Graphics Books

Mr. Smith's book is well illustrated and supported by the accompanying CD (images to work with that are in the book). His explanations are clear to the Photoshop user and he does explain some terms, as in methods of cropping and re-sizing an image and which method is suited for which type of image), file formats of images, and other areas like the applications under adjustments that I had not used until I began working with the book.
I have found some techniques that are similar to other authors (Scott Kelby, in particular, whose books I have enjoyed quite a lot), and that was part of my interest in purchasing the book-to broaden my reference library with people aside from Kelby, Deke McClelland, and some folks on-line like Earth-Bound Light and Photography, etc). I recommend purchase. Readable, well cross-referenced, and helps deliver results.

Excellent training material. I would also recomment The Photoshop CS2 Book For Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby. The combination is outstanding.

I was really surprised this was such an excellent book. Usually I just read the chapters I am interested in , but I read this whole book--it was just so instructional and one that I will keep close to the computer for reference book.

I am an amaetuer photographer. This book has helped me fine tune my photos and bring out its full potential. I will gladly recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain more knowledge on photography and perhaps learn a very powerful photo editing tool.

This book has a lot of good information in it, but is not well written. You may be halfway through a paragraph before you get to the topic sentence and figure out what the author is talking about. It often takes a second or third trip through a paragraph to figure out what it's about. The author also is not consistent with his word usage. I've found as many as three or four different words used for the same thing. For instance luminosity and brightness are used interchangeably, sometimes on the same page or even the same paragraph. So, using the book can be frustrating, though the author clearly knows Photoshop and I have learned a lot from the book.
The book does not mention or discuss some of the neatest features of Photoshop CS2 including some of the Automate features such as Merge to HDR (high dynamic range). This feature combines an underexposed and an overexposed picture into one high dynamic range image (bright areas are not washed out and dark areas are not black). This is an amazing capability that is not mentioned.
I would buy this book again, but only after searching diligently for one that covers the same scope or more and is better written. Actually, I'd probably get a book that covers CS3 as well, and hopefully indicates where features are unique to CS3. Or maybe just a CS3 book if you are going to upgrade. I understand the upgrade to CS3 is well worth the price even though it is now $200. Ease of use alone makes CS3 valuable to novices from what I've read.

This book teaches with extreme clarity everything you need to know to program for Director/Shockwave 3D. A rarity amongst programming books due to the didactics, organization, and clarity/accuracy of code. It is current with Director MX 2004 and I suspect it is current with Director 11 given the information Adobe just released. You cannot go wrong with this one. The only problem is that it is hard to find, I had to buy my copy from a reseller.

I have every book publish about developing interactive 3D using director. This is the best one of the bunch. After reading this book I wish I hadn't purchased any of the others. Although the book is for director 8.5 it still the best book for Director 3D +

As anyone knows reading this review knows Director is the only program that will allow you to create 3D games and programs for the web. Hopefully Adobe will update it rather than let a very powerful program fade away.

This is an excellent book for Director and Director 3D. It is very in depth and involved, although a bit hard to understand at times. This book is not for beginners and requires a lot of hard work to obtain its end results, but they are very much worth it.

Other reviews have captured the gist of this wonderful, accessible, and thorough treatment of Director's 3D functionality. What I would like to add is that Catanese's book is just as current with Director MX as it is with Director 8.5.

If you plan to do 3D in Director MX, either games or presentations, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I'm an IT student and possessing VB & C/C++. I have never learn about 3D and Director before. So when I want to make a Director project (game), I need a book!
And this book is the great answer. Everything you need about Director 3D is in this book! (although this book doesn't cover about Havok Physics Engine).

This book tells you WHAT and HOW, I mean, this book not only tells you HOW to make something (ex: primitive object) but also explains about that thing. (ex: what is a primitive object). So, you're not only able to programm but also understand about WHAT are you doing.

This book explains from basic and the last page explains advance technique. So, if you start from first page and finish the book, you'll become an advance 3D Director programmer (even before you read this, you're nill in 3D Director).

