Reviews (42)

This is the book you need, stop looking...
Im a college student, ive taken multiple classes that were supposed to "teach" us software via textbooks and this is by far the easiest book to follow. I have no formal experience with the software, i just bought it recently because this is the last year i will be able to take advantage of a student discount on software, and i thought it would come in handy... ive burned thru the first 1/2 of the book in 3 nites, prolly 2 hours a nite.. Its not tedious at all, very straight forward and color illustrated step by step... They give you the keyboard shortcuts, as well as the pull down menu commands upfront, and it guides you through the things you will actually use without alot of b.s. i will be ordering the rest of the series on adobe software to learn the rest of the web bundle, probably the best $45 ive spent on textbooks yet.

Well organized and easy to understand
I've tried learning photoshop many times before, but each book I read made me loose interest. This book is fun, and arranged in a way so that lessons are neither too long nor too short.

Get Deke McClelland's instruction books instead
Adobe's instruction book are: very basic, and . . . boring.Get Deke's books--you'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Adobe Photoshop (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Desktop Publishing    10. Desktop Publishing - General    11. Interactive & Multimedia    12. Microcomputer Graphics    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    14. Photoshop   

Reviews (10)

You need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE
This fourth Tufte title continues his themes of pairing image with text, focusing on how information can be transmitted graphically and focusing on 'sparklines': data-intense, word-like graphics. Perhaps it's impossible to adequately describe this concept using plain print: for more, you need to see BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE, blending cartography, diagrams, science and art in a winning survey of measurement-based images.
Recycled?No problem!
I for one am the opposite of the people who read this and, as fans of Tufte's other works, felt let down.There seem to be a lot of complaints about recycled material.Yes, a lot of stuff in here is found in his other books.Yes, his whole Cognitive Style of PowerPoint pamphlet is reproduced here (I think?).No, I don't think that's a problem and in fact I think this is his best work ever.
Beautiful Figures, Shallow Words
I was disappointed by "Beautiful Evidence". It seems to me to be a medium primarily for the reproduction of many gorgeous drawings, graphs, and tables done by others and the author, and an opportunity to make a rant on PowerPoint. Yes, many bad figures have been created and Dr. Tufte has made valid points and good suggestions, but they are not as densely presented as one would expect from his own words.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computers    4. Graphic Methods    5. Visual communication   

Reviews (9)

Adobe Illustrator CS2 Classroom in a Book
What is it about the Classroom in a Book series that I devour like ice cream in the middle of August in Texas? It has to do with the richness of the presentation, the simplicity of design and the total coverage of material that you don't get in the box with the CD, or more importantly buy direct online and dont have a manual.
Great
I got exactly what I ordered in a very timely manner.thank you

A quick guide to Illustrator
In a few words what are the capabilities to the package, with a nice companion of labs and examples. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Reviews (5)

A comprehensive resource - but not for the novice
Truly Matt Pharr and NVIDIA are at the top of their game, and his "GPU Gems" series is certainly the only one of its kind for graphics professionals that are familiar with GPU's and shading languages already, and want to exploit them for the maximum speed and effect achievable using today's technology. It is not a "how-to" book on shading or GPUs or even advanced graphics. There are equations and code interspersed throughout the book, with bits of wisdom that are very instructive for the initiated. However, if you are a home-grown graphics programmer who knows C, or C++, or Java, and even some assembly language, plus you are familiar with image processing and computer graphics techniques, that will probably not be enough to get you through this book. I would say that this is a five star book for high-level professional graphics programmers who work with GPU specifics and shaders daily, and I would say it is a two or three star book for everyone else.
Excellent Second Book in the GPU Gems Series
This book is the second installment of the GPU Gems book series by NVIDIA. Just like the first book, GPU Gems 2 is a collection of articles by various authors from game development companies, academia, and tool developers on advanced techniques for programming graphics processing units (or GPUs for short). It is aimed at intermediate to advanced graphics developers that are familiar with the most common graphics APIs. The reader should also be proficient in C++. As with the first GPU Gems book, GPU Gems 2 is not for beginners. For professional graphics and game developers, however, it is an excellent collection of interesting techniques, tips, and tricks.
Pretty pictures
This book is targeted at people who have a good solid grasp of either OpenGL or D3D as well as a grounding in programming languages such as C/C++ or Java.While this much is obvious, the book is still painfully difficult to get anything useful out of.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer graphics    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Microcomputer Graphics    8. Programming - General    9. Real-time programming    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    12. Software engineering   

Reviews (4)

3D-Max Bible
Excellent book....very helpful for Web Design .Amazon 5 stars also for fast delivery and excellent communication.

