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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive, yes - but comprehensible?, September 27, 2003
This review is from: Photoshop 7 Bible (Paperback)
After dabbling in Photoshop for a while the thing that has become most clear to me is that it isn't an easy program to learn, and no doubt it isn't an easy one to explain either. So I won't blame Deke McClelland for not turning me into a Photoshop genius overnight (which he didn't) - but even if that is too much to expect of any book, this one is a mixed bag in more ways than that. On the plus side, it certainly is comprehensive. Just about every option available in Photoshop is explained - and that is the major downside at the same time. This book is very much written from the viewpoint of the program, not that of the user. If you want to know how to achieve a particular effect, you will just have to browse the 1000+ pages hoping you will stumble on the right tools. Reversely, you may read many an explanation of a tool without ever getting into the clear why you would want to use it. For instance, the chapters on selections, paths and masks made it abundantly clear to me that there are some 5,000 or so ways of selecting part of an image in Photoshop, but I remained in the dark as to which ones are useful under which circumstances. Much of the text on paths and masks actually seemed highly esoteric to me. I can understand that it is impossible to illustrate each and every option visually, but unfortunately the illustrative examples that are given often don't seem to be very compelling (e.g., the possible use of stroking a path is demonstrated by the creation of a tapering line underneath an image of a planet, an effect that could just as easily have been achieved with a simple paint brush.) In fact (and ironically), the graphics are one of the major weaknesses of the book (just take a peek at the hideous cover!). I found them mostly unimaginative, and often too small and badly printed to show up the differences between several effects they were supposed to demonstrate. The accessibility of the book is not helped by the fact that after introducing a function, the author stops naming it and reverts to a mere mention of the keyboard shortcut - so when you're new to this, soon enough you no longer know what he is doing (also, I would urge the publisher to please create separate Windows and Mac editions of this book: the ubiquitous additions of the Mac alternative to Windows shortcuts is highly irritating!). The order of chapters/subjects doesn't seem to be guided by any pedagogical considerations. Layers are not discussed until page 633, even though (as everyone who has ever tried Photoshop or any similar program knows) you really can't do anything at all without an understanding of this function. The style of writing is informal and chatty, and by page 500 or thereabouts the author's facetiousness started to wear thin on me. Maybe after I have gained more experience with Photoshop I will come to appreciate more of McClelland's suggestions. However, as a novice, plowing through this book yielded to me no more than 8 or 9 new insights that I found directly useful.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing tour-de-force, December 12, 2002
I've been reading Deke's books for years. And frankly, they vary widely, from fair (especially when he leaves the chore to a coauthor) to extremely good. Sure, Deke's a pioneer. If it wasn't for him, computer books would all be about word processors and operating systems. But he doesn't always deliver like he could or should. This time is different. This book is something special: First, it's completely different than past Photoshop Bibles. ALL the information is new, which is an astounding achievement for an update to a book this size. (I haven't seen the softbound Photoshop 7 Bible, but according to the foreword, the two books share about 300 pages of content, so it doesn't sound like you should get both.) Second, it does more with less. No 1,200-page tome this time. The Pro Edition is a lean 650 pages, and it uses its pages wisely. Third, all 650 pages are printed in full color. The print job and paper quality are very fine, something of a first for the Bible. The figures are exquisitely rendered, so you can see everything Deke is talking about. Fourth and best, the content is extraordinary. It includes information about blend modes, healing, displacement maps, the liquify tool, and much more that I haven't seen anywhere else. (I have nearly a dozen Photoshop 7 books). I don't think I've come across a single page so far that hasn't taught me something I didn't already know. Can't say that about other books. The title doesn't lie, it really is for professionals. But Deke delivers his high-end info in a simple and charming way that is always crystal clear. He promises the world, and then remarkably, he delivers. If you're an intermediate or advanced user, then I'm guessing this is the Photoshop Bible you've been waiting for.
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Teaches by concepts and examples, January 21, 2003
This review is from: Photoshop 7 Bible (Paperback)
I was SO glad I bought this book to supplement our textbook for a PhotoShop 7 class last semester! The text frustrated me because it used the "Do step A, step B, step C" approach. For some of us, that approach does not make it easy to learn WHY we're doing the steps we're doing, so that we could apply the concepts in real life. In contrast, the PhotoShop 7 Bible explains the concepts, shows graphic examples of the differences between features, and shows samples of how a feature is affected by different user-selected values. The author also does give step-by-step instructions in situations where needed, and explains what each step accomplishes. Since I didn't have to have the computer in front of me while reading this, it was possible to redeem time spent away from the computer, for instance, in the cafeteria or a waiting room. In short, for "concept learners" (vs. "rote learners," who like the step-by-step, low explanation approach), this was the book to buy!
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