OK, I'll tell you what I get from this book, here is my project: a Multiplayer First Person Shooting (FPS) game! (like Counter Strike, Quake, etc). Notice that this is my FIRST 3D Director project! And I got A!

NB: if you're NOT a programmer and don't WANT to possessing 3D Director programming SERIOUSLY, I don't recommend this book, for this book is code heavy, full of code programming, just try "Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio for 3D: Training from the Source" (by Phil Gross).
Just a note: I learn about Multiuser form Director 8.5 Studio (you won't find about Multiuser in Director's Third Dimension).

My second favorite of the series so far. So much happens in book 8... Things readers have been waiting on since book 5 come about and there's romance and violence and politics and general badassery from my favorite characters. Can't wait to get the next one!

This is a welcome addition to the series. It was a little shorter than I would have liked but it left me satiated.

This volume carries up to Fables 50th issue. And I've got to tell you, it is worth it. Wow!

Warning! Spoilers below!


This is one of my favorite books in the entire FABLES series. It is built around several major events. First, Mowgli continues his long and ultimately successful search for Bigby Wolf, partly because Prince Charming wants him to carry out a mission behind the Adversary's lines and partly to fulfill the requirements to allow the early release of Bagheera for his role in the farm uprising (see Book 2 in the series, ANIMAL FARM). Enlisting major allies in the cloud giants who inhabit a parallel dimension in the sky, Bigby is able to appear near the magic woods surrounding Gepetto's hut, completely destroying them and making it impossible for Gepetto to make new puppets for a few decades when the forest will regrow. Mission accomplished, Bigby and Snow White marry (old hokey ceremony and all, the kind of offensive one where the woman pledges to honor and obey and it concludes with them being named man and wife -- come on Bill! It is the 21st century, even the Fables would have junked that old dusty routine) and settle in the valley where the giants used to sleep. The book concludes with a diplomatic mission to the cloud giants by Cinderella to urge them to finally sign a mutual defense pact. Clearly, in the event of a major conflict, the Fabletown residents are going to need some major help. Having allies who are both giants and accomplished will surely help. But what of those who Cinderella inadvertently offended? Will that one day come back to haunt the Fables?

All in all, another spectacular addition to an outrageously fine series of graphic books.

Volume 8 kinda ties things up in a way that the series probably safely could have ended here (though I see a new one is coming out in June). Bigby and Snow are back. Things just seem to happen. The problem is that it is the weakest of all the Fables volumes so far. It almost makes me nervous about the next volume, but I do mean almost. As a whole this is (and I was a bit surprised) one of the better comic books out there.

This collection of the monthlies opens with reminiscence of a terrible time: the day when the last of the Fables left their magical land. The evacuees made it out one step ahead of the invading armies - and only because the last of their army fought to the death delaying the marauder by that step. Amid the heroism, a tender story goes horribly wrong ...

... then, magically (as most things are among the Fables), seems to go right again. This bit of back-story fills in some of the history of these fairy tale (and often furry tail) beings come to life, but also sets the stage for a new drama in the here-and-now of their exile in our mundane world. Mighty battles rage, unknown to the unmagical mortals around them, while smaller personal trials work themselves out. Oh, and a major windfall turns into a political squabble, kind of like among people of any other kind.

As with good any good series, readers who've followed along are rewarded with extra insight into the actions of and between familiar personalities - yes, real personalities in a comic! I really do suggest that as the best way to work through this long-lived series. But, if you come across any volume at random, don't turn it down. The writers have the knack of welcoming newcomers with stories that make sense, even if you haven't seen the sub-plots building up over the issues that came before. I have to warn you, though, the Fables story line is more addictive than that first peanut. Few readers can or even want to stop at one.

-- wiredweird

The whole idea of characters from legends and fairy tales living among us anonymously may not be completely original but these comics take the notion to a whole new level and they are great fun, part of which stems from trying to figure out who some of them are. Most are pretty easy but a few take a little thought. Flycatcher, for instance, turns out to be the Frog Prince. The characters have escaped from a conqueror known as The Adversary and now live in Fabletown, ruled by (who else) Old King Cole. His trusted assistant is Snow White (ex of Prince Charming), now involved with the sheriff, Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf). Violence, betrayal, graphic sex and a lot of seriously twisted humor abound and this series probably should get an "R" rating. Fun though.

