The earlier editions of Real World FreeHand won international acclaim and awards for their friendly, approachable style and clear descriptions of the workings of FreeHand, covering topics from the most basic (how to draw a line) to the most advanced (how to add new tools and options to the program itself). Real World FreeHand 8 has the same goals: to provide clear, solid explanations of the basics; to make the most advanced techniques accessible to even the least experienced Macromedia FreeHand users; and to explain every tool and procedure from the point of view of the graphic arts professional. This new cross-platform edition also covers in depth FreeHand's new transparent lenses and its Web graphics creation features. And as with the earlier editions, Kvern's humor and engaging style make, as one reviewer put it, "learning this complex program almost as much fun as using it."
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Written for everyone from beginners to experts, this guide covers all of the basic and advanced features in Macromedia's popular illustration package for Macintosh and Windows. The author combines specific instruction with discussions of features and digital-graphics technology. He first explains the uses of the toolbar options and shows you how to navigate the interface, select and move elements, work with layers, set preferences, use Xtras, and get help in using the program. Next he helps you create basic drawings while working with simple shapes, paths and points, strokes, fills, graphic styles, charts and graphs, and drop shadows. There's plenty of guidance on creating realistic and compelling drawings, with insight on perspective drawing and extensive path manipulation. As you create and alter text and type, you'll use FreeHand's spelling, search, formatting, style, and copyfitting options; place text on a path; wrap text; and create inline graphics.
The subsequent chapters teach you how to import and export files; transform elements in a drawing; create, add, edit, and apply colors; manage color; and work with trapping and color separations. A full-color section illuminates various color-management issues. Next, you learn how to fine-tune printing options for the best output, prepare files for imagesetting, troubleshoot printing problems, and use PostScript to extend FreeHand. Finally, you output your images to the Web. Kvern shows you how to export GIF images, create Shockwave Flash graphics, output images to Fireworks, and create HTML pages in FreeHand. An appendix demonstrates how to write scripts using AppleScript (Macintosh only) and Java. --Kathleen Caster
From the Back Cover
The earlier editions of Real World FreeHand won international acclaim and awards for their friendly, approachable style and clear descriptions of the workings of FreeHand, covering topics from the most basic (how to draw a line) to the most advanced (how to add new tools and options to the program itself).
Real World FreeHand 8 has the same goals: to provide clear, solid explanations of the basics; to make the most advanced techniques accessible to even the least experienced Macromedia FreeHand users; and to explain every tool and procedure from the point of view of the graphic arts professional. This new cross-platform edition also covers in depth FreeHand's new transparent lenses and its Web graphics creation features. And as with the earlier editions, Kvern's humor and engaging style make, as one reviewer put it, "learning this complex program almost as much fun as using it."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book available,
By A Customer
This review is from: Real World FreeHand 8 (5th Edition) (Paperback)
As an author in the process of writing a textbook on FreeHand for Delmar Publishing (due out in 10/99), I have to say that at the present time Olav's book is the only one given a positive review by any of my students.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply the best,
By Sean O'Neil (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Real World FreeHand 8 (5th Edition) (Paperback)
Still the best FreeHand book on the market. Even though it would appear to be dated, as version 8.0 is now two version points behind (soon to be three in November 2002), Real World FreeHand 8 captures the software at what was an obvious peak; well-developed enough to stifle cries of quirkiness, the obvious superiority and power of this mighty software was free to emerge. FreeHand was The Daddy. Before the web, before it was bundled with Flash, before they changed the pen tool...but after they...the software really hasn't changed much since v.8, actually. Except for the pen tool, that is. (Kvern didn't offer a v.9 or a v.10 of his book.) Kvern is easily the best writer of third-party computer manuals EVER. An incredible knowledge of the software, it's history and utility with enough distance to be subjective and, at times, thorny, Kvern also speaks credibly though not obtrusively about his experience as a professional illustrator/designer. Definitely add writer to the list; Kvern makes his p.o.v. clear (he loves scripting! he encourages you to manually edit preference files!) and avoids the usual flat, obvious, dull attempts at humour that are killing this genre. It made me go back to FreeHand 8 while I wait to see whether the initials MX will prove to be a viable future for this once great and might app or RIP for FreeHand. While the recent developers of FreeHand have often seemed like dull, flat-footed, primitive, dull, unimaginative, erm, hopeless morons incapable of taking a right turn with the software, Kvern makes you believe in the possibilities. Don't miss his books on InDesign either!
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