Customer Reviews

Painter 6 f/x and Design

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

 

 

Since expressing my frustration (below), I have since gotten some satisfaction from the publisher. I contacted The Coriolis Group's Technical Support Dept. (1-800-410-0192; JoannD@coriolis.com), and they indicated that defective disks were included with "some" of the books. If you have any problems with the CD, contact them, and they will send you a replacement. So far, it seems to work fine--and it includes Mac files that work in Painter! (So five stars for the tech support team.)

Now that I've been able to actually work through more of the book, I'd modify my total star score to a two (hence my three stars on this review to average my one star below). This text attempts to be helpful, but it is extremely disorganized--the first chapter jumps around haphazardly and does not make obvious connections between ideas. In the section on layers, for example, the authors leap into masks (a related but different topic) without warning, launching into a tirade about all the things the program can't do that they think it should; only after a couple pages do you get to what masks *can* do and how to use them.

The authors are trying, and I have picked up a few useful tips. Except for a meager center section in full color, the entire text is in black and white, making it hard to see what's going on in many of the screen shots. I don't think the book is as thorough or as well organized as it could be, and there are numerous mistakes that left me scratching my head and having to decipher the authors' meaning (even menu commands are incorrectly listed!); however, it has some uses.

If I were to choose a book to learn Painter 6, I'd use the user's manual that comes with the program and the Painter 6 WOW! book--the latter is incredible, in full color throughout, and overflowing with useful tips and hints. Rather than giving you formulaic, step-by-step lessons, the WOW! book shows you real art and describes the process and techniques for getting there. It treats you more like a creative individual. If it wasn't too late, I'd be returning my Painter 6 F/X & Design book for a refund.

So far, I have wasted an inordinate amount of time trying to get the files on the companion CD to work. This book promises a CD for both Mac and Windows operating systems, but Mac users be forewarned--you must first convert the libraries using a utility (CopyRSR). Regrettably, the utility file included is PC based, so I had to find the utility elsewhere for the Mac. When I finally had the utility and used it to convert the file, I then had to modify the Mac type and creator codes using ResEdit or NortonUtilities. I have now modified the types on six different files using three different applications (and I am not a novice!)--NONE OF THEM WORK IN PAINTER. Painter refuses to open them, or my machine freezes. There is no reason why the files weren't available in both Mac and Windows versions--even if the conversion process worked, it's a lot of hassle when there's plenty of room on a CD for both types of files. In fact, that's what the Painter 6 Wow! book and CD does--and it is, by far, a superior book. I've already wasted a week of evenings on this nonsense--this may soon be a return to Amazon.com (unless my complaint to the publisher gets results). Mac users beware!

There are definitely a few problems with this book. I suspect most people who buy it are not that proficient with Painter. But the book expects you to fill in so many gaps where its explanations are lacking. Later on in the book you are presented with that same lacking infomation in a context where it isn't as absolutely crucial. So it can be an aggravating text to learn from. Sometimes I found items in different menus to that indicated in the text. Some of the material on the CD provided was simply inaccessible. Save your pennies and instead of this text get the Painter 6 Wow! Book which is truly excellent.

This book clearly walked me through the steps necessary to learn Painter. And in contrast to the "Classroom In A Book" series, Painter 6 FX inspires creativity. Although the earlier version of this book (Painter 5 FX) lacked conciseness, this version is much improved. A thorough teaching tool. Beautifully illustrated throughout.

As a new Painter user, I picked up the P6 Wow! book for tips and tutorials, based on my experience with the excellent Photoshop Wow! book. But I found many more tips than tutorials in the Painter Wow! Book, and I needed something to help me learn the program -- closer to a "Classroom in a Book" for Painter. This book has more tutorials/projects than the Wow! book. It also speaks frankly about Painter, its good and bad points, and lets you know where the program is buggy or could be improved. The examples are not as inspiring as Wow!, and the book is entirely in B&W with only a small (maybe 15 pages) color insert, but I think the tutorials and general approach are better for the beginning Painter user.

The contents of this book should be focused on the functions and wiz-bang attributes of Painter -- you'd think. Instead, we are made to sit through the endless harangue of Rhoda Grossman (a name Dickens would have approved of!). Sherry London's opinions aren't as blatant, but when have you ever had to endure a bashing to find out how to use a product? Painter is an incredible product. Thank goodness I already know this or I might feel embarrassed about my choice, based on the commentary in this book. The book is a total waste of money. It gets one star only because zero isn't allowed.

I found this book not only extremely helpful, but also fun to read. Painter, at times, can be a daunting tool. The authors presented some innovative techniques I would never have known about in a consise, clear manner. I found this book to be a refreshing departure from the glut of dry "how-to" books out there. The authors clearly enjoy using this program!

I am frankly surprised at the bitterness of a few of the previous reviews. I have found this book excellent for me, a novice on Painter 6 (mac). It is true enough that in the first chapter, the CD lacks Mac versions of the "projects." However, the other chapters all work from .tif, .riff or .psd files and are fully supported by Mac. The topics discussed are the things I need to get going with this software.
As for the comments regarding the style of one of the book's writers, I can only say that she makes frequent and clever allusions to literature, history and culture. The fact that the previous reviewer does not recognize these references says more about the reviewer than the author.