In this volume the Fables are faced with thier worst fear, an invasion by the Advesary from the Homeland. In the story Snow White coordinates the defenses of Fabletown, reenforcements from the Farm are bought in and we see Beast really let loose in this volume. It truly is a great read and I can't stop praising the series I reccomand it to anybody who likes comics but, isn't crazy about superheroes.

I've discovered Bill Willingham's FABLES only recently and I've become an instant fan. And what's not to adore? Great premise. Great characters. Great writing. Super drawing.

While I've loved all the first four books in the FABLES series (I have already ordered 5-7 from Amazon), the third entry, fell just below the best volumes simply because the numbers contained too many arcs. This volume, however, ties all the individual issues together, even the beginning, which focuses on the final battle of the fables against the Adversary. The central story, or the A plot, concerns the near simultaneous arrival of Red Riding Hood and some mysterious fables who have utter disdain for all creatures that they like to refer to as "meat." They turn out to be the title characters of the story. The great battle for Fabletown that culminates the volume is both brilliantly written and drawn.

In future I think I will recommend the FABLES series above all others to people who are completely new to the world of adult comics. They are immediately accessible in a way that other masterpieces like the Sandman books are not (I'm not saying that Gaiman is inaccessible, but that they are better appreciated if they are not the first graphic novels one reads). And the blend of drama, comedy, fantasy, and action would appeal to anyone not blinded by an anti-intellectual disdain of "popular" art (the irony being that self-styled intellectuals who disdain graphic art do so by being amazingly close-minded).

A great entry to a great series. Can't wait for my next stack of books to arrive!

Again Willingham produces a phenomenal comic book, this time going into the Fables history with the Adversary. And the battle.

Really, there isn't a better way to describe this series (especially this volume). The characters are cute, the situations (minus the dramatic parts) are cute, and their reactions... CUTE! While that may not be enough for some readers, it's enough for many of us. And to be honest... the ones who aren't into cute really would never get into this series in the first place.

In this volume we meet a rather persistent admirer of Kyo & get a little more of his background before Tohru. It's great development & is sure to please fans of the series.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

Yes, the "Best Manga Ever According to Me" award goes to.. FRUITS BASKET!! It's absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! I loved it so much, I've read it 5 times already!
I must admit, sometimes I love Kyo so much it scares me, and this book didn't help.. now I feel bad for him too! This book has lots of character development for Kyo. It was good timing on the writer's behalf. I find myself drawn to the pages where Tohru encounters Kyo in the forest, it's such a perfect scene for him and Tohru.... oh, it makes me want to swoon.....

Alright, now i've been reading manga for about 2 years now and i haven't been hooked on one as much as Fruits Basket! It's amazing, it combines romance with comedy, it's a definate page turner! This one may in fact be my favorite one out of the series so far...it's absolutely amazing! You get to see a side of Kyo you haven't seen yet and this particular manga has alot of character developement in it. It's a definate buy for anyone that wants a good romance/comedy! Not only do you get to see an emotional side of Kyo you haven't seen before, but you also get to see his "true form." Overall, the 6th volume of Fruits Basket is a must read! Kyo is personally my favorite character and you really get to see a side of him you don't normally see and you get to see the relationship between Kyo and Tohru deepen and become alot stronger! Definatly a 10/10!
~alexis~

I'm continuing with Fruits Basket since I have been enjoying the character interaction. Now that I've gotten to volume 6 it's getting easier to recognize the characters, but there's still a lot of cross-cultural stuff that eludes me. The most irritating part to me is...I don't even know how to explain this, but here goes:

Someone (usually a Sohma) is thinking about something. So the words are on the page, not inside thought bubbles or anything, just words on the page. But the pictures are of other people (usually Tohru, or Tohru plus other Sohmas). The thinking person is not always present at the scene being shown. For example, the book has Hatori and Shigure in a conversation. Then we have a few pages of this "someone's thinking" with pictures of Tohru et al. having a fun time. Then at the end of these 5-6 pages, we find that it was Hatori doing the thinking. So I have to go back and reread from the point where he and Shigure were talking, so that I understand what is intended. These books really are a lot of mental work to process at times.

