Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Elements One-Click Wow!

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Don't tell a soul what Jack and Linnea have done! With only 58 pages, hopefully most Photoshop and Photoshop Elements users will skip this book and move on to one of the more expensive and extensively promoted Adobe books.

But between you and me, what's on the CD totally eliminates the need for those books. This one doesn't swamp you with a lot of text and redundancy -- it can't. What it does do is give you pre-configured "Layer Styles" to instantly produce stunning results the others hope to teach you with a few hundred or thousand words.

For instance: you can buy one of those "Killer Tips" books to try and figure out how to do the trendy plastic "Gel" effect, or agonize over the Mac Design tutorial page after page, feeling more like road kill than a killer tips -- or, unwrap "One Click WOW" the second it arrives -- forget about reading -- pop in the CD, instal, open a new file, load "Plastic" styles and select #16 and presto -- big, beautiful Gel type! And you did it faster than it took you to read this review! Or Chrome or mud, or rust, or neon, or brick or glass or diamonds or brass or ice or crystal or ... well, you get the picture.

I knocked out a header for a user group web site -- nailed the new Clear button look -- and it took all of ten seconds flat.

There are more than 300 excellent effects, each of which is fully modifiable and expandable to literally unlimited combinations. It sounds too good to be true -- but it really works. . Use these Layer Styles as they are, or modify to your desires. Elements users will LOVE the recipes... but don't stop there: vignettes, frames, borders, tints, textures, patterns, grains and darkroom effects are a click away eliminating the need to read a single word of someone else's idea of cool.

For years Jack and Linnea have WOWed us with their classic WOW books... but this one? Well, this one just takes the cake.

But, you really shouldn't tell any one. You're gonna want to keep this one all to yourself.

April Editor's Choice in the Design & Publishing Center and Design-Bookshelf.com

When I got this book with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, I found three surprises:

-- The book refers to Photoshop Elements 1.0, while the current version being sold is 2.0;

-- The explanatory text is for, and all the screenshots are from, the Apple Macintosh;

-- The book is a very slender 58 pages ... and the text really ends on page 19!

That said, there's a lot here to like. Adobe Photoshop Elements One Click Wow! (do I really have to write the whole title again?) is not a manual; Adobe Photoshop Elements comes with a very nice printed manual that's over 250 pages long. Instead, it's a collection of slick styles you can apply to your images and layers to create some very cool effects. These layer styles are on the enclosed CD-ROM, and *that* is what you're spending your money on.

Dispensing with the tutorials in about 20 clear, information packed pages, the rest of the book is your 'catalog' of the styles and effects that One-Click Wow! includes. As a sample, here is the list from the table of contents, under "Graphic & Type Effects:"

Chromes
Metals
Glass, Ice & Crystal
Gems & Smooth Stones
Plastics
Polished & Textured Woods
Rock, Brick & Other Textures
Weaves & Patterns
Strokes, Fills & Shadows
Glows, Neon & Halos

In short, the software is a huge toolkit of great-looking textures, gradients, effects and styles to improve the look of your photographs or graphic art from within Adobe Photoshop Elements.

A cynic might suggest that One-Click Wow! is really software being sold as a book, and as so, perhaps not worth the price-tag. However, the book is nicely printed on heavy-stock paper, the tutorial chapters are good, and 38 pages of 'catalog' really are more useful than the tiny thumbnails that show up in Photoshop Element menus.

In summary, I recommend this book and it's disc to anyone wishing to learn more about, and get more out of, Adobe Photoshop Elements.

In just a matter of minutes, you will be doing the unbelieveable with your photos. It's quick, simple and easy to use! Book is very self explanitory and the CD that comes with the book is packed full of various layer styles that will turn your boring, everyday snapshots into works of art!. The CD alone is worth the price by itself. For those who haven't yet purchased Adobe Elements, there is a trial version on the CD also, so you can check out the potential of "Elements" before spending the money.!
The authors flat did their homework on this one!! I can't see anyone regretting the purchase of this software package, especially those who are new to Adobe. Although being designed for Adobe Elements, this software will also work with the full version of photoshop also. Just follow the instructions! But it is a MUST have for "Elements" users.

