Customer Reviews

Illustrator 9 for Dummies

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book is well written and easy to read with good graphics for a beginner level user. It provided exactly the information I was searching for. The program is very intuitive to use as the book shows. I wanted to learn how to develop my own templates and logos. I have not been able to find a clear explanation anywhere as how to do this until I found this book. I mainly use Illustrator because it has more drawing tools provided with it. A good book that covers this subject clearly. I've been working with different versions of Illustrator for over 5 years now, but I bought both of Alspach's books (beginning and advanced) to learn "everything" I could about Illustrator. This book was an excellent tutorial, well written, and patient. Exercises were educational and the book just seemed to move along at a good pace. I was impressed.

I've been using Illustrator 8 for awhile and decided to pick up this book to come up to speed with Version 9. In fact, I bought it because the reviewers on this site recommended it so highly. Unfortunately, I disagree with the other reviewers: this book is a real disappointment.

One thing I expect from a book like this is an overview of the various tools, but the author never summarizes the tools or their icons in one central location. Descriptions are scattered throughout the text. As you go through the various procedures to create artwork, he refers to these tools but forgets to show a picture of the tool he refers to. This forces the user to go through the toolbox until they find the right tool and even then, I am not positive because the tooltips don't always show up. I write user documentation for a living, and while the dummies books don't fall into the same class, I still expect basic information at my fingertips.

The information on paths is poorly explained. Truthfully, it is a difficult topic, but Alspach does nothing to make it easily understood and this concept is the heart and soul of the program!

In good conscience, I cannot recommend this book for beginners. Spend your money on something else.

I picked up this book last week and was able to feel comfortable using Illustrator in just a few days. I'm still not an expert, but I've been able to create all sorts of artwork using Illustrator tools and features. This is very well organized and structured.

I'm quite impressed and satisfied with this book. This book presents an excellent introduction to and overview of Illustrator 9. It is very accessible to beginners and provides useful information for more experienced users. For visual learners (like myself), the illustrations are a great help. It's challenging to take a complex subject and express it simply, clearly, concisely, and comprehensively. This book meets the challenge.

I purchased this book for my new student worker. He was able to go through the book in about 40 hours and learned the basics of Illustrator 9 in that time. He was able to start from clicking on the icon to finishing a drawing in this time frame. This book has even helped me in learning some of the new features in version 9 and I have been using Illustrator for 13 years.

The day I got this book, I turned to page 1 and started reading. Two hours later, I had made it only to page 80. Why? Because this book is DENSE and FULL of tips and tricks that will expand the horizons of the beginning or intermediate designer. I spent a lot of time studying the numerous examples in order to soak up all the information that was being presented.

I've been using Illustrator since 1992 and now teach it at a community college. And yet with every turn of the page, I learned something new.

This is a truly useful and excellently detailed book. Not only to look at, although the book is illustrated quite well, of course. And the author has evidently been forthcoming with his secrets and "inside knowledge" of Illustrator. This is potent and useful stuff.

The book is extremely well organized, with each chapter building on the previous one. The chapters are labeled with fun, yet not condescending or childish, labels that make it a simple matter to know what you'll find within the pages. There are many excellent step-by-step examples; they walk you step-by-step through recreating each effect and function.

t

The Illustrator for Dummies book is well written, and it is evident that lots of research has gone into this project. I have used Mr. Alspach's books as resource materials in the past and the quality of this book rates with the others I have read. I would highly recommend it for the beginner as well as the experienced user. Anyone using Illustrator would be well served in having this book as a source of reference.

One of the most complex features in Illustrator 9 is the transparency options. This book covers it all, from opacity masks to knockout groups. I learned everything I needed to about this and many other features from this book.

This book is chock full of goodness regarding Illustrator 9. Entire chapters on Appearance and Transparency are included. I compared this to most of the other books out there, and this book, though clearly intended for beginners, covers the new 9 features in more depth than most other sources!