Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide
by Gary David Bouton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary David BoutonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-15
ISBN: 0071625593
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Book Reviews of Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide
Book Review: A fabulous primer for a powerful tool
Summary: 5 Stars
A little about me: I'm experienced in other forms of computer-generated graphics, but vector formats are still fairly new to me. I've been an off-and-on Xara Xtreme (XX) user since version 4, and a user of Xara Web Designer since it was first released. I mention that latter title because the two have been merged into what is now released as Xara Xtreme 5.
There is a plethora of tutorials out there for XX, as well as a thriving on-line community. Still, given my experience looking through all that material, I've suffered from the kid-in-a-candy-store syndrome: all that "stuff" is great but it lacks focus. Where to start? What's a good workflow? Where's Waldo?
Enter Gary's book. He starts you out with a brief discussion of vector graphics in general: what are they? Why are they useful? Who cares? He then leads you by the hand on a guided tour of the XX interface, and quickly assigns you some simple but illustrative hands-on examples to showcase a few of XX's great features. From there he works you through some not-so-trivial exercises to show you how the basic building blocks are created, and from there it's fasten your seatbelt time! In less time than you might think possible he'll have you exercising these building blocks to create effects that I never knew you could accomplish in a vector-based form. His approach isn't scatter-shot--far from it. He takes you on a task-oriented workflow from concept, through application of tools, to final product in a way that's both thorough and easy to understand and follow.
Here's a personal recommendation: when you're doing the invisible ghost exercise (one of the first in the book), break from the script. Unlock the layer holding the room itself, and pick apart the image. You may not immediately realize it's a vector image built in XX itself, and the way Gary combines shapes (including some 3D extrusions) to form the final composition was, to me, as impressive a learning tool about what you can do in this medium as anything I could think of.
Gary is well-versed in this material, having been an XX power user since before it was called that, and his in-depth knowledge shows--as does his wit and humor. This book is far from a dry laundry list of click-this-and-drag-that, and the narrative is further spiced with outstanding full-color (if you get the print version) illustrations clearly showing you what's what.
If you're in my situation, an XX newbie somewhat overwhelmed by the task of navigating a path towards being an effective user, you really, really need this book! Even if you're already an accomplished XX wizard I predict you'll find his take on its uses and powers a compelling read.
Summary of Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide
Master the world's fastest drawing program!
Learn the principles of vector drawing as you learn technique, composition, and other art essentials--then apply your skills to creating websites, animations, logos, photographic retouches, and more. Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide shows you how to customize the software, use QuickShapes, draw vector paths, use fills for photorealistic effects, and compose professional desktop publishing documents. This hands-on resource brings you from concept to completion with examples that span a range of art styles--using the vector drawing program that thinks it's a bitmap editor. With these tutorials that apply to Xara Xtreme, Xtreme Pro, and Magix Xtreme Photo & Graphic Designer, you'll:
- Work with vector paths that look like paint strokes
- Tag colors to dramatically change complex drawings in seconds
- Build multi-page, graphically rich websites in a few hours
- Convert bitmap web graphics to resizable vector shapes
- Design artwork in minutes that looks like it took days
- Create and export original Flash animations for the web in no time
- Create 3D text and apply special effects to imported photos and vector shapes
- Invisibly retouch photographs with feathering, fractal fills, multi-step gradients, and transparencies
Inside you'll find an inspirational Xara GrandMasters Gallery of award-winning artwork from around the world. Get started today by downloading free trial software from www.xara.com!
Download lesson files from www.mhprofessional.com/computingdownload and www.theboutons.com.
Gary David Bouton, an international award-winning illustrator, has authored 25 books on graphics software, including CorelDRAW X4: The Official Guide. He practices what he teaches: his work can be seen on Graphics.com, TalkGraphics, The CG Society, and YouTube.
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