This was an impulse purchase and I really had NO idea what I was getting....very new to Elements it threw me right into a major learning curve...had not dealt with layers before...nor text in Elements...didn't know it could be done...took a few days to get my knowledge up to speed, but this was good. What they have done is combine several steps into a one click thing...add frames to pictures, and make your writing REALLY cool!!!! My major disappointment was that there wasn't more to choose from...particurly in the frame dept. I was working with a whole bunch of pictures and got bored adding the same frames over and over...but have barely touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to styles for text and graphics. There are also some background fill things that I have not yet played with...a fun book that was good for me, but maybe not everyone...

This CD and reference are excellent. What can I add to Fred Showkers review, except to add my voice :-)

This is a quick way to produce very professional looking effects. No tacky designs here and anyone can do it. The book does however break down how some of the effects were made so you can make your own if you so desire. It also teaches you how to edit the effects if you want to.

The CD is usable for any level of user of Photoshop Elements or even in Photoshop. It's worth far more than the asking price.

When Adobe introduced Photoshop Elements it had a low-end program for newcomers to digital photography. It based the cut-down Elements program on its expensive and complex main Photoshop program. However, when you buy Elements you are actually installing quite a lot of the main program (even though no menu commands exist to use new features), and people have been finding ways to exploit the advanced features of Photoshop that Adobe thought would be too complex for Elements users.

Several web sites and two books supply software to advance the capabilities of Elements. One book lets you use some of the professional-level features of the main program, and the other provides some wild effects. That book is the One-Click Wow book I'm reviewing here (the other one is Richard Lynch's The Hidden Powers of Photoshop Elements).

Years ago I wrote a book on Photoshop version 3, and even without enhancements Photoshop Elements 3 is close to being equal to it. The effects in One-Click Wow can be done in several steps in the Main Photoshop program, and in fact that's how they're produced. Unfortunately the effects are of the "take it or leave it" variety - there's no way of altering them - but luckily Jack Davis has produced effects that will appeal to most people.

Because this is a "cheat" and not an officialy approved set of program extensions, you have to manually copy the extensions from the CD to your hard drive. If Elements is running you need to reboot, and then you'll find them listed in the menus for Layer Effects and other places.

One set of extensions work on photographs, and as well as those allowing you to change the appearance of the whole photograph there are other effects that let you add frames or edges. There's a whole series of effects that allows you to change a photograph so that it looks like a painting.

The major set of effects works on graphics and type. They'll change your designs and words to look like chrome or many kinds of natural materials, as well as plenty that look like neon signs. In fact there are several hundred effects, as well as extra brushes and patterns.

It's easiest to see this product not so much as a book, but more like a software add-on with an instruction manual that gives examples of almost every effect - in full color. There's even a multi-page tutorial in using the effects which should explain all you need to know about how to use them.

Davis has been producing the Photoshop Wow books of effects since the beginning of the main program, so the effects here will make a major difference to your pictures. What I've also noticed is the way Davis crops his pictures which is a tutorial in itself - he crops very tightly and you can see the improvement.

So if you can see a copy of this book before you buy it, take a look because what you see is what you're going to get. For most people it's a no-brainer buy, especially since even if you had the main Photoshop program you'd have to do numerous activities on your pictures to equal what you get here.

For the price, it's an amazing bargain for the extra powers you get. I have both this and The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements, and the two of them make Elements a much more powerful and worthwhile program.

I have had Photoshop Elements 2 for over a year, but until I got this book and CD ROM I had no idea just how creative I could be with the program. There were a lot of effects that I tried to apply to my art but did not quite get the results I desired. This book has helped me unleash my "creative genius". As graphic design student, I have found it to be the best investment I have made besides my computer components. You will find the book helpful, as well, to view the layer styles before applying them to your art. I had found at first that I spent a great deal of time applying and deleting styles and effects before finding the right one, and then I read the book (duh!). I found full-color samples of all the different presets contained on the disk scattered throughout the chapters. It is a small book, but it is very content-rich.

I had used Photoshop 7 in the graphic design lab at school , but I could not afford to buy it. This book and PSE 2 together cost less than $100, and I have no problem duplicating lessons and completing projects at home that are supposed to be done using PS 7.

