am always open to learning new methods that can shave time off my workflow - the less time I spend at the computer, the more dollars per hour I make. This book has helped me to learn more about the programs that I use all day every day.

Now, trying to cover ALL of Lightroom and Photoshop in one (albeit full-to-the-brim) book is an impossible task. One has to choose what to cover in depth, and what to leave out. Fitzgerald has done a fantastic job of covering the critical components of the actual workflow without getting bogged down in (for instance) the minutiae of how to do eye enhancement retouching so as to bring out liquidity and presence.

All of us need to `hammer through' thousands of images, sorting, color-balancing, retouching a bit, cropping, etc.,, etc., etc., ad infinitum! And, all of us need to do this faster and smarter without dropping our guard on the finest end result we can create (which is what our clients pay for!) Fitzgerald gives you just the right amount of information so you can get up and running RIGHT NOW and start using the programs.

This book is a huge help in that. Fitzgerald covers the entire process from importing images to Lightroom through final printing out of Photoshop. As a portrait artist who specializes in enhancement retouching I have spent hundreds of hours studying and using Photoshop and Fitzgerald teaches me new stuff on darn near every page. I also simply love Lightroom (especially 2.1!) and Fitzgerald gives so many great little tips along the way I wonder how the heck he could find time to learn it all and write the book when LR2.0 was still in beta!

Caveat: this in NOT an absolutely thorough coverage of every little thing in either of the programs (for instance, color management gets a few pages here and there whereas Bruce Fraser wrote a whole book on it!), but, that said, it sure as heck will give you the groundwork that you require for getting your workflow up and running and for understanding the programs enough to really get good work done. Actually, I am very surprised at how well Fitzgerald did considering the scope of this book.

I wish the index was more thorough, but I wish that for every book (oh! for an on-line concordance for books!) And I wish there were full-tilt keyboard shortcut charts for both programs (but those can be found on-line, I suppose). The layout is a bit dense to my eye, but there is so much to cram in, I guess if it were less dense the book would be a brick.

Lastly, I have to say that I usually find that book writers do a poor job of keeping a teaching-flow going while writing, they jump around, they try and be too `cool' and get all cutesy, or they dive down long, dark rabbit holes and lose the reader. Fitzgerald is one of the best in-print teachers I have come across, and I read many books per month.

All in all: if you want to improve your bottom line by improving your workflow, buy it!

I have about half a dozen books on Photoshop and this is the "The best" book. I looked many books for interface designing, but found none, which appealed to me. Even there is only one example kind of interface (TV Example), but it covered well. This could have even batter value if the author could have explained why he is using this technique. He used many filters, but was hard for me to find out why. Overall it is an excellent book.

This is by far one of the best Photoshop books I own. For anyone who wants to get into Photoshop as a design medium, I highly recommend this. One look at the cover and you might think it's for children, but don't! You'll pick up lots of cool ideas with how-to's! Well worth the price.

This book is great for those of us who don't have time to lookup exactly how to do one simple thing in Photoshop. It allows visual learners to go through and actually use different Photoshop concepts, which is how I learn best. After going through the first 2 exercises I was able to create killer graphics in Photoshop which two hours earlier would have been impossible for me to do. Great book easy to read and follow! Buy it today! I'm in the process of redoing my webpage using photoshop graphics skillz I got from the book...

A great book for beginners to intermediate CG designers. It really opened up the various functions of Photoshop to me and the easy-to-follow steps give a perfect introduction to the Japanese style of CG art.