Photoshop Classic Effects: The Essential Effects Every User Needs to Know (Paperback)

by Scott Kelby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
If you've ever wondered "How'd they do that?" you're about to find out!

Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you'll see inside the book). It's not the wild stuff, it's not the weird stuff--it's the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you'll know).

How it works

Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they're used by today's industry's leading professionals. You'll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today. You’ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic"

Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they've become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you'd expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you'd find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that's what you’re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world.

MTV or CBS?

Here's the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it. But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they'll show you the door. They need a professional, clean look, and they'll expect you to know the classics and how they're used today. That's what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

From the Publisher
If you've ever wondered "How'd they do that?" you're about to find out!

Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you'll see inside the book). It's not the wild stuff, it's not the weird stuff--it's the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you'll know).

How it works

Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they're used by today's industry's leading professionals. You'll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today. You’ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic"

Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they've become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you'd expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you'd find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that's what you’re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world.

MTV or CBS?

Here's the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it. But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they'll show you the door. They need a professional, clean look, and they'll expect you to know the classics and how they're used today. That's what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; illustrated edition edition (June 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321272250
• ISBN-13: 978-0321272256
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #99,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're never too good to sharpen your saw!, July 13, 2004

By	Gary Guthrie (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Where many of the Photoshop "effects" books start your mind racing, Photoshop Classic Effects retunes your creative engine on a far more important level -- it recenters your skill set with better, easier, smarter ways with things many of us Photoshop folk think we can do in our sleep. Pluse, there are twists and updates on the tried and true effects that give them new life, like Beck breathing in some new interest to an Al Green song.

One of the nicer things about this book is how Scott takes you through the steps. Whether you're a Mac or PC guy, entered Photoshop at version 1 or version 7, the steps are logical and easy-to-follow.

Every library needs a cornerstone. This should be the one for the Photoshop user.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mainly about ad work, November 19, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book centers around Photoshop techniques for ad work. These include billboards, letterhead, DVD boxes and the like. The techniques covered include photo manipulation, typography work, and completely artificial drawings. The author does a good job of explaining each design step-by-step and making it all very easy to follow. The designs are pretty slick and there are some good ideas to borrow there outside of the context of learning about Photoshop.

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for advanced users!, January 20, 2005

By	Marque Pierre Sondergaard "World's Best Textu... (Liverpool, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My first book on Photoshop was one of Scott Kelby's Down and Dirty books. And while it didn't teach me an awful lot about the inner workings of Photoshop, it did get me hooked with a lot really quick and simple "wow, I made this" experiences.

Today I revisited Scott Kelby in the shape of his Photoshop Classic Effects. I must say that was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was there absolutely nothing to learn for this Photoshop user, but the tutorials were more or less updated versions of the old ones in my Down & Dirty book. I suspect Scott Kelby only has this same set of tutorials/effects and more or less reuse them in each of his books. I for one, already have my Scott Kelby book, so I will stay clear of his stuff in the future. It goes without saying that none of these effects are terribly new, or couldn't be found elsewhere on Photoshop tutorial sites on the net.

If you are a brand new to Photoshop or anything below intermediate user, this is still a good book to get, granted the above caveat. Do however realise that it is heavily slanted towards the kinds of work you'd do in advertising, and Photoshop is used in so many other avenues, but if that is your game, then it is a fine book.