Graphics Illustrators Books

I had problems with this book from the first. I thought it was because I had insufficient background in most chapters - but thats why I bought the book. When it came to the Dreamweaver chapter, which I know somewhat, the deficincies became apparent.

You have to have a good understanding of what the book covers. It goes over important matters very quickly.

Bottom line - I gained very little by reading this book.

I love this book. It's very helpful and I would tell everyone to look in to buying this book if you want quality.

I was really struck by the projects in this book. I wanted a better understanding of Gradient Meshes and I hoped for some tips and techniques.
The projects really are appealing to do, at least most of them are. As a person who is totally willing to read a tutorial book from cover to cover, I was really disappointed. Right from the start there were glaring omissions from one step to the next.
In chapter 5 there was a heading titled "Adding Gradient Mesh Effects to the Petals" for a section about drawing the outlines of Egyptian characters. But, honestly, that was the least of the problems. Further, I felt the book lacked good technique. The first project has you create an hourglass. Instead of making the whole hourglass and then rotating the whole thing 15 degrees or so, each separate item was draw at an angle which made scaling and sizing the separate pieces much harder than necessary.
This book feels like it was proofread merely for typos while no effort was made to check the usability of the instructions.
I'm a fairly advanced Illustrator user and there were several times where I had to re-read a section several times and then throw up my hands and just do it my own way.
This is a good book for someone who just wants some artistic inspiration but doesn't much care about reading the instructions. If you browse the book, you will probably pick up a trick or tip or two, but don't expect any revelations. For [money amount]you can do better.

"Illustrator 10 - Mastering Art Design" is a very good training book. Similar to the Adobe Illustrator Classroom in the Book which is for beginners, this one is for those in the intermediate level. The book comes with a CD like most training design books.

I was really impressed by the type of projects you learn and some of the things you create are really stylish and cool!

I highly recommend this book but for those with at least some knowledge of Photoshop. This book is intended for the intermediate level. For instance, in the first project, you will need to make ruler guides and rotate the guide to an angle. Also, you will be dwelving into meshing and blending colors. This is not a beginner book to explain what meshing and blending is about.

So, if you are a beginner, check out the Illustrator 10 bible. Then with a bit of knowledge you can dwelve into this book because you will be making really awesome things with this book.

As for the book, it is easy to follow but it really asks a lot from you especially if you are good using the pen tool. I've used Illustrator for years and to this day, I'm not good with the pen tool. So, for this book on certain projects which asked to make something with the pen, I switched to the pencil tool, used a Wacom pen on my tablet and drew it (if you have good control with your mouse, use a mouse)

Otherwise, it's a really good book. The type of projects are very glamorous and stylish compared to other Illustrator books with projects/training.

Check it out!

it's my first illustrator book i ever bought. I had spend whole thursday and friday to look up and learn the illustrator by following the directions from this book. this book is not that big (only about 3 in*6 in with 200 page) . And the book is available for both PC and Macintosh computer. Actually i think author had concentraded on those essential controls and techniques for each introduction ( that's why the book is made so small) and good origanize with step by step introductions. In some final lessons author had covered all the techniques he has introduced in order let's review them quickly. the disvantage is some of techniques introduce vaguely. however, you can just finish it within few days and get know how to use illustrator very quickly.

I bought this book from the blurb on the back, saying its for beginners, Jargon free, and assumes no previous knowledge of the programme. I thought this would be fine, as I am very familiar with Adobe products, i.e. Photoshop, Framemaker etc, and while not very familiar with Illustrator, have at least used it to open, close and make minor changes to graphics. I thought this would help me trawl through the basics in a couple of hours, instead of giving me a major headache. The problems kicked in about page 45. Everything was quite clear up to that, there is a clearly explained system of exclamation marks, bullet points etc to help you on your way. I found that the explanations using pen tools and paths very difficult to understand and although following the step-by-step procedures, they did not make sense. I figured I was just being an idiot, but I asked 2 other long-term Illustrator users to try and follow these instructions, to their bafflement. Now, I am only half way through the book, and it may improve, I will give it another 10 pages before giving up! But I would not recommend this for beginners.

I would say the book is oriented towards the graphic artist who have already been
experimenting and are familiar with Maya 3D, and incorporating imagery produced in that program into their overall design projects. What's not apparently clear is what level of accomplishment the enthusiast or professional should be in regards to their respective skillsets to effectively utilize the techniques described in the book effectively. If you're on the more steeper end of the learning curve, you'll need your previous editions of beginner Maya books as a side reference. There are some neat techniques in the book, however, that can help to add the 3D CG look and feel to whatever you already produce through your photography, Photoshop & Illustrator graphic work. In this respect, this book is great.

