Photoshop for Right-Brainers: The Art of Photo Manipulation,...

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 334 pages
• Published by: Sybex
• Edition: 2nd Edition December 12, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0782144306
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0782144307
• Book Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 2 pounds

Book Description
"Al Ward's innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation doesn't just tell you how to do ithe gives you something to chew on, something to dream about."
--Fred Showker, editor/publisher of DT&G magazine

Photoshop for Right-Brainers, Second Edition goes beyond the cookie-cutter techniques and shows you how to take full advantage of Photoshop's powerful capabilities. With more novel projects and striking artwork, additional advanced techniques, and hundreds of new actions for automating tedious tasks, this revised edition will help you unlock pathways to creativity.
You'll get a firm grounding in key tools and techniques, then hone your skills by working through complex projects. By the end you'll be able to bring your artistic and fanciful visions to life on your computer to generate your own mind-blowing photographic art.

Photoshop wiz Al Ward will teach you pro techniques for creating dramatic images, including how to:
* Expertly blend multiple photographs into realistic composites
* Add sharpness and detail to any image
* Give your portraits digital face-lifts: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth
* Create mind-boggling mirror effects
* Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate chrome and glass surfaces
* Turn any photograph into a line drawing, oil painting, or retro image
* Produce symmetrical landscaping and patterns in the sky
* Transform people into frightening characters
* Invent comical cross-breed species by altering animal photos
* Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
* And much more!

The CD features more than 400 productivity-enhancing Photoshop actions designed by the author, along with images and project files from the book, as well as exceptional stock images.

Back Cover Copy
"Al Ward's innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation doesn't just tell you how to do ithe gives you something to chew on, something to dream about."
—Fred Showker, editor/publisher of DT&G magazine

Photoshop for Right-Brainers, Second Edition goes beyond the cookie-cutter techniques and shows you how to take full advantage of Photoshop's powerful capabilities. With more novel projects and striking artwork, additional advanced techniques, and hundreds of new actions for automating tedious tasks, this revised edition will help you unlock pathways to creativity.
You'll get a firm grounding in key tools and techniques, then hone your skills by working through complex projects. By the end you'll be able to bring your artistic and fanciful visions to life on your computer to generate your own mind-blowing photographic art.

Photoshop wiz Al Ward will teach you pro techniques for creating dramatic images, including how to:

• Expertly blend multiple photographs into realistic composites
• Add sharpness and detail to any image
• Give your portraits digital face-lifts: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth
• Create mind-boggling mirror effects
• Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate chrome and glass surfaces
• Turn any photograph into a line drawing, oil painting, or retro image
• Produce symmetrical landscaping and patterns in the sky
• Transform people into frightening characters
• Invent comical cross-breed species by altering animal photographs
• Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
• And much more!

The CD features more than 400 productivity-enhancing Photoshop actions designed by the author, along with images and project files from the book, as well as exceptional stock images.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Photoshop for Right-Brainers: The Art of Photo Manipulation (Paperback) I am a self-taught Photoshop user. That is to say, I know just enough about PS to be REALLY dangerous! Al Ward's book, Photoshop for Right-Brainers was a JOY to read. I was able to follow what he was talking about and even reproduce the effects using my own photos rather than the ones on the included CD. Now THAT is a well written book when you can actually use the information on photos other than the ones provided for the tutorial. One of the very first pieces of information, something that I will actually use when I work with photos, is High Pass, a filter that grays out pixels so the edge details are clear. Two other items in PS that Mr. Ward talks about are Extract and Pattern Maker. Extract is just what it says - taking an object and extracting or removing it from the rest of the picture. Great way to see how you would look as a blonde! The Pattern Maker is a tool that I will use as a web designer. I am forever trying to find a suitable background for my web pages. Now, thanks to Al Ward and Photoshop for Right Brainers I don't have to look, I can make my own. Pattern Maker allows you to select part of a photo and then creates a background from the pixels selected. VERY COOL. Are you a text nut? If so, this book shows you how to create Chrome letters. In the same section, it shows you how to use Opacity and Fill on the text. Of course, this can be applied to an actual photo as well but it is a very nice technique to allow the background to show through lettering. A few of the other techniques this book walks you through are Masking, Cartooning images, Warping images to "fit" to another object and Photo Merge. This last technique gives you the collage effect that allows you to create one photo from many or to blend two photos to make a panorama. There is a CD with the book and it contains a free version of Maya 5 Personal Learning Edition, Source Files so you can follow along with the techniques being taught and Preset Tools created by Al Ward for use in the various techniques he shows. This book is packed with useful information and is one that can actually be followed and understood. Many times authors go into so much detail that you can't follow or they make it so difficult that you give up. Not this author! Al Ward has my sincere thanks for writing a book to make a program that I had only a little knowledge of into something that I can actually use in my daily work. Comment | | (Report this)