Graphic Bible
Great book, complete,exaustive, may be necessary to introduce more colored photo with a better resolution.

Great For Newcomers or Advanced Users
I'm new to 3ds Max 8, so I bought this book to try and help me learn the program~ This book very well written and goes through all the tools and workings of 3ds max 8 plus some of the more popular plug-ins (afterburn etc.) I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to know the ins and outs of 3ds Max, it's great:-) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer animation    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Computer graphics software    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    10. Image processing: computer animation    11. Multimedia   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (11)

Wonderful Book - One of the better computer Manuals I've seen
Just plain good. Well written, well put togeather, and makes it all easy to understand. My only complaint is it should come with a box of stick-its :) I've marked so many pages already.
Wish I bought this first...
I bought the "Absolute Beginers Guide..." first.It wasn't 'absolute' enough for me.The layout of this book was much more logical and comprehensive.

it really is ...
this really is the missing manual.get this and "quick steps" and you will have a mated set that dovetail. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Microsoft FrontPage    8. Microsoft FrontPage (Computer software)    9. Web sites    10. Computer / Internet    11. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    12. Databases & data structures    13. FrontPage, FrontPage 2002, FrontPage 2003, Web design, Microsoft office, HTML, Sharepoint, building Web sites, cascading style sheets, XML, VBA, script, Web developer, Missing Manual, FrontPage: The Missing Manual   

Reviews (20)

Love this book to review the Maya class I just took
This book is awesome for me as I just finished a beginning Maya 3D modeling and animation class this past semester. I was afraid that I would forget a lot of what I learned and also that I wanted to review to enhance my understanding so I looked for a book that would take me step by step, through several different types of projects. And I'm happy to say that I'm one third into this very thick, but easy to follow book and it does just that. It really leads you by the hand, better than my instructor in the classroom, because I can go at my own pace (which is very slow). A great book for the beginner and soon to be intermediate Maya practitioner. Please note, however, that I also bought the Visual Quickstart Guide to Maya 6 previously, which has been a great cross-reference book to this particular Learning Maya 7: Foundation book. I guess no one book will answer or be clear enough on every little nuance of a topic; that is why it helps to have another book or two on the same topic as a cross-reference just in case you get stuck on an interpretation of the textual meaning or intention.

Useless
This book is weighty, full-colored and honestly, looks pretty cool when it comes in the mail. The problem starts when you go to use it. For someone like myself who has absolutely no prior 3D animation expierence, this book is horrible. It skimps on steps, the steps it tells me to do fail to work in the program, the dozens/hundred of menu options are not labeled when you're doing the steps and then a few pages over it'll tell you to go to visor window and you're all, what? Visor menu? What in the world is that? Then you have to waste valueable time searching for the elusive menu.
WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION TO MAYA!!
It's pretty great for beginners, but if you have NEVER used a 3-D package before, I suggest doing the INTRODUCING MAYA 7: FOR BEGINERS first. I also suggest using the previous FOUNDATION BOOKS which include Salty the Seal and the spaceship battle since they teach things that aren't in this book. (As you can see, I'm a firm believer in grasping this program.)
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer animation    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Three-dimensional display systems    8. Computer graphics software    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    10. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (22)

Good, but ONLY FOR WINDOWS
Great detail, but I was very disappointed to discover it is only for Windows.It does NOT cover PE4 for the Mac.There are some substantial differences between the applications on the two platforms.Good material, but now I have to figure out what to do on my Mac ...
Excellent Illustrations
What makes this book so useful is the preponderance of excellent illustrations! This book very clearly illustrates where the user should focus on the Elements' tool bars, option bars, menues, screens, etc.
Very helpful manual
The manual is essentially great for beginners and advanced users. Probably a little bit more illustrations would have inspired me to rate it with five stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Design    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computers    6. Computers - Desktop Publishing    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Techniques - Digital    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    12. Computers / Desktop Publishing    13. Digital techniques    14. Image processing    15. Photography    16. Photoshop    17. photography, digital photography, graphics, photo editing,   

Reviews (7)