The word "advanced" in the title is misleading. I was looking for something beyond what I get in my users manual. If you need a toolbox review, you are not advanced.

The Designer's Apprentice:
Automating Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in Adobe Creative Suite 3
by Rick Ralston
Adobe Press book published by Peachpit.
ISBN -13: 978-321495709
Reviewed by Diane Williams, member of the Eureka Photoshop Users Group, Jan 6, 2008

This book covers automating Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I was mainly interested in actions for Photoshop. But I can see that when I am ready to work in Illustrator and InDesign this book will be the place to start. As Mr. Ralston points out actions are only the beginning of automating Photoshop. I have been hesitant to jump in and try some of the process that would make my work a bit quicker and less filled with drudgery but, with this book it is like having a teacher at the ready to help get you moving. If you come up against a road block, the tools to get moving are in the book. Plus what kind of tasks to automate and free your self from these repetitive boring tasks and get on with creativity.

"The Designer's Apprentice "is aimed at a professional's needs but I felt I benefited from many of the tips and hints in this book. The tutorials are step by step and easy to follow. The projects and scripts for this book can be downloaded so you can work on each project when you register the book at the website.

This is the kind of reference book you want to keep on your book shelf ready to use when you need it.

Overall it's a pretty decent design book covering in more detail the printing side of graphic arts. Good for instructional purposes in commercial arts and coming up with activities for students. Not very useful for serious artistic endeavors, it mostly just gives a basic outline of each topic covered. Here is an overview:

1. Cool list of Materials for Graphic Arts, Photography & Copying techniques.

2. Pencil Drawing w/ a pencil one can quickly and uncomplicated create easily from the simple doodles to more sophisticated light studies.

3. Blending rubbing pencil against the paper to create highly realistic & 3D effects inpatient thing is that the transition of shading should flow & not show any border use of smudging technique is also good practice

4. Rapid shading hand moves quickly at a 45-degree angle show a sample

5. Pen & ink Drawings India ink for watercolor proof drawing angles used in shading Show ex. Shading types

Technical pens or fountain pens line screen & Dot screen

6. Felt-tipped markers can fade with sun Show ex.

7. Colored Pencils do not have degrees of hardness apply lightest Color use light pressure always go from light to dark repeat application of color until' you get the deepest intensity you want

8. Pastels are oil solid sticks

9. Watercolors dry or liquid are water-soluble pigments always use correct paper Plenty of water Color large areas first Proper brushes Draw outline Mask if necessary build up background fill in details Special techniques Washing out Texturing Add details Paint around areas Painting wet on wet

10. Colored inks come in jars after drying is waterproof

11. Opaque Paints are very for giving use layering good shading-transitions

12. Layout and Mixed technique the sketch that shows with considerable precision what the finished work will look like the thumbnail is the simplest and cheapest sketching method

13. Enlarging a drawing

14. Perspectives drawing

15. Pantone system is designed to facilitate the graphic or artist' s design work and coordinate specifications for printing a number identifies a given Color to be matched by the printer. 4 Color offset process?

16. Mixed media

17. Cutting and pasting

18. Collage

19. Color Overlays

20. Halftone Print to line art turning a Color photo into so called line art or pure

21. Making Letrachrome Prints get supplies and kit see instructions.

Magnas, Gunter H. Graphic Techniques for designers and Illustrators. Barron's Educational Series Inc. New York, 1986

How absurd is it that this book, published less than 10 years ago, is now hopelessly out of date and worth more as a curio or paperweight than as a repository of information. Sort of sad, don't you think?

Luckily, I found this in a public library. It's pretty much a curio of its time--the McCarthy era, from the vantage point of a radical protester who found himself at odds with the administration for a trip he had taken to Russia in the 1930s. Kent's bluster and bravado infuses every page of this hectoring, big-shouldered, he-man tale, and as an artist known once widely for his engravings, drawings, paintings, and adventures in Greenland and points north of Maine, it brings back, in exhaustive detail, his upbringing and his thoughts and his tale over the first part of the last century.

The illustrations, curiously, are interspersed throughout the volume in abundance, if not where you would expect them to comment upon the precise page upon which they are placed. Kent notes that they are to comment on the text, idiosyncratically! I do not know if many people remember Kent today, but his prose and artistic style of bold lines and deep cuts, shadows, heroism, robust men and lissome (if solidly built) women certainly recalls a whole era of Depression-era America, when so many volumes, government-sponsored art projects, and public and private buildings were graced with this now-bygone spirit of optimism and humanism.

the book is not well organized and for an experience designer not of any usage.