Customer Reviews

Photoshop Classic Effects: The Essential Effects Every User Needs to Know

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where many of the Photoshop "effects" books start your mind racing, Photoshop Classic Effects retunes your creative engine on a far more important level -- it recenters your skill set with better, easier, smarter ways with things many of us Photoshop folk think we can do in our sleep. Pluse, there are twists and updates on the tried and true effects that give them new life, like Beck breathing in some new interest to an Al Green song.

One of the nicer things about this book is how Scott takes you through the steps. Whether you're a Mac or PC guy, entered Photoshop at version 1 or version 7, the steps are logical and easy-to-follow.

Every library needs a cornerstone. This should be the one for the Photoshop user.

This book centers around Photoshop techniques for ad work. These include billboards, letterhead, DVD boxes and the like. The techniques covered include photo manipulation, typography work, and completely artificial drawings. The author does a good job of explaining each design step-by-step and making it all very easy to follow. The designs are pretty slick and there are some good ideas to borrow there outside of the context of learning about Photoshop.

Scott Kelby, the editor in chief of Photoshop User magazine talks about not how to use Photoshop, but a series of maybe two hundred little hints and tips that show not only how to do something but clearly illustrates the effect being created using actual screen shots.

These are not the super sophisticated complicated and rarely used procedures. These are the techinques that real everyday users have developed to get their jobs done on a day to day basis. It combines in one volume a whole bunch of "Of course, why didn't I think of that," ideas.

What I find in this book is new ideas of ways to convey the message I'm trying to send. Just one or two such ideas makes the cost and the time spent on the book worthwhile.

My first book on Photoshop was one of Scott Kelby's Down and Dirty books. And while it didn't teach me an awful lot about the inner workings of Photoshop, it did get me hooked with a lot really quick and simple "wow, I made this" experiences.

Today I revisited Scott Kelby in the shape of his Photoshop Classic Effects. I must say that was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was there absolutely nothing to learn for this Photoshop user, but the tutorials were more or less updated versions of the old ones in my Down & Dirty book. I suspect Scott Kelby only has this same set of tutorials/effects and more or less reuse them in each of his books. I for one, already have my Scott Kelby book, so I will stay clear of his stuff in the future. It goes without saying that none of these effects are terribly new, or couldn't be found elsewhere on Photoshop tutorial sites on the net.

If you are a brand new to Photoshop or anything below intermediate user, this is still a good book to get, granted the above caveat. Do however realise that it is heavily slanted towards the kinds of work you'd do in advertising, and Photoshop is used in so many other avenues, but if that is your game, then it is a fine book.

I bought this book a few months ago when I was still a beginner and I have picked up a great deal from it. Most of the lessons revolve around making ads for the printed media. What I love about this book is that each lesson is step by step and practical. As the previous reviewers mentioned, it is not for the advanced student. But if you are new to Photoshop and want to build a strong base, this is the book to get. Scott Kelby has a talent for making this package easy to learn. I even like his magazine where new techniques in Photoshop are introduced.

This is a phenomenal book that should be on every designer's shelf. Kelby uses a simple, easy-to-follow format that makes it a snap to learn some of the most commonly requested effects in Photoshop. There are techniques that I've always wanted to know, and techinques I didn't know I wanted to know, but I'm glad I do now.
My only beef is that the book needs better editing - there are a few places where the book says things like "as in the example already covered in this chapter" when the topic being referenced is in fact *later* in the book. But that's a beef with the editor, not the author.
Despite that, this is an absolute must-read for every Photoshop user.

Excellent book for someone who would like to have ideas on the power of what photoshop can do! Excellent to help in creativity of the mind to give you that extra notch!

I just bought this a few days ago and I really have enjoyed flipping through it. Pretty much its a good 'cookbook' of photoshop techniques and effects.

The book is more targeted for the basic and moderate user. Advanced users may find it a bit dull.

Excellent step-by-step tutorials plus screenshots. Author also shares the names of fonts and image files used. Written so that even Photoshop beginners (like myself) can follow. More than 50 techniques shared, all of which can be used in the new Adobe Creative Suite. I mean, you can read two or three 500-page books on how to use Photoshop but still not produce commercial-grade designs. Five stars, because "Photoshop Classic Effects" saves me time and money.

This book walks you through examples of Photoshop techniques that you will want to use immediately. It is also a surprisingly easy way to learn the program. I say "Elements" in my title because it applies very well to Photoshop Elements. You will either love or hate Scott Kelby's style of writing, but I feel it is far superior to the typcial "Dummmies" book. Can't go wrong with this one.