Excellent bible for the bumbling novice
First I need to give a nod to "Gunny", the reviewer who convinced me to purchase this book: Thank you!This is truly the best Illustrator guide available for beginners, who need to find their painful path through the inscrutable thicket of Illustrator, who need to get a graphic project done, quickly.
Excellent, As Usual
Visual Quick Start Guides and I were introduced in college. Each one I have used is: supremely instructive, light to nonexistent on self absorbed asides (a blessed relief), and meaty...very meaty. The paper isn't glossy, the images aren't in color, you get no adorable photos of the author with their children frolicking on the sands of Southern California. But you get information about how to use Adobe products (and anything else you want to tackle) so that you, in your miserable Midwestern hovel, far from the smiling shores of the Pacific rim, can accomplish your tasks for your demanding and sniffy clients and get paid, and not go to the poor house! Tres cool, no?
Complete Reference
This is a reference book, and a very good one. If you're looking for a tutorial-based book, try the HOT series by Lynda Weinman and quit your griping. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Illustrator (Computer file)    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Microcomputer Graphics    9. Operating Systems - Macintosh    10. Operating Systems - Windows    11. Computer graphics software    12. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (9)

Give you clear look of little giant
This book gives you the bird-eye view of the world's renowned photo management software, it has some useful information for amateur photographer who is intended to use iPhoto software, written in plain english. It is little interesting that one-thirds of the entire book contents are cover how to choose the right digital camera and how to take a good shot, of course, you don't have to worry since its another two-thirds of pages are fulled about some kind of "soft" thing, which is about acquire, manage, tag, retouch and share or archive your pictures.
IPhoto6 Review
iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual
Another exemplary title in The Missing Manual series!
Even iPhoto veterans will appreciate the excellent coverage of new features offered in iPhoto 6 over previous versions of iPhoto.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Apple/Macintosh    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Design    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer Graphics - Image Processing    6. Computers    7. Data processing    8. Digital techniques    9. Image processing    10. Operating Systems - General    11. Photograph albums    12. Photography    13. Computer / Apple/Macintosh    14. Computer graphics software    15. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    16. Computers / Computer Graphics / Image Processing    17. Computers/Computer Graphics - Design    18. Image processing: graphics (static images)    19. Macintosh (Computer)    20. iPhoto 6, iphoto   

Reviews (37)

Two Years Later and I Still Use This Thing...Sometimes.
Even though it is two years old (and I've been playing for about that amount of time) it still has some helpful info. Of course it doesnt have any of the recent higher level things because when this guide came out there were'nt that many high level players. Also SE does not want to give away too much end game information. SE wants people to keep paying money to find out for themselves. Even though some of the quest are a bit dated it gives me a starting point. Without this guide to show me certain quests I wouldn't even know where to start to look online for it. Oh, and about the job info, the guide was written the way SE intented the jobs to be used, not the way the players use them now (Ninja was never supposed to be a tank you know.) But anyway...to the real points >>>
Outdated, and polluted with bad editorial and misinformation
Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG's with a developer actively supporting it as well as a dedicated user base creatively finding new ways of putting play mechanisms in more and more clever uses.It's a living environment, which no book can ever come close to detailing, and no book can present you with anything better than an incomplete snapshot in time, forever left behind by all the regular game mechanism tweaks and new item additions.
Good For Those Who Are Just Getting Into The Game On Their Own
Like my title for this review states, I'd say that this guide is pretty good for how "old" it is (or how long it has been out for). But it helped me get into the game and get started pretty well once I started playing Final Fantasy XI on the PC for the first time. For those who think it is there to guide you all the way through this great MMORPG, think again, because it is just to help you get around in the beginning, not complete the game. In my experience and with the experience with my friends that play "MMO's" it is quite difficult to complete a MMORPG, especially one like FF XI. If you're one individual that is just getting into MMO's, pick up FF XI and the guide to help you with your first few adventures in the grand world of MMORPG's.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Games    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers - Games    5. Games    6. Games/Puzzles    7. Video & Electronic - General    8. Video & Electronic - Sony PlayStation 2    9. Video games    10. Games / Video & Electronic   

Reviews (2)

Great for Beginner and Intermediate Ogre users
This book guides you through getting Ogre set up on Windows and Linux as well giving you a very firm base of knowledge of the engine.This book is definately aimed at new users, but I have been using Ogre for over a year and still found this book to be helpful and enjoyable.The author does a great job of giving clear explainations and examples!Overall a wonder book!