I have picked up the first volume of Ouran High School Host Club to see if it's a problem with me, or a problem with manga in general, or a problem with Fruits Basket. I'll report back after a few more volumes of Fruits Basket!

Dr. Joel Freeman has granted unprecedented access to some of the best kept entrepreneurial secrets. His candor, honesty and humility are woven into the fabric of each page. Dr. Freeman's genuine love for people shines through, as he opens his own archive of personal experiences to assist those that are brave enough to start their own enterprise. I encourage every budding business owner to utilize this book as an instrument of change for business and for life.

Damon Denson
Former Professional Athlete
DamonDenson.com

Wow!! What a tremendous resource. An entrepreneur's bible: the greatest investment you could make in yourself.

Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE
President
Max Sacks International
[...]

I was SO excited when I ordered this book based on the other reviews. It too me one day to read and it left me with more questions than answers...For starters, how to make any of the advice to apply to any business that isn't what the author does?

It is all fine and good that he is successful; but do we need to hear about it in every chapter? Do you have any real world advice for us; or do you just want to toot your own horn?

I am a professional life and business coach for young adults in life transitions. I also operate the Young Adult Crisis Hotline for young adults transitioning in various stages of life. I have used this book to coach young adults through the mountain passes of life's difficult transitions. I also have been using this book in various ways to teach practical entrepreneurship to individuals who want to start their own businesses or who are self-employed as a professional life Coach. It is practical and has easy to follow steps that empower people to know how to work not only hard but smart.

Personally, this book has radically revolutionized the non-profit I founded and operate daily. I took the book apart section by section. Practically applied numerous chapters to the non-profit's marketing and promotional department. We have grown in one year from a local crisis hotline to a national crisis hotline for young adult in difficult life transitions who have life controlling problems. Before using If Nobody Loves You Create the Demand we averaged only six calls a month, now we have sometimes a thousand calls a month nationally, write daily articles on our blog, and still applying learned principles from this book. We operate our non-profit on a shoestring budget and the steps that this book suggested we applied vigorously in promoting our purpose. It was and continues to be a of jolt great wisdom for our organization and the clients that we recommend weekly to read the book for personal growth and development. We are looking forward to the upcoming workbook that will be released soon.

Thank you for contributing to the many young adults who comment "If Nobody Loves You Create the Demand: is amazing road map of entrepreneurship."

[...]

Thanks,
Teddy Awad
Certified Mental Health Professional
Young Adult Crisis Hotline
[...]

This is not just another mediocre motivational book with grandiose theories, but this is one of the most practical books I have ever read for entrepreneurs. Although I have been in business for years, this book is still very helpful to me. Many of the ideas in this book can be put to use immediately, and I have already started applying some of the things I have read. From a business and marketing standpoint, this book is a great tool for the new entrepreneur or for the more experienced person in business. In the book, Joel Freeman is very generous in sharing many of the practical secrets to success he has learned over the years, so the reader gets a wealth of knowledge.

I highly recommend this book! It is a fun and easy read. It breaks down the drawing process step by step, body part by body part getting you on your way to start drawing caricatures like a pro!

Keelan, I am so happy for your success selling your great "How To" book. I have shown it to curious youngsters and it's a wonderful starting point for future Face Hustlers. Concise and fun to look at.

Thanks for the inspiration. I am trying to get mine for sale here as well. Wish me luck!

All the best and Watch out for those Hurricanes!

Sam Klemke
Gypsy Caricaturist

Keelan is a master a simple caricatures, cartooning, and creating abstract design within the face. This book will show a beginner how to understand and create caricatures as well as equipping a novice with the knowledge and tools to sell caricatures in a retail or party environment. This is a great beginner's manual and perfect for anyone trying to understand the "why and how" of basic line-based caricature.

