Illustrator CS Killer Tips [Paperback]

Dave Cross (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321272242 | ISBN-13: 978-0321272249 | Publication Date: June 12, 2004 | Edition: 1

Over 300 productivity enhancing secrets you need to know about Illustrator CS. Fully illustrated, stand-alone tips reveal the hidden features and productivity-enhancing tricks that allow you to accomplish more in less time with Illustrator cs. Easy-to-browse format lets you find and apply information instantly and includes many tips and techniques that focus on Illustrator cs' new features: 3D extrusion, enhanced type capabilities, expanded print options, and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Cross is Senior Developer, Education and Curriculum for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. In that role he is involved in all aspects of the training that is provided to NAPP members, including the content of seminars, conferences and workbooks. He also creates the very popular weekly QuickTime-based tutorials that appear on the members website.

Prior to joining the NAPP, Dave lived in Canada and spent many years as a trainer and author, training thousands of users across North America. For several years he ran his own training center, the Digital Media Learning Centre, teaching classes on Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Quark Press and InDesign. Dave is the co-author of two very difficult to find books: Photoshop 7 & Illustrator 10: Create Great Advanced Graphics and Photoshop 7 Trade Secrets (both from Friends of Ed) and is a contributing writer to Photoshop User and Mac Design magazines. He has also written articles for Create magazine and Professional Photographer. Dave was featured on a series of Illustrator and Photoshop instructional videos and CD-ROMs from Learnkey Inc, and now appears on Photoshop and Illustrator DVDs produced by KW Computer Training. He is a member of the PhotoshopWorld Instructor Dream Team, teaches at the Mac Design Conference and is Lead Instructor for the Photoshop Seminar Tour. Dave is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS, a Certified Technical Trainer and Adobe Certified Instructor.

Dave lives in Odessa, Florida with his wife Marlene and his children Stephanie and Michael.

Felix Nelson is the Senior Art Director of Photoshop User magazine and is Creative Director for National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). He's also Art Director of Mac Design magazine and is co-author of the bestselling "Photoshop Killer Tips" books, and an instructor with the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (June 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321272242
• ISBN-13: 978-0321272249
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,576,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I work for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) where I spend all my time teaching Photoshop (and related topics). This includes writing articles, authoring books and recording DVDs and weekly short Quicktime tutorials. I also co-host along with Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski the weekly video podcast Photoshop User TV, teach at Photoshop World and travel the country teaching one-day seminars. I am an Adobe Certified Expert and Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop CS4 and a Certified Technical Trainer.

You can read my daily blog at davecross.blogspot.com or follow me on Twitter @davecross.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Tips and Tricks in Illustrator, January 7, 2005

By 

V. Maciulski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Illustrator CS Killer Tips (Paperback)

This book is not as big and beefy as some of the 800+ page books I have been reviewing, and I consider that a good thing! This book is nothing but tips, so you don't have to wade through long tutorials or read about the theory of vectors to get what you want.

Since it is only tips, you need to know at least the basics of using Illustrator to put the information to work.

These are great tips. Some, I never expected, such as how to grab the "Twist" tool from your copy of Illustrator 10 and import it into Illustrator CS. It seems that in their infinite wisdom, Adobe developers decided to remove it from the Tool Palette in CS and make it a pull down menu where you have to enter a numerical value. Many of us prefer to chose the tool from the palette and apply the twist or twirl visually, rather than have to guess what numerical value will give the results we want.

There are wonderful tips on editing PDF files, how to make a fraction, put type on a circle, rotate individual characters, create evenly spaced tabs, create colored text and text boxes, switch between Type and Selection Tools quickly, reveal hidden objects in your drawing, and more.

I particularly liked the tip on how to smooth lines you are drawing by holding down the Option key as you draw. And, as someone who prefers keyboard commands, I appreciated the section at the front that tells you how to customize your own, as well as the hidden keyboard commands discussed at the end of the book. And, the section on making customized Arrowheads comes in handy.

Until I read this, I had no idea there was a Symbolism chooser. (Hold Command + Option as you click and hold on any Symbolism tool and a Chooser pops up with all the choices.)

And who knew you could get Illustrator to calculate complex transformations for you? Say you want to create a box that is exactly 3 inches square and apply a 12 point stroke. Illustrator applies the stroke to the center of the line, giving you 6 points outside the line on each side. In the Transform palette, you can tell it to make the box 3 inches minus 12 points, so your box will end up exactly 3 inches square, including the stroke. There are two tips on page 74 that explain it well.

If you already know how to do basic Illustrator tasks, or even if you are an advanced user, this book holds lots of little gems for you.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of useful tips, June 14, 2004

By 

aaron baker (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrator CS Killer Tips (Paperback)

First, don't be thrown off by the cover picture - the actual one is slightly different. I bought a copy at the Mac Design conference and the design is different. Also, it's written by Dave Cross, not Dave and Felix Nelson. (I mention this since some people seem put off when the details on amazon don't match up with the actual book)
Apart from that, I am extremely happy with this book. I use Illustrator every day and this is what I was looking for! There are no lessons, no tutorials, just tips that help me work faster. Not every tip was brand new to me, but there were quite a few reminders of things I probably knew at some time. (that in itself was very useful) There were several tricks and shortcuts that will save me a TON of time and those alone make the book worthwhile. There's some pretty nice artwork mixed in to illustrate the tips.
Overall, highly recommended, for all levels of Illustrator user. Don't buy this if you're looking for a book to teach you Illustrator CS. Buy it if you already know the program and want to take your skill to another level.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great help to speed up my work., June 28, 2004

By 

Leslie (Santa Fe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrator CS Killer Tips (Paperback)

I have "dabbled" in Ilustrator since version 6. My main app is Photoshop but I jump into Illustrator every now and then and get my work done, but always wonder if there isn't an easier - or quicker way. That's what I like about this book. Just tips to help me get things done more quickly. Not every tip was useful right now, but I know I'll be refering to this book a lot. Even the so-called "basic" tips included a few things I didn't know.
Well done, lots of useful tips that "cut to the chase!"