Tutorials: Know Your App

Both newbie and

veteran users will

discover timesaving

shortcuts and

special effects within

Photoshop that

you never knew

existed.

LEARNING FROM THE EXPERTS

The apps in Adobe’s Creative Suite are powerful, but to access that power you must learn the programs, and that requires a learning curve. To speed up the process, whether you’re a beginner or a more seasoned user, here are some of the finest educational resources you will find. You will notice that these experts are also good teachers.

TOTAL TRAINING, INC.

The Migration Begins
Total Training has announced three hours of video-based instruction to guide graphic designers and other creative professionals through the process of moving from QuarkXPress to InDesign, which is rapidly becoming the new, industry standard, page layout program. The latest CD takes the worry out of making that move, and will quickly help Quark users increase productivity and efficiency ($49).

Creative Suite Premium Bundle

This comprehensive Creative Suite Premium Bundle from Total Training parallels all the apps in the Premium Version of Adobe’s Creative Suite (Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS, GoLive CS, Acrobat 6, and Version Cue). The collection covers it all at $699, a $275 savings off the standard retail price. Steve Holmes, Deke McClelland, and Ted Padova host the series. Each offers an amiable and effective teaching style. The DVD’s are of high production value, and the sound quality is excellent.

From a workflow training series that explains how all the Creative Suite elements work together to in-depth, video instruction on each of the key programs, the Creative Suite Premium bundle is the ultimate software-training package for creative professionals.

Included in the bundle are:

Total Training Presents: Adobe Creative Suite – From Design to Delivery (Steve Holmes)
Total Training for Adobe Photoshop CS
(Deke McClelland)
Total Training for Adobe Illustrator CS
(Deke McClelland)
Total Training for Adobe InDesign CS (Steve Holmes)
Total Training Presents: Adobe Acrobat 6 Essentials (Ted Padova)
Total Training Presents: Adobe GoLive CS
(Steve Holmes)

Adobe Photoshop Tricks & Tips
You may want to add this bag of goodies from expert Steve Holmes as he takes you on a 3-hour journey into some of the lesser known, and incredibly useful, techniques for using Adobe Photoshop. You'll learn some of the magical tricks and useful tips to get the most out of your Photoshop software. Both newbie and veteran users will discover timesaving shortcuts and special effects.

Lesson Overview

1. GET SOME PERSPECTIVE: Wonderful depth of field, motion blur, perspective and shadowing options for realistic photo-compositing.

2. APPLY SELECTIVELY: Excellent techniques for accurate grayscale conversion and brilliant hand coloring of images.

3. OH SO DISTRESSED: Cool channel creation effects for roughened type, layer blending tricks, and fast masking techniques.

4. AQUA VIVA: The much-requested lesson on creating the aqua-style lettering and buttons, but with amazing, added features for textures, water, and ice.

5. THE NATURAL ELEMENTS: Fire and Smoke and intricate layer blending. All you need to know.

6. ALL OVER DISPLACE: Amazing use of displacement maps for logos on fabric, and generating realistic, shadows on faces in composites.

7. ORGANIC CREATION: A detailed look at alpha channels, pixel creation filters, and techniques and lighting effects for creating brilliant backgrounds.

8. FULL ON METAL: The coolest techniques for the most realistic chrome, and beautifully diffused, soft-edged shadows.

All Total Training products come with a 30-day, money back guarantee.

OVER THE TOP

Tutorial movies on DVD offer great value. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if the tutorial movie were to float, semitransparent, on your desktop while you practice in the application simultaneously?

If you haven’t yet discovered that your Mac is a great DVD player, you are in for a treat. While the DVD player that comes with OS X is good, Trans Lucy from CE Software is better.

Trans Lucy is a radical new way to watch DVD’s on your computer. Unlike other computer DVD players, Trans Lucy lets you float the video, in varying degrees of opacity, above or below your other applications. Although it doesn’t yet work with QuickTime movies, and most tutorials on DVD are in QuickTime, a company spokesman said that a future release would include such support.

Trans Lucy works only on computers with video cards that support Quartz Extreme, an advanced graphics system used in many parts of Mac OS X. Visit Apple Computer for more information regarding Quartz Extreme. To test your computer, move the cursor over a white area on screen. If the cursor has a shadow, the computer supports Quartz Extreme.

Trans Lucy is available for electronic delivery only. It can be purchased directly from CE Software online or by calling 800-523-7638 or 515-221-1801. For more information, download the demo or read the ReadMe file and User Guide.

ONLINE TUTORIALS

Atomic Learning
Atomic Learning provides software training using a unique, just-in-time approach. The site has a library of thousands of short tutorials that focus on answering commonly asked questions concerning dozens of applications. They are easy to access whenever and wherever you need them. The yearly subscription cost is $79.99. It’s a bargain.

BOOKS

For information from the basics to more advanced digital maneuvering, books are a complementary addition to your tutorial arsenal.

Here are three titles to consider from publishers that consistently maintain a standard of excellence. Visit their websites for more information and related titles on the Adobe Creative Suite package.

Peachpit Press

The Adobe Illustrator CS Wow! Book

Best-selling author and award-winning artist, Sharon Steuer, uses four-color pictures of actual Illustrator projects to show the possibilities, and then employs simple, step-by-step instructions to explain the techniques to produce the effects. Beginners will find comprehensive, ground-up coverage of all of Illustrator CS’ most important features. Veterans will be rewarded well after exploring Illustrator CS’ new features such as: powerful new tools for creating 3D graphics on the fly, a new Scribble Effect that can add a loose, hand-drawn look to artwork, a redesigned text engine, enhanced PDF support, and more.

New Riders

InDesign CS Killer Tips By Scott Kelby, Terry White

If you've wondered how the InDesign pros get twice the work done in half the time, here's the answer. They know every inside tip, every hidden keyboard shortcut, and every trick that gives them the edge. They know the fastest, smartest, and most efficient way to do just about everything. Now you can, too.

O’Reilly

Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One

Beginners who want to learn Adobe Photoshop will welcome this unique and authoritative book. To simulate a classroom environment, Photoshop expert Deke McClelland includes over two hours of video training on a CD that accompaniesit. The two methods work together to present a wealth of information in an easy style.

About the author: Eden Maxwell is a fine artist and published book author. He has contributed to many publications, including Popular Science, Art Calendar Magazine, Drachen Foundation Journal, Popular Mechanics, MacStreet Journal Online, Omni, MacUser, MacDigest, and Computer Gaming World. His art has been exhibited on both the West and East Coasts and his work has appeared in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Eden is currently writing a book for artists to be published in 2004. Visit Eden’s Atelier and Gallery website. You may also reach him via .

Tutorials: Know Your App

BY EDEN MAXWELL

May | June 2004
Issue No.16