As a seasoned illustrator, character designer, caricaturist, and author of my own caricature book (REJECTS: the Extreme Art of Retail Caricature), I can safely say that my experience in the field has shown me that one of the hardest thing to do is train a new artist to draw a caricature and explain why you make the choice you make. This book is great and will show you just that.

Yap it's a useful Book..it help me a lot in improving my drawing.. learn a lot from this book.. it's a great book to buy! Pic is more than the word, not like others like writing grandmother story.. word more than pic..that would be boring but this book won't..overall this book is very useful to me for drawing pic for my teachers..

For a complete novice who suddenly realised it would be fun to have a go at drawing caricatures, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Other "how to" books on the subject left me feeling inadeqate and incapable of drawing anything resembling my victims. When Keelans book safely and quickly arrived to me here in the UK, the easy step by step illustrations immediatley gave me the confidence and skill I was lacking and my results have rapidly improved.

I now find myself staring a strangers trying to decide how I would tackle their caricature by wondering what their head shape is and how their features are arranged. Thanks Keelan!

Whether you want a monolingual English dictionary to help expand the vocabulary of your intermediate or advanced ESL students, or you want to help a struggling beginning Chinese student make a link from their language to English, or you have five different language groups in the class and want to discuss with them the items in a kitchen or fruits or vegetables, the Oxford Picture Dictionary can be a great help. Since the subject-numbering for the pages in all versions of the dictionary are the same, all language groups can listen to the English pronunciation and read the same word in their own language without searching for the right page.
The indivisual students or the teacher needs to help control the rate that the oral words are introduced. Using Pause/Play on the computer for independent or group study or having the teacher or assistant read to the group are both possible. An Advance button on the computer would be much easier than Play/Pause. Maybe there is such a thing, just need to know.
A more accesable list of all the languages included in this publication would be useful. I can find most, but I never know if I've found them all. Over all, this is an extremely useful publication.

This well-structured and nicely illustrated English/Spanish dictionary is a good resource which could easily have been made excellent. Where it comes up short is the lack of bilingual coverage for many entries.

Though the product description does flag the fact that the dictionary's purpose is to "meet the needs of today's English language learners," the layout of the dictionary gives the impression that it is for English speakers learning Spanish as the initial entries are given in English. However, many examples -- most notably the practice exercises -- are given in English only. This could prove frustrating for those wanting learn or expand their Spanish with it or vice versa.

I have been teaching French, Spanish and ESL for many years. I have tried every teaching tool I could find. I can honestly say, this book is the best language tool ever! My students take this book with them everywhere they go and they are the ones who started calling this their "bible."

Apr 5, 2008: Has all sorts of practical vocabulary for everyday situations: household vocabulary, garden care vocabulary, medical vocabulary and many other situations. Would be valuable to communicate with Spanish speaking employees who may have limited literacy, because it is a picture book aimed at adult immigrants. Has lots of words for tools, car repair and furniture that you don't get in high school textbooks.

I am an English as a Second Language Instructor. Every time we use the class set of Oxford Picture Dictionaries my students always want to purchase them. I get a lot of requests for these. I see the students using them all of the time. It increases their knowledge of English & their confidence. I highly recommend it for anyone learning English or Spanish!

No obtiene la quinta estrella por no hacer referencia alguna al manejo de los archivos BVH. Por lo demás, genial!

This book has become one of my references for Poser 6. It's clearly written and covers topics from basic to advanced. I recommend this book for anyone learning or using Poser 6!

It was very easy to follow and made it easy to learn Poser 6.

I avoid buying software books because many of my past purchases were a complete waste of money. The authors rehash the software's free manuals and provide explanations and tutorials so basic that it seems their target reader is somebody who bought their first PC just last week.

