Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator [Paperback]

Bert Monroy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735709696 | ISBN-13: 978-0735709690 | Publication Date: January 13, 2000 | Edition: 1

In the Digital Masters series, New Riders takes pride in being an innovator in graphics publishing by sharing with the reader a passion for the science and for the art of computer graphics. Bert Monroy: Photorealistic & Illustrator celebrates the reunion of art and science, along with individual artistic accomplishment. This book provides a forum for the master at the highest level to speak directly with his peers and followers about how he crafts his creations, and about why he makes the artistic and technique decisions that help develop his work. Bert Monroy conveys a personal seminar-based approach that is unique to his own techniques and talents. The body of this book reflects the areas of technical expertise and artistic exploration that are important to Bert and his audience.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator offers unique insight into how a master of the craft uses his tools. Monroy's techniques, culled from 20 years of digital image-making, demonstrate the breadth of 3-D photorealistic results that can be achieved using 2-D illustrative tools.

This oversize paperback features useful techniques from real-world projects. In many cases, we get to see the progress of an image, starting with the most basic elements: the lunch napkin thumbnail sketch. From there, it progresses into a more refined image created in Illustrator (which Monroy uses mostly for sketching layouts). After client approval, Monroy takes the Illustrator image into Photoshop for finishing.

Chapters focus on various visual elements: perspective, lighting, textures, reflections, and so on. The richness of the chapter on achieving realistic shadows in Photoshop comes second only to the chapter on painting trees and foliage. If you happen to be a user of 3-D software, you'll also find great ways to create texture maps for 3-D models.

The book doesn't have a companion CD-ROM with project files or texture samples--or a searchable electronic version of the book--but the idea is to learn to do it yourself, not just watch over the shoulder of someone else.

The toolbox of any artist is usually filled with countless devices that are both general and specific in nature, but invariably there are only two or three that are constantly used--the staples of the craft, the tools of the trade. In Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator, we learn how two of these tools in the hands of a master can be used to create exciting and slick images. It's an inspiring book for beginners, and an educational one for advanced users. --Mike Caputo

From the Back Cover

In the Digital Masters series, New Riders takes pride in being an innovator in graphics publishing by sharing with the reader a passion for the science and for the art of computer graphics. Bert Monroy: Photorealistic & Illustrator celebrates the reunion of art and science, along with individual artistic accomplishment. This book provides a forum for the master at the highest level to speak directly with his peers and followers about how he crafts his creations, and about why he makes the artistic and technique decisions that help develop his work. Bert Monroy conveys a personal seminar-based approach that is unique to his own techniques and talents. The body of this book reflects the areas of technical expertise and artistic exploration that are important to Bert and his audience.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press; 1 edition (January 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735709696
• ISBN-13: 978-0735709690
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bert Monroy is one of the most popular speakers at the Photoshop World conference and travels extensively on behalf of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals teaching seminars about Photoshop and Illustrator. In his consulting business, his clients include Apple Computer, Adobe Systems, Pioneer Electronics, Fujitsu, SONY, AT+T, Chevron and American Express, Logitech, and the National Association of Realtors. Bert has also done a considerable amount of film work for Industrial Light and Magic, Pacific Data Images, and R/Greenberg Assoc. His project work includes Forrest Gump and SPAWN.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING. The real deal!, March 17, 2000

By 

DJD "Graphic Designer" (The East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator (Paperback)

I own dozens of computer books. I own 8 on PhotoShop alone. I have learned more about PhotoShop in the past few hours than I have learned from all of those other books combined.

And an amazing thing happened. The package arrived from Amazon, and I opened the book to flick through it as I usually do before sitting down at my computer. Two hours later I was still reading. I never got close to my computer. I was reading this book like a Stephen King novel. I was mesmerized. I was actually understanding everything Mr. Monroy was saying. I didn't need to try it, because it all made so much sense, I knew it would work.

I have spent years trying to figure out the methods artists like Bert Monroy use to get the amazing results they do. Other books by similar PS gurus show you pretty pictures, and ALLUDE to how they accomplish their results, but trying to wade through page after page of their ego leave you frustrated at best.

