Customer Reviews

Real World Adobe Illustrator CS4

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

 

 

As a longtime user of Illustrator (but an older, pre-CS version), I felt I had a pretty good handle on the program. Then I got Illustrator CS4, and I felt like a newbie all over again! I needed to get up-to-speed quickly on all the new features and changes,so, I started looking for a good manual, since Adobe offers no printed manual with their software. I chose this book, and I'm glad I did.

Before I go further, let me state that this book is NOT for someone just learning Illustrator. The book is categorized for "intermediate/advanced" users, and that's accurate. The author assumes that you'll have a certain familiarity with basic Illustrator terms and functions which have remained consistent throughout the program's various iterations. But, if you are in the intermediate-and-up category, Mordy Golding has written a book that is well-organized, well-written, and a 4-color pleasure to behold.

The author covers all the new and VERY cool features of Illustrator CS4, in an informal and non-technical manner that is quite easy to read. The book itself is laid out logically, and, in the introduction, the author even directs you to specific chapters which are of use to specific types of users -- production artists, web designers, package designers, etc. The table of contents is thorough, making it easy to find just what you want to know. Since this is a book for advanced users, it's more likely to be used as a reference for performing a specific task, so the ToC is really helpful.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants or needs to update their Illustrator skills to the CS4 version.

As a fellow graphic's guy, who has Adobe expert certifications in Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and Encore, I pour over tons of books and online training in order to improve. I believe the Illustrator Real World CS4 book (and the series) to be one of the 3 greatest graphic design books on the market ever written, along with the Ben Willmore's Photoshop Studio Techniques book and the Meyers' Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects book. That is coming from someone who has spent thousands of hours studying on various graphic design related topics.

Jackson Hunt
VP of Marketing
SerTech

The great thing about this book is that as a newbie to Illustrator CS4 it immediately revealed the mysteries of the basic tools while also providing a lot of information for more advanced techniques. I can drill down on more techniques as my skills progress. This book is well illustrated with good examples and the narrative is straight forward. I am glad I chose this book and highly recommend it.

I have used Illustrator for over 10 years and felt I needed a little better insight into some of the new features in CS4. This book reminded me of some shortcuts and alternative methods that I had forgotten or not used in a while, but when it came to some of the new features (such as how to use "live color") I found myself searching the internet for some examples and other descriptions that made more sense. The book is a good reference and the author obviously knows the software but I missed the writing style of McClelland's earlier Real World Illustrator books. For me, McClelland was easier to follow and gave better explanations of how and WHY I would want to use some of the new tools.

I've read many how-to books on Photoshop & Illustrator. The two basic types are "Here's what the menus & buttons do" and "Here's techniques & recipes for creating a certain look or effect. This book leans more towards the first type but I learned just as much about the second type because he breaks down the complex new features like Live Paint, Recoloring Artwork, Meshes, and Gradients. It's my 6th Illustrator book over the years and I usually skip the parts I already know and look for the changes. I ended up reading it cover to cover by chapter with computer practice after each chapter. His description of each feature just made instant sense to me as I have more of an engineer's mind than an artist's and he tells me how Illustrator actually assembles the file. His is the best description of Live Paint that I've read. Now that I know what is really happening, Now I can start to concentrate on the creative stuff.

I am something of an Illustrator novice and I am finding this book enormously helpful. Well written and clearly laid out (as one should expect from a text about Illustrator!) I have read no other books that teach the software so cannot make an informed comparison, but no complaints about this so far (I am still working my way through it!)

I am a college student and my Professor of Computer Illustration recommended this book. I was apprehensive feeling that this book would be like all the rest! Quite the contrary the author takes a laymen's approach explaining in great detail how each application or function is to be performed.

Enjoy!

For anyone beginning with Illustrator, or switching from another graphics product, the book provides both introductory information as well as some more advance tips. Basically what makes this book stand out is the practical application of CS4 Illustrator to actual needs by most users including new or medium experienced designers. The book is easy to understand, and for me, I always buy books that have excellent representative examples - this book does.