Customer Reviews

Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting

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When TechTV and the Screen Savers were around I always looked forward to the segments with Bert Monroy doing a Photoshop tutorial. So, when I had the opportunity to review his new book, Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting, I jumped at it.

The book may not be what you'd expect. It was not what I expected. It is not a book of traditional how-to lessons, although you will learn how to improve your Photoshop skills. Instead, it is a book by an artist describing the process he goes through in creating his digital paintings. This process not only includes how he made a table cloth with a particular pattern on it, but also going out and taking the right photographs for reference.

In his Introduction Monroy explains how the book started as the traditional how-to book, but he was encouraged by several people to make it about how he paints and works. This decision was made after he started writing the book. As a result, the how-to chapters are available online as a downloadable bonus. Directions for accessing these chapters are in the book.

The beginning of the book describes Bert's process for starting a painting, finding reference materials, and how he determines lighting in a painting.
The book then moves on to its heart, the paintings. There are seven chapters describing the process of creating seven different paintings. Each chapter contains descriptions of how to achieve the same effects in your paintings.

The end of the book contains a chapter full of tutorials. These tutorials might be considered your traditional how-to section of the book.
Overall, this is a fantastic book that presents digital painting in Photoshop in a very creative way. As an artist and an art teacher, I really enjoyed reading the process and thinking that went into these paintings and other painting Monroy works on.

The book is not for the Photoshop beginner. It will not teach you how to use Photoshop. In fact, it assumes that the reader is familiar with Photoshop and many of the tools.

At a price of $[...] (U.S.) it does seem a bit pricey. I would be more inclined to purchase a book like this at the $[...] range. However, if you are a digital artist and a Bert Monroy fan, and you want to drop $[...] down on a book; you won't be disappointed.

MyMac.com rating: 4.5 out of 5
Originally Published at: [...]

Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting is another hit. I am a big fan of Bert Monroy. He consistently presents information about digital subjects that are focused, and simplified. I found the first chapter workflow very informative and the rest of the book to be inspiring. This book belongs on your book shelf. Although beginners can learn from this book it is geared for the intermediate to advance user. I give it four out of five stars.

If one word sums this book up its "Amazing". Some other reviews say it is a rehash and I can't address that, but if this is the first of his books you have read it is very well done. His work is unbelievable. You swear you are looking at a photograph. His techniques are easily explained and the reference pictures are perfect for the material. It is a quick read. There are also downloadable pdf files that go into more detail but the book stands on its own to me. Great Work!!!

Bert Monroy Digital Painting Book

Bert Monroy calls his artistic style "photorealistic". Although the rest of us may not aspire to photorealism in our personal style, we can all learn a lot from the techniques presented in his book, Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy Digital Painting. This is the latest of several books featuring Monroy's digital painting techniques.

Monroy shares his artistic process from start to finish for his "photorealistic" digital art. He begins with a discussion of the basic steps and workflow, from the collection of reference material and the startup sketch to the creation of the elements for the piece and the final complilation. He discusses his techniques for duplicating realistic light and shadows, which he considers most important to creating the mood in his paintings. As you progress through the projects in the book, Monroy takes you down the path that he traveled as he developed his method of capturing a "moment in time". Each chapter features a different project and covers the how and why behind his artistic process.

With the first project, he discusses his technique for creating the aged texture of the stone wall and the details of the small light bulbs. In the next project, you learn more brush-based texturing techniques. You also learn how to create fabric and add stitching details. The old chair and red truck were my favorite projects. Monroy discusses the how and why behind his decision to switch to a pen tablet. He also discusses how he adds the details of wear and damage to the wooden chair and rust to the red car. Besides texture and shadow, Monroy considers reflection important to his paintings, as can been seen from the great care his gives to the reflections in the car's headlights. Another technique that you will find interesting is Monroy's masking technique using alpha channels and Photoshop's calculations feature. He uses this technique to create a mesh garbage can. He also discusses more techniques for creating wood and concrete.

Monroy's technique for creating a complex tablecloth pattern is quite extensive but results in great realistic details such as the soft folds in the cloth and the distortion of the cloth's pattern when seen through the glass on the table. The last project took Monroy a year to complete. It is made up of numerous elements, all in individual files, and is a great example of organization. He expands on some techniques previously covered in the book such as creating more textures and building a complete brick wall pattern. He also offers new techniques such as making custom brushes for painting trees. The book ends with a few exercises covering layers, text, complex shadows and falling rain. Additional chapters of the book can be downloaded from the Peachpit website.

Bert Monroy is a teacher, lecturer and author of many books on digital art.

