Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements [Paperback]

Susan Tuttle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2010

Express yourself on a digital canvas

Imagine flying through an inky night sky tethered to a red, heart-shaped balloon. Now imagine expressing that dream artistically. With Digital Expressions you can take ordinary photos and, with the help of Adobe Photoshop Elements, voice your flights of fancy.

Digital Expressions guides you through 25 digital art projects created with Adobe Photoshop Elements. With this easy-to-follow guide, you'll get inspired to tackle all kinds of digital mixed-media techniques using stock photography, custom brushes, textured backgrounds and your own digital photos.

Use your digital palette to:

· Manipulate single images by adding texture layers, color fills and text

· Re-create the look of traditional art like drawings and abstract paintings

· Build collages using transparent layers and photo filters

· Blend seamless montages with various effects

· Incorporate your own traditional art into digital works

Mixed-media artists, art journalers and scrapbookers alike can turn the ordinary into extraordinary! Express yourself in digital form as you learn to master creative digital art techniques.

**Bonus CD includes assorted brushes, photos and textures you can use to create on your own digital canvas.** PLEASE NOTE that one of the images was left off of the CD by mistake. You can download it from the "Books" section of the author's website at ilkasattic.com**

Editorial Reviews

Review

review by Jenny Doh tinyurl.com/25tnjbn

review by Quinn Creative tinyurl.com/28vej3y

review by Jana Holstein, Editor at Stampington & Company tinyurl.com/3sp79c5

review by Digital Photography School tinyurl.com/3qsujfw

review from Book Legion tinyurl.com/42sbztt

About the Author

Susan Tuttle is the author of Exhibition 36 (North Light Books, 2008), a self-taught artist and photographer, and an online digital art and photography instructor who resides in a small, rural town in the state of Maine. In addition to authoring her own books, she is a contributor in various North Light publications like Jenny Doh's Art Saves and Liz Lamoreux's Inner Excavation. Susan has appeared in numerous issues of Stampington & Company publications, including Somerset Studio. You can visit her website at susantuttlephotography.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; Pap/Com edition (May 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160061454X
• ISBN-13: 978-1600614545
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Photography & Video > Adobe Photoshop Elements
  • #10 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Algorithms > Digital Image Processing
  • #10 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Mixed Media

More About the Author

Susan Tuttle resides in a small, rural town in the state of Maine. Her studio, although tiny, has a marvelous view of the woods, which provides countless moments of inspiration as she works -- she enjoys immersing herself in a wide variety of artistic mediums, from digital art and photography to collage, assemblage, and altered art. Susan has a passion for blogging, where she attempts to capture through photographs and the written word, the beauty of all things simple and ordinary in her life. She explores abstract intuitive painting on huge canvases, often with bold colors and patterns. You can often find her at the town dump, collecting vintage discards, metal scraps, and old, dusty books -- which she lovingly brings back to life in her art.

Susan has authored two books: Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements (North Light Books, April 2010) and Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations and Explorations (North Light Books, 2008). Her work can also be seen in a variety of other North Light Books publications, Somerset Studio magazine, and several Stampington & Company special publications. Susan is teaching online digital art classes. Visit her blog at www.ilkasattic.blogspot.com and her website at www.ilkasattic.com for more information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets Revealed, April 24, 2010

By 

Jennifer White (Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

One hit wonder? Not a chance! Susan's second book on creating digital art and she's out done her first book in so many ways! Not only is her second book filled to the brim with detailed lesson after lesson, but the quality of the book itself is amazing. From the page design and layout to the quality of the paper. I can be a bit obsessive about how a book "feels" as well, and this is top notch.

Five chapters with 25 lessons in how to deconstruct the amazing pieces of art that I've admired in magazines and books for years. Being someone that has been intimidated with Photoshop & Photoshop Elements in the past, Susan has laid out step by step instructions that even the hesitant can appreciate. If it wasn't enough that the step by step instructions are simple to follow, she's included a CD full of photos and textures so you don't have to worry about having the "right" picture in your personal stash.

I know I'm gushing here, but I've always been in awe of these types of manipulated photographs and am now able to produce my own. Susan's teaching her secrets this Fall at Valley Ridge Art Studio ([...]) in Wisconsin and I cannot wait to meet her in person and dig deeper in to the art of digital art.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Learning Tool, April 26, 2010

By 

Tammy Pruitt (Marshall, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

What makes this book so special? It actually teaches you how to create amazing digital art. Susan Tuttle is a great teacher. I am so impressed by her teaching methods, her willingness to answer questions, and her encouragement.

In this book, you will see amazing examples of extraordinary digital art and step-by-step instructions on how to create it. You will learn so much in 5 chapters. You will also gain confidence enough to try these techniques on your own photos. Honestly, of all the books I have about learning to create digital art THIS IS TRULY THE BEST.

If you are going to get one book about digital art, this should be the one.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just a Pretty Face, June 9, 2010

By 

Michelle Montague Ellis "Shelley Ellis" (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

My name is Shelley Ellis, and ever since I got a digital camera, I knew there was more I could do with it than just shoot pictures of pretty flowers. Then, I discovered the world of digital art. I was in awe, like seeing the works of Picasso or Dali for the first time. However, like those great artists, they seemed magical and unattainable...that is until I found Susan Tuttle's book, Digital Expressions.

Seriously, I am not at all exaggerating when I say that she combines the best of both of these worlds. Her book could simply be thumbed through and enjoyed by viewing the stunning digital art inside, but the best part is her clear and concise, step-by-step instructions so YOU can create your own piece of art based on the sample. And I truly do mean clear and understandable instructions. As a retired teacher, I know how to give instructions in small steps - so a 2nd grader can follow them - and Susan (a former teacher herself!) does an excellent job of foreseeing and explaining any trouble spots or questions that may come up along the way.

The first 20 pages of Digital Expressions are devoted to a review of how to use Photoshop Elements. Susan says it's not to be used as a replacement for the instruction manual...but, if you're like me, you probably never really took the time to actually read through the entire manual. Or if you did, after a while it all ran together. The first 20 pages in Digital Expressions made it all clear to me. I especially loved her yellow "Digital Detail" boxes where she highlights information or tips that come in particularly handy.

Oh! Just in case all of this isn't enough... Susan is generous enough to include a CD with the book loaded with images to get you started and help you along the way. I am so happy I bought this book. It's just exactly what I needed with 25 different project ideas such as: altering vintage photos, giving photos a hand tinted look, creating sweet realistic looking drawings, adding words to images, layers of backgrounds, photo montages....and so much more!