Mr. Monroy actually dissects some of his amazing artwork and shows you how he created them. I found myself reading his techniques and actually saying "yes!" or "son of a ..." out loud.

If this medium interests you, or you make your living using PS & Illustrator, you NEED this book.

I will state that this book is not for beginners, however. Although the author is crystal clear on his methods, a certain level of knowledge is assumed.

Also, you need PhotoShop AND Illustrator to work through the instructions. But then again, if you are a serious artist, you already have both.

Other than that, I thank the author for this AMAZING book. All I need now is MORE!

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Must" reading for all Adobe users., August 7, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator (Paperback)

Perusing the pages of this elegant book is a doublepleasure. First you find yourself browsing through a paper gallery filled with the extraordinary work of author-artist Bert Monroy. Secondly, you get a hands-on seminar about how to use Adobe's superb software, Photoshop and Illustrator, to create dazzling digital art.

Monroy's vivid images grab you with bright colors, sharp details, and realistic scenes of storefronts, city intersections, deep blue nightscapes, and everyday objects like fruit, marbles, pencils, locks. It seems remarkable that these could be made without scanning a photograph. Monroy's art is the computer-generated equivalent of an international movement called photorealism (or superrealism) which began around the time of the counterculture (late 1960s and early 1970s) and featured paintings with precise rendering of their subjects, all created with photographic clarity.

Monroy explains the philosophy behind this trompe l'oeil:

"This is a book of techniques for tricking the eye. That's what photorealism is all about: making the viewer believe that the image is -- or has its genesis -- in a photograph even though the subject (the image) never existed until you conceived it."

The final section of the book is a sampling of Monroy's work, from the present time to the thrilling moments when he first discovered the Macintosh computer back in 1984 -- pioneer days when the computer could generate no colors, only black, white, and grays. With images as gorgeous as these -- in this section and throughout the book -- it's easy to get carried away and simply enjoy the pictures. Of course, the book has been written not only to visually engage us, but to teach us how to create scores of exquisite effects that simulate real photographs.

In each chapter, Monroy shows us an example of his art then describes how he makes the imaginary look so real. Monroy begins by reviewing some basics of Photoshop and Illustrator. Soon he reveals his methods of going from idea to sketch to shapes. Then he treats us to a lucid chapter about the theory and practice of perspective. In following chapters he demonstrates how to use the Adobe software to create lighting effects, shading, textures, and images that resemble wood, metal, leaves, stone, beans, glass. There's magic here, the kind of magic that keeps us in a state of wonder even after we lean how the tricks are done.

Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator is about the place where the slickest splendors of Technology converge with the most venerable principles of Art. Artists and art students will find here a dazzling cornucopia of techniques, hard-won secrets, and crafty wisdom. For those of us, less talented, who draw cows like Mondrian rectangles, this book won't transform us into artists with a capital A. Yet its scores of ingenious techniques, its personal revelations by the author, and its inspiring examples -- all will add panache to our productions, and help to make us the best near-artists that we can be...

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Educational and inspiring..., March 9, 2000

By 

Paul H Scates - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Bert Monroy's work for several years and this book is something I've waited on for a long time! In it, he goes into great detail about how he achieves such photorealistic detail using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. He thoroughly covers topics such as perspective, lighting, composition and even goes into detail about how to realistically depict foliage, asphalt, plastics, metal and wood. Several of his popular illustrations are broken down into multi-page "here's how I go about doing this..." sort of walk-through tutorials. Nearly everything in this book can be put to use, whether you're a photorealistic painter, graphic designer or simply doodling hobbyist. The neatest part of the book is the gallery in the back which displays some of his work from 10-15 years ago, during the infancy of computer graphics. The complexity and style has come a long way, but the vision and desire was obviously there from the very beginning. He was one of the very first to use this medium in this way and in my opinion that makes him totally qualified to speak about it and share nearly two decades worth of tips, tricks and techniques. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in: a) digital art b) photorealistic art c) Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator d) anyone who is interested in how a very talented and skilled artist does what he does.