Photoshoppers are a bit like travelers abroad: some have only the time to sample a country; some can spend a bit more time absorbing the local culture; and others are expatriates abroad, full integrated into the country. Translated to Photoshop: there are essentially snap-shot photographers who use the program to improve color and contrast, and, perhaps, remove a distracting object; photographers, both professional and amateur, who use the program a lot and have absorbed most, but not all of the techniques Photoshop offers; graphic designers, professional retouchers, and the like, who use the program at least several hours a day, every day. Bert Monroy's "Photoshop Studio" is for everyone--everyone will appreciate his incredible skill and even those who will never try to do what he does (that includes me) will learn new techniques that will help them use the program for what they do.

Monroy's book is special in less-obvious ways. First, he has special, non-screenshot illustrations to make clear the concepts he describes. Second, all of his illustrations are on the page where they are referenced; unlike most books of this genre, you will never have to turn the page to see an illustration being discussed on the page before. Third, Monroy has the incredible ability to fully explain complex concepts in a way that they make sense. If he were not such an superb artist, he's be a great trial lawyer!

Equally important, Monroy's book is fun to read, not only because of the passion he brings to his art, but also because that passion is infectious--you will bring the same passion for perfection to everything you do, both in and out of Photoshop.

Photoshop has a very steep learning curve. For those on the plateau part of the curve, still climbing but with most of the rough clambering behind, Monroy's book is one of the three very best; the other two are Dan Margulis's "Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace," and for purely inspirational insights, Julieanne Kost's "Window Seat."

There are many good Photoshop books out there. Scott Kelby's many books are very helpful, especially for the Photoshop novice, and Steve Johnson's "Photoshop CS4 On Demand" is a great ready-reference tool for a user's manual that Adobe has, sadly, relegated to hard-to-navigate on-line "help" files. Adobe, itself, has some marvelous video tutorials, on its AdobeTV site[...], as does Mark Johnson [...].

All that said, Monroy's book is one-of-a-kind; it is as if Michelangelo had written a book explaining his step-by-step approach to his art--it would be a great book for even non-artists. I'd give it 6 stars, if I could!

Photoshop is an application of such vast and varied potential it would be impossible to encapsulate it in one book. With this book, author Bert Monroy focuses on the specific area of digital painting and lays down a narrow, yet high useful set of Photoshop techniques.

"Digital Painting" in this case means hyper-realistic buildings and streets and such. With the exception of the occasional tree or puddle, organic-type subjects are pretty much untouched in this book.

The book as a whole is mainly the author walking you through many of the techniques the author used to create several of his actual pieces. His extended use of layer styles and Adobe Illustrator are the two main takeaways from all this, but those are two very powerful yet often overlooked aspects of artmaking in Photoshop.

The final chapter deviates into actual step-by-step tutorials of a few basic, yet useful concepts, like text treatments, cast shadows, etc... Plus with a simple registration you can download several excised chapters that cover basic Photoshop concepts such as brushes, channels and layers in depth.

All in all, unless depicting hyper-real buildings is your passion you may not want to pay full price for this book. But if you do end up with a copy on your shelf, you'll have a solid set of techniques to refer to.

I personally have been a fan of Bert Monroy ever since I heard of him. If he sold a book with blank pieces of paper, I would still buy it. But on a more serious note, this book is not a beginners book. If you know photoshop very well then yes this is the book for you. There are some nifty tips and some important instructions which we designers tend to overlook. If you have the money, then get this book. I have learned alot from Bert Monroy and you will too.

Bert Monroy is a pioneer of digital art and holds some 20 years experience in the advertising industry. So he has both the photography and the commercial art background to provide a unique approach to using Photoshop tools to maximum professional advantage. It's a 'master class' for experienced Photoshop artists and covers all the basics of the program and how to create eye-catching, creative compositions. From capturing sunlight to utilizing different backgrounds, Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy: Digital Painting is an outstanding guide needed by any library strong in commercial Photoshop applications.

As T. J. Riley said, some of the material in this book does look a lot like what's been presented in past issues of Photoshop User, and for a long time subscriber, this book may not be anything special. I do seem to recognize some of the techniques. Yet, it's still a useful compilation. The wonderful examples are inspiring. The example workflow is solid. And, it doesn't hurt to have a series of disconnected tutorials compiled, and coordinated along a theme. As a long time NAPP member and consequently a subscriber to Photoshop User, I wouldn't say that the book is a revelation but it is useful and it never hurts to go over a technique or two that I don't use often again. It also never hurts to feel like I'm looking over the shoulder of a master displaying his craft, and Bert Monroy is a master, not only of Photoshop but also at teaching it. If you're interested in Photoshop as a painting tool, you could do a lot worse than getting this book.

hi,
I have been working with photoshop and everybody shows you almost everything. but they do not show you the real software. they show you layers , filters and all of the fun stuff. but did they show you how to make the software work for you and not to just take what it gives you. this is the person that was working with digital art & photoshop, before it became digital art & photoshop. I have learned more with bert monroy books & cd/dvd's then with any other. he shows you how to do it and why to do it. his stuff is a photoshop one stop to almost everything. if you want to learn, then you need him.