About the Author
Valan Evers lives and plays in South Florida. She has been on the faculty of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for the past 12 years. Her digital illustrations have appeared on magazine covers and were featured in the book, CYBERDESIGN: Computer Manipulated Photography, by Rockport Publishers. Her work was chosen to be included in the 1999 release of the book, Digital Photo 1, by the prestigious publisher of fine art books, Graphis. Most of her work hangs in galleries, private, and corporate collections. She also has a limited edition of posters and postcards. Her abiding passions (besides making art) are diving, underwater photography, and mythology. She earned her Masters Degree in Computer Illustration/Underwater Photography, and did her thesis on digital narratives of oceanic mythology.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Against The Clock series has been developed specifically for those involved in the field of computer arts, and now - animation, video and multimedia production. Many of our readers are already involved in the industry in advertising and printing, television production, multimedia and Web design. Others are just now preparing for a career within these professions.
This series will provide you with the necessary skills to work in these fast-paced, exciting and rapidly expanding fields. While many people feel that they can simply purchase a computer and the appropriate software and begin designing and producing quality presentations, the real world of high-quality printed and Web communications requires a far more serious commitment. The Series
The applications presented in the Against The Clock series stand out as the programs of choice in professional computer arts environments.
We've used a modular design for the Against The Clock series, allowing you to mix and match the drawing, imaging, multimedia and page-layout applications that exactly suit your specific needs.
Titles available in the Against The Clock series include:
Macintosh: Basic Operations
Windows: Basic Operations
Adobe Illustrator: Introduction and Advanced Digital Illustration
Macromedia FreeHand: Digital Illustration
Adobe InDesign: Introduction and Advanced Electronic Mechanicals
Adobe PageMaker: Introduction and Advanced Electronic Mechanicals
QuarkXPress: Introduction and Advanced Electronic Mechanicals
Microsoft Publisher: Creating Electronic Mechanicals
Microsoft PowerPoint: Presentation Graphics with Impact
Microsoft FrontPage: Designing for the Web
MetaCreations Painter: A Digital Approach to Natural Art Media
Adobe Photoshop: Introduction and Advanced Digital Images
Adobe Premiere: Digital Video Editing
Macromedia Director: Creating Powerful Multimedia
Macromedia Flash: Animating for the Web
Macromedia Dreamweaver: Creating Web Pages
File Preparation: The Responsible Electronic Page
Preflight: An Introduction to File Analysis and Repair
TrapWise and PressWise: Digital Trapping and Imposition Icons and Visuals
Throughout this book you will encounter a number of icons shown in the sidebars. They are designed to identify four different categories of sidebars: teacher comments, pitfalls and potential problems, keyboard shortcuts, and hands-on activities.
Pay close attention to the sidebar notes - you will find valuable comments that will help you throughout this book and in your everyday use of your computer. The standard icons are:
* The Pencil icon indicates a comment from an experienced operator or instructor. Whenever you see the Pencil icon, you'll find corresponding sidebar text that augments or builds upon the subject being discussed at the time.
* The Bomb or Pitfalls icon indicates a potential problem or difficulty. For instance, a certain technique might lead to pages that prove difficult to output. In other cases, there might be something that a program cannot easily accomplish, so we might present a workaround.
* The Pointing Finger icon indicates a hands-on activity—whether a short exercise or a complete project. Note that sometimes this icon will direct you to the back of the book to complete a project.
* The Key icon is used to point out that there is a keyboard equivalent to a menu or dialog-box option. Key commands are often faster than using the mouse to select a menu option. Experienced operators often mix the use of keyboard equivalents and menu/ dialog box selections to arrive at their optimum speed.
Support Materials For the Reader
A variety of resource files have been included. These files, necessary to complete the hands-on activities may be found on the CD-ROM within the RF_MacOS_X folder. For the Instructor
The Instructor's CD-ROM includes various testing and presentation materials in addition to the files that are supplied with this book.
* Overhead Presentation Materials are provided and follow along with the book. These presentations are prepared using Microsoft PowerPoint, and are provided in both native PowerPoint format and Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF).
* Test Questions and Answers are included on the Instructor's CD-ROM. These questions may be modified and/or reorganized and are provided in RTF format for placement and in Acrobat (PDF) format.
Book Walk-Through
* Chapter openers provide the reader with specific objectives.
* Periodic Reviews allow the reader the opportunity to refresh what they've learned and determine their progress.
* Sidebars and hands-on activities supplement concepts presented in the material.
* A comprehensive glossary allows the reader to reference many of the terms discussed in the book.
