From the Publisher
It’s been gratifying to see Scott Kelby’s star rising in the Photoshop and CG communities; his Photoshop World conferences are like rock concerts-cum-tech-seminars; he’s on TechTV; his videos sell to beat the band; his first two Photoshop books—Down & Dirty Tricks, and Photo-Retouching Secrets—are bestsellers. And part of this popularity is due to Scott’s talent for connecting to the entire Photoshop-using audience… especially entry-level and intermediate users. Cool. Good for him and good for them.
But what about the working professional? Sure, Down & Dirty Tricks has material that can benefit any user; and Photo-Retouching Secrets is even more broadly appealing to pros and students alike. But when Scott decided to aim his next book squarely to the practicing professional, we got jazzed.
And boy, did he deliver (along with co-author Felix Nelson, the creative director of Photoshop User magazine). It’s short and sweet and pure, distilled timesaving nuggets. 333 illustrated tips for efficiency, productivity, and “check this out” Photoshop flash. Arrayed in easy-to-access categories like production tips, type tips, web tips, pure design tips, layer tips, troubleshooting tips, image-correction and pre-press tips, and more.
It’s the kind of book that some people will pore through, page-by-page, checking out each quick demonstration; others will flip back and forth at random, often accessing the book during each day’s project work. You can use it as a tutorial or as a reference, which is the way Scott and Felix wanted this thing to work. You’re a pro, and you don’t have a lot of time to leaf through a 700-page doorstop to find what you need. You can even eat this book if you want… it tastes okay, and it’s not too filling. Try it for your Photoshop needs first, though.
From the Back Cover
When it comes to Photoshop(r), time is money, and this hot new book (from Scott Kelby and Felix Nelson, the team behind Photoshop User magazine) is all about speed, speed, and more speed! This book is all tips--there are no special effects: no flaming type, no glows, etc.--it's just packed cover-to-cover with nothing little-known tricks and tips that the pros use every day to get twice the work done in half the time. The idea behind this book comes from something that every great Photoshop book already has--those valuable little sidebar tips. We found that we often read those tips first, before we'd even actually read the chapter. The only problem is, there's just not enough of 'em. So we thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if there was a Photoshop book, and the whole book, cover-to-cover, was nothing but those great sidebar tips." That's what we've created in this book, which is all about the fun (and bragging rights) that come with knowing "all the inside tips." The reason why the book's slogan is "speed kills!," is because this is the book that will make you faster and more productive than ever so you can "smoke the competition."
