Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 500 pages
- Published by: Coriolis Group Books May 7, 1999
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1576104087
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1576104088
-
Book Dimensions:
9.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
- Weighs: 3.2 pounds
Product Review
Illustrator 8 f/x and Design is a tutorial-based guide to many Illustrator effects, especially (but not limited to) those new in version 8. While it is not an exhaustive, reference-type bible, it doesn't aim to be. Primary author Sherry London, a former schoolteacher, offers to be a "Teacher. Guide. Friend." Since it's best to read this book while at the computer, it's like having her at your elbow, learning through her personal experiences and past pitfalls while she walks you through the exercises. The tutorials are best when followed in order; this isn't the sort of compilation of tips and tricks you can jump into at any point.
Coauthor T. Michael Clark covers the nearly 100 changes in version 8. (However, basic changes like keyboard shortcuts are not included; you will still need your manual for that level of information.) He also discusses the new actions palette and some useful type effects (for example, type on a curved path), and provides a very basic look at Web graphics. There's also a color section that includes a gallery of illustrations by different graphic artists with a brief description of their methods and their URLs.
Although readers
will need to be familiar with Illustrator (a demo of version 8 is on the accompanying CD-ROM along with some third-party filters and the illustrations for the tutorials), this book is recommended for beginners, intermediates, or nonprofessionals who learn best with a slow and conversational approach.
--Angelynn Grant Topics covered: Version 8 features; working with raster images; working with gradients, blends, meshes, patterns, and textures; the actions palette; the transformations menu; dashed lines effects; new brush strokes; type effects; color effects; transparency; and Web graphics.
Back Cover Copy
Learn how to create dynamic illustrations and work effectively and powerfully with Illustrator and Photoshop! Take an exciting journey into the world of Illustrator graphics. Harness the power of Adobe Illustrator 8's new features: Brushes, Gradient Mesh objects, the Pencil tool, and the Photo Crosshatch filter. Learn how to work seamlessly between Illustrator and Photoshop, and why these great Adobe products are made for each other. Start a design in one program and finish it in the other. In the Color Studio, view images created by the best Illustrator artists in the business. Illustrator 8 f/x and design contains a variety of carefully constructed projects (illustrations) and all the files you need to practice every technique. From intermediate to expert Illustrator user, you'll find challenging and intriguing projects to complete.
About the Authors Sherry London (Cherry Hill, NJ) is the author of a number of books for Coriolis, including Painter 5 f/x (with Rhoda Grossman and Sharron Evans) and Photoshop 5 In Depth (with David Xenakis). A principal of London Computing: PhotoF/X, she teaches part-time at Gloucester County College. T. Michael Clark (Montreal) is an award-winning digital artist, Web site designer, programmer, and technical writer. Michael has written several books on various digital imaging programs, and writes all of the popular online tutorials at GrafX Design (www.grafx-design.com).
Illustrator 8 f/x and design teaches you about:
Basic Illustrator techniques
Using Illustrator images in Photoshop
Using raster images in Illustrator
Gradients, Blends, and Gradient Meshes
Patterns
Actions
Transformations and distortions
Effects with dashed lines
Different Strokes: Picture and Scatter Brush
Type effects
Color effects
Illustrator and the Web
CD-ROM Contents:
All images needed to complete the illustrations
Finished projects in Illustrator or layered Photoshop formats
Trial version of Adobe Illustrator 8
Demo versions of Extensis filters
Demo plug-ins by Hot Door, Vertigo3D, ZaxWerks, RAYflect, AutoF/X
Sample clip art from Direct Imagination and Ultimate Symbol
Reader Reviews
Overall this is a good book but the title is misleading. It assumes that you are working with Photoshop and Illustrator. Most the examples given rely on the use of Photoshop at some point in the process. Some examples rely almost entirely on Photoshop. I currently do not own Photoshop so when I received this book I was rather dissappointed. It really did not help me learn much about Illustrator. I also bought the Illustrator 8 Bible and thought that it was a much better book.
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