Based on strong reviews, I took a chance and bought Practical Poser 6. I'm not going to cover the content, which is already described very thoroughly in other reviews here. I'll just say that if you have tried to use Poser without any tutorial or learning aids, this book is for you. I had a copy of Poser 5 and had just bought Poser 6 a few weeks before getting this book. My measure of a good instructional book is how much it taught me that I didn't know already. I estimate 50-60% of this book contains info that I'd only have learned by painful trial-and-error, and was really useful to me. And this is not to say that it's for experienced users only -- whether you're just starting out with Poser or already have a few years of experience, there's some explanations, tips and general good reading in this book for you. Highly recommended!

I found Practical Poser 6 a valuable training tutorial into the world of 3D graphics. Not only did it explain the functions and usages of Poser 6 in understandable terms, it illustrated examples in easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. This book is a recommended must-have for individuals who are thinking about entering the realm of 3D graphics or serious artists who want to refine their technique and squeeze a little more 'mileage' from their programs. A first-rate, well written book in it's field.

Amazon says this is issues 1-18, but it isn't. I was worried since vol 3 is 13-20~. I didn't want to buy the 5 whole issues again, but thankfully just amazon was wrong. everywhere else says -12 and 13-. Aside from that, great book, great story, nice hard cover with a simple logo, looks better than a bible. I'm purchasing volume 3 and the Dead End Kids book very soon.

This second hardcover of the Runaways is as amazingly well-done as the first hardcover.

Included in this trade is Runaways Volume 2 issues #1-12, as well as the X-Men/Runaways Free Comic Book Day crossover from 2006.
The Story Arcs:
True Believers (issues 1-6)
Star-Crossed Lovers (issues 7-8)
East Coast/West Coast (issues 9-12)

The X-Men/Runaways crossover is correctly placed in this trade, after issue 12, where it takes place.

Superb characterizations extend the simple (yet extremely interesting) original idea that control and authority are two very different things.
These three hardcover volumes rework, refine and re-explore that idea brilliantly. The seven paperback volumes contain the same material.

Wikipedia may help you avoid buying parts of this amazing saga more than once.

It took awhile for this to arrive but it was worth it. An excellent follow up to the first volume. Runaways is probably BK Vaughan's best Marvel work. I can hardly wait for Volume 3. I wish that Marvel will collect the rest of Runaways issue even though its not by Vaughan in a similar hardcover format. (ie Runaways/Young Avengers: Civil War.
An excellent buy for me.

I said it before and I'll say it again. This is THE way to read Runaways. Under the attractive dust jacket, the cover is made up of a soft black vinyl material that is extremely durable. The book itself is huge, letting you appreciate the art in a way that it may not have been able to be appreciated in the original comics and the infinitely smaller digest trade paperbacks. Plus, the book is loaded with extras.

This time around, we get twelve issues. One six issue arc, one two issue mini-arc, and one four issue arc. The cherry that tops off this Comic Sundae is a twelve page Runaways/X-Men crossover story that was given out on Free Comic Book Day. Other than the original comic, you can't find this story anywhere else. But, that being said, there's no reason why you'd want to. The story is inconsequential and the art is horrific. It's cool as an extra, but don't look forward to it as an epic super-team crossover issue.

Now, about the actual story: I reviewed the individual arcs here Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers and here Runaways Vol. 5: Escape to New York, but I'll reiterate. The stories are great and the dialogue is snappy as always. This is Brian K. Vaughan here. Its elementary knowledge that he'll always deliver a story that'll make you laugh and nod appreciatively at the talent of his writing. The art ranges from okay to great; Alphona isn't great at drawing the major marvel superheroes, but he excels at drawing the major "Runaways" characters. Speaking of those good ol' kids, I'm sure you returning readers are wondering how they've been. Their lives are no less tumultuous than they were in Runaways, Vol. 1, but the situation(s) they're in are nowhere near as epic as that of the first eighteen issues. In fact, this entire volume feels like set-up for a big story to come. That's both exciting and disheartening. This book could've been bigger and included more plot development than hinting at what is going to come, but even so; the more-or-less standalone arcs of this series are always entertaining, funny, and often poignant and, as an aspiring writer, I can safely say that Vaughan's writing is inspiring.

8/10