Alright, all you Photoshop and Photoshop Elements geeks, here's a way to truly amaze your friends with your hidden artistic talents. No longer will you have to spend hours experimenting or following intricate step-by-step directions in other expensive and wordy books to create professional effects with photos, types and graphics. With One-Click Now!, all it takes is a click of the mouse to create stunning effects that will make you an instant PS artist! No kidding! And the price is right! With AAUG's 20% discount at Peachpit Press, this book and CD costs less than $25!

This is the third edition of the popular One-Click Wow! series by Jack Davis and it works with Photoshop Elements 2 and 3. Looks can be deceiving: the "book" is only 97 pages long, and only 21 pages are tutorial text, the rest are full color samples and explanations of the styles that are on the CD. The treasure lies in the CD that accompanies the book as it contains over 300 custom styles that can be applied with a click of the mouse to create remarkable effects.

The instructions are easy to follow. One-Clock Wow! is copied into the Presets folder in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 or 3. To start using the layer styles, open PSElements, under "Widow" open the "Styles and Effects" palette and then a menu listing of the "WowPSE" effects will appear. There are 21 categories of effects: Edge Styles, Frame Styless, Tint FX Styles, Color FX Styles, Darkroom Styles, Grain Styles, Texture Styles, Chrome Styles, Metal Styles, Glass Styles,, Gem Styles, Plastic Styles, Wood Styles, Rock Styles, Organic Styles, Fabric Styles, Stroke Styles, Halo Styles, Glow Styles, Button Styles, Overlay Styles. Figuring out which style to apply to ehance your photo, text or graphic can be done through experimenting with the many layers of each style. Better yet, consult the book to see samples of each style. The book divides styles into three categories: Styles for Photos, Styles for Type and Graphics and Other WOW! Presets. In each category there are samples to save you the trial-and-error effort. Layer styles can be combined and also modified to create an almost endless array of effects to jazz up your photos, put zest into your text or create eye-popping effects. The book presents many examples of combined layers that show the versatility of PSElements. I spent hours recreating samples that were provided in the book and experimenting. I caution you to be judicious in the use of your color printer to see your handiwork as you can use up expensive cartridges quickly!

My one recommendation to improve the book is to simplify the text which explains the samples. The book designer uses a running column of text which makes it a bit challenging to follow. Here is an excerpt from the book:

26 Glow 10 turns the lines of
this logo into neon tubes in the
"off" state. 27 Glow 08 turns
the neon "on." 28 Stroke 18

Here's how I would have preferred it to appear:

26) Glow 10 turns the lines of this
logo into neon tubes in the "off" state.

27) Glow 08 turns the neon "on."

Adobe Photoshop Elements One-Click Wow! is an exceptional value and it will turn any amateur PSElements user into an instant semi-pro. Volunteer to produce a flyer or poster and use a couple of the layer styles included in One-Click Wow! and your friends and co-workers will be amazed by your talents. I know of one professional graphic artist who uses One-Click Wow!, afterall, why reinvent the wheel? For less than $30, you get the entire wheel and a whole lot more!

This book and CD come with a library packed with presets for Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3. You will find over 500 layer styles and effects, dozens of textures and shapes, lots of media brushes and 40+ gradients. And they are all professional quality. The presets are divided into three major categories; styles for photos, styles for type and graphics, and web button styles. There are also general presets such as repeatable textures and patterns, shadows and embossing, ghost (semi-transparent) backgrounds and overlays.

The book that comes with the CD teaches you how to use the presets and also sparks your creativity with a full color gallery of examples. The author, Jack Davis, starts with a One-Click WOW Quick Start tutorial that helps you to install and explore the goodies on the CD. His next few sections introduce you to Photoshop Elements layer styles and explain how to scale, copy, combine and further customize the presets. Lastly, Davis explains how to save your creations and output them in various formats.

Jack Davis is a designer and photographer and specializes in digital imaging and design. He is one of the Photoshop Dream Team instructors and teaches on the WOW Seminar Tour.

I really wish I had discovered this earlier! I received it yesterday and have already fell in love with the wide array of add-ins that are included on the cd. The book is a great tool to quickly identify the effect that I want. This is a must-have for anyone who has Photoshop Elements!