The Adobe Illustrator CS3 Wow! Book by Sharon Steuer
|
List Price: Our Price: $23.20 You Save: $31.79 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.26 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Adobe Illustrator CS3 Wow! Book
Book Review: Is the new CS3 WOW version worth it?
Summary: 5 Stars
The main reason I updated to Adobe Illustrator CS3 was for the new Color features. I've always had a hard time with color and I love the new color wheel with all the coordinating color options. I've purchased every past edition of the WOW series, for both Photoshop and Illustrator and I am happy to report that this new CS3 edition features an extensie overview of Live Color, Live Paint etc., and for me that was worth the price of the book.
The book is approximately 30% new material. There appears to be more samples on the DVD which I appreciate, because although authors suggest using your own work, it is always nice to have an actual file to work with.
That's it in a nutshell. If you have the CS2 version and don't plan to upgrade to CS3 don't bother getting this book, keep your old version with the tiger on the cover. If you got CS3 this book will help you learn the new features. All those who have the WOW books, it continues to be a great learning tool. It is geared toward the more advanced Illustrator user. If you are just learning I suggest getting the beginner books and dip into this one as you get more skilled. The section on the Zen of the Pen hasn't changed and remains, to me, the best way to learn the pen tool. If you are willing to patiently go through the Pen excercies both in the book and on the DVD you will be a Master of the Pen and the rest of Illustrator is a piece of cake.
Book Review: Simply the best ever book published about Illustrator CS3
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're bored of books that are simply a copy & paste of the program help, with some funny comments here and there, this is your book.
It is not a reference manual. It does not cover all the options and menus and settings of the program (you have the Illustrator Help system for that), but when it talks about a feature, it illustrates it with a lot of impressive examples. And not only the real world examples, also a step by step guide of most of this same case studies.
I use this book for my classes (I'm an Adobe Certified Expert) and since the purchase of this book, the number of attendees and courses has grow exponentially. I think it's much better than the official Classroom in a Book series (they are very good material, but there are very few examples to illustrate all the posibilities of this amazing application).
But if you never ever used Illustrator before, I recommend the Adobe Classroom in a Book series and then this amazing piece of art.
Also, the book is in full color, and also full of tips. The CD is also a valuable resource, and all the exercises and a lot of extras are included.
Read it cover to cover and you'll be a great (and inspired) Illustrator user.
Thank you very much to Sharon Steuer for showing me how to write a good book.
Book Review: "WOW!" is right!
Summary: 5 Stars
I spend entirely too much money on Adobe training, peripherals and other reading materials. This, however, was a great purchase. I have been using Adobe Illustrator since 3.0, so I have a good foundation in the software. There are always new things to learn about these fantastic programs, but with the apps that are Not Photoshop, decent advanced books can be difficult to come by.
While this is not a book that I would recommend to somebody who has never used Illustrator before, neither is it one that is above the average user's head. There are plenty of exercises that cover Illustrator basics, including a "Zen of Illustrator" chapter that presents several methods of creating a single simple shape for the purpose of learning to Think Illustrator.
After that are plenty of step-by-step tutorials for how to create nifty effects that most people don't even associate with Illustrator. Even if you never worked through these exercises, the examples alone would make the book worthwhile...on the order of the gourmet "food porn" cookbooks.
If you're learning Illustrator from the ground up, I suggest the Classroom In A Book title. If you already know how to work in Illustrator and want to move beyond the basics, however, this book is definitely worth the price.
Book Review: One of the best Illustrator books
Summary: 5 Stars
The WOW series for Illustator has been a terrific series. The books are in color, well illustrated and clearly explained even if you're new to the program. I think it's one of the best and quickest ways to get a grasp of the depth of things you can do with Illustrator and become fairly proficient in a short period of time. My only caveat is if you already own WOW for CS2 you may want to think twice about dropping coin on the CS3 version as there is quite a bit of material repeated here. However, compared to a lot of other books out there that are dry, in black and white and more expensive, you could do a lot worse than owning both versions.Book Review: Great book on Adobe Illustrator CS3 taking you beyond the basics
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great and inspirational book on Adobe Illustrator CS3. There are numerous nice examples illustrating how one can achieve effects found in professional work. The book does not go into all the details, and assumes that you already know the basics - or that you are willing to put in the extra effort required to catch up. Adobe's CS3 Classroom in Book is a good way to come up to speed. CS3 WOW does a great job of showcasing what is possible with Illustrator, and is strongly recommended.