Customer Reviews

Creative Photoshop: Digital Illustration and Art Techniques (Digital Workflow)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book on a whim and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of its content. Lea takes readers step by step through simple and very complex design techniques. His instructions are easy to follow and, unlike many other Photoshop books I have picked up, just as easy to apply to other projects!

Having access to the author through the reader forum on the book website makes this an even more useful tool. Any tips that might seem vague are easily explained by the man who wrote the book - and other readers that have overcome similar problems. I have worked through several books on Photoshop, but this has been the best by far!

This is a great book for those who are familiar with the basic tools of Photoshop, but who would like more practical advice on how to use them. A lot of the Photoshop books on the market just rehash things that can already be found in the users manual. This book, instead of wasting time telling you what a brush is, jumps straight into showing you how to use the tools at your disposal to achieve the effects that you want.

What I found particularly useful about this book is that nearly half of it covers illustration and art techniques rather than just photo manipulation. Among the skills that you can learn in this book are:

*how to create Painter-like effects in Photoshop
*how to illustrate characters using shape layers
*how to create realistic looking graffiti art and stencils
*how to transform a photo into an illustration
*how to transform a sketch into an illustration
*how to create retro-style art as in 50's advertising posters
*coloring comic art using Photoshop

In addition to these skills, this book teaches a lot of mixed media type of techniques. For example, you can learn how to use the photocopier or fax machine to achieve a certain effect in your art. Also, how to use scanned textures to add a sense of realism to your digital art.

I really recommend this to those who are looking to use Photoshop for graphic design, illustration, or comic work. You'll learn a lot of techniques that will make your art shine.

I have never met a Photoshop book that has enraptured me like this one. This guy is fantastic, he brings a new look to the power of Photoshop. I don't know a Photoshop user who won't be challenged and inspired by this book. It encompasses everything from collage and montage to painting and vector drawing and in a very accessible way. It's a winner it should get 6/5 stars.

One of the best Photoshop books I've seen recently. Engaging artwork, nice writing, technically sound [and pretty advanced]. 5 stars without hesitation.

I picked up Martin Evening's book on Photoshop for Photographers from this series and I was just blown away with how good it was, so I picked up this one thinking it would help me expand my artistic side. I wasn't as excited. It's not that there is anything wrong with this book, it's just a little misleading I think from some of the descriptions I read prior to purchase. This book is GREAT if you are an artist by nature already and want to transition into a digital work flow. It will have you doing cool stuff in no time at all. It will teach you all photoshops tools and how to use them to make art. However, if you are already pretty good on the digital illustration side already and were hoping to expand your artistic techniques and skills, aka just get more "creative", and this is where I am, I know photoshops tools and shortcuts inside out, then you might be a little let down. There's just more of a focus on using the photoshop tools to make art, such as refining the brush tool options to get a realistic brush stroke, than on artistic concepts like doing better, more realistic shading or how to inspire yourself to make more creative art. Don't get me wrong - there's some great artwork and ideas in here, but you don't need to buy a book to see great inspiring artwork (the internet has plenty)... So, it's either great or just good - ask yourself where you are and go from there.

I'm finally learning to design with Adobe after completing 'Adobe's Classroom in a Book for Photoshop CS3'. I had a general understanding of how all the parts work, but not a clue where to start in creating something. Derek Lea's book, 'Creative Photoshop' was the perfect next step. I am completing each chapter using my own images instead of the one's he provided and I am actually learning how to do it. What I especially appreciate, is that this author includes all the steps you need to complete each project. I have started other books and gotten stuck because they have either left out steps or assumed I knew more than I do.

This is a wonderful book. Lea knows Photoshop well enough to produce anything he can imagine, and the man has a great imagination! He wields the Gradient tool like a painter uses a brush, and exercises blend modes to the max. And that's just a tiny part of what he shows how to do in this book. Reading the book is like taking a master class in the studio.

He has a wonderful way of teaching. For instance, in some places he starts right out and leads the reader step-by-step through a process, but then stops and encourages a look back, a mental synthesis of what has been accomplished and how it worked. So you get the pleasure of the accomplishment right away, but you also end up knowing what it was you just did - helpful, of course, if you ever want to go back and use the techniques in your own work.

If you're an expert, you can get a lot out of the book, just by reading and looking at the pictures. If you're intermediate in your Photoshop experience, working through the examples with the files Lea has included should be a great education. If you're a motivated beginner, the book may require a bit of a stretch as you read and work the examples, but I think you'll find it well worth the time invested.

Creative Photoshop: Digital Illustration and Art Techniques (Digital Workflow)by Derek Lea is a valuable book to add to your collection if you are interested in graphics and creative photography. I especially liked the clear instructions on how to layer images, combining different pictures, and make the end result look like a single real object, such as the image on the cover. Thiese clear steps are in an extensive section on Illustrative Photography. In his directions, Mr. Lea incorporates many helpful ways of using Photoshop's vast array of tools. I have not seen these tricks taught in other places. They must come from extensive experience.

I'm not into graphics, so the chapters on painting and stenciling with Photoshop were not of interest to me. But I learned a lot from the processes that Mr. Lea incorporates to produce an end result.

Derek Lea has an excellent way of communicating easy-to-understand instructions. This book is a valuable reference, along with The Adobe Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby and "Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: A professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop" by Martin Evening (from Focal Press).

I am an instructor in digital arts courses and a working professional so maybe my expectations are a bit high but I didn't satisfy either of my expectations with this book:
1. Discover some interesting, efficient techniques for working within the boundaries of the traditional/digital interface in Photoshop.

2. Discover some engaging, inspiring new design and art.

Another complaint I have relates to the publishing budget, which must have been a bit stringent, because the font size was tiny and dense paragraphs of instruction are crammed together on each page.