Great Book!
The book is very good. It is definitely aimed at a newcomer to Ogre, but it can be useful even for people who have been around Ogre for a while as they might be missing a few concepts or not be familiar with a few components that they might not have used before.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications   

Reviews (18)

...
As the author states in the introduction you need to read the book in a comfortable chair with a laptop+net connection, you cant read this without a keyboard with in arms reach.I expected the examples to be in pseudo code or at a less hard core level of C, if your programming is not top notch be carefull.

great book
This book is class. Really great and the author is a gentleman. Also check out the online forums dedicate to this book at AI Junkie. There the author himself chips in with helpul advice for AI novices and stalwards alike. I have his other book too and it is also five stars.
Very good book for Game AI
I'm an expirianced programmer and always wondered how things worked in a game. How the "enemy" knows how to move etc.
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Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer games    5. Computer graphics    6. Computer software    7. Computers    8. Computers - Games    9. Design    10. Programming    11. Programming - General    12. Video & Electronic - General    13. Artificial intelligence    14. Computer Programming    15. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Reviews (12)

Just a little bit disappointed
I bought this book about 5-6 months ago mostly because I needed some help with texturing, material, and making my own UV maps specifically for Poser 6. After I read all the reviews on this book I was convinced that this could be THE book that shows you how you can make your own maps. I mean what else can you teach in a book written for "intermediate to advanced users" anyway, right? Well, not really. The first couple of chapters are awesome. Although I knew a lot about those basic functions, I still learned couple of neat tricks from the book. However, chapters on Material, Textures, and UV maps are just short overview of these topics. She keeps referring you to the reference manual, which is...you know how it is...My suggestion is that don't buy this book if you're looking for a source on Materials and UV maps...There are other books out there such as Summer's Texturing: Concepts and Techniques that explain the subject in detail.
Practical Poser 6 recomended
I've been the art business at a professional level for a long time .I am however new to 3D appplications and I have assembled quiet a library to educate myself in this area. Practical Poser 6 has made learning this wonderfull program a joy. It doesn't overcomplicate but in clear logical terms explains just exactly how to apply the many processes the program has available right down to where to find up to date plugins and also helps narrow the large array of content providers by listing many of them, what they do a nd how long they have been doing it. A must have for any poser 6 user.

Throw the Poser manual to the trash!!!
I read the whole manual that comes with Poser 6. It is a mess!!!Practical Poser is the book that should come with Poser. It is so easy to read, although you have to read a lot but, at the end, it is worth all the time spent with it. It is a step by step, avoid all the mistakes, instructional guide. I recomend it. Two thumbs up!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Design    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer graphics    6. Computer programs    7. Computers    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Human figure in art    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    12. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (6)

I Recommend The New Game Maker Book To Everyone In Even Slight Interest
"The Game Maker's Apprentice" was the greatest book I've ever read. Not Kidding. I read the entire book in 2 and 1/2 days. I even skipped dinner the first day. The Game Maker's Apprentice comes with a CD-rom including all of the resources and finished games mentioned in the book and games that show step-by-step how to program it. I recommend it to ANYONE who is interested in the Computer Gaming or Video Gaming field. Not only does the book teach you how to program 9 great games and show you how all of the steps of game creation can be fun, but it also has 3 chapters specifically based on extending your games with tips by professionals.

Excellent resource for learning game oriented programming.
This book is an excellent resource for learning the fundamentals of game programming and the logic necessary to be successful at it. The book is well written, easy to follow and understand. The tutorials are fun and the games you create, while relatively simple, are quite enjoyable. The 3 or so chapters on game development are also sound and offer some excellent insight into making a good game. The Game Maker software included with the book, with it's built in programming language, is surprisingly powerful and intuitive. Additionally, Game Maker has a very strong on-line presence and has an extremely active forum for asking questions that aren't covered, or are beyond the scope of the book. (And it's all free too!!)
Must have book for Game Maker 6.1 software
Easy to follow color book for beginners, you make a game in no timeand come with cd-rom with all the resources to built the games.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    3. Computer games    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Design    7. Programming    8. Programming - General    9. Programming - Software Development    10. Computer Programming   

Reviews (17)

Unique is not best, but best in it's class
This is not the best hands-on, how-to book about designing your ownUnreal Tournament mod but it is the only book available. Thus, like the first Gutenberg printing press, it's the best in it's class! In the tutorials the authors assume that you already know as much about the Unreal Editor as they do. If you do not know the in's and out's and idiotsyncrasies of the Unreal Editor(which is why I bought the book in the first place) you will learn new definitions of patience during the first 23 chapters. In the end you will thank the authors for their altruism and capatalistic guile without which this knowledge would not be publicly available. Thank G-d and the great Satan for freedom of information! Thank America for the freedom to say this!

Great Book!
I was brand new to all aspects of game design, and I had no idea where to start.So I opened up the book preview in the Unreal Tournament folder and saw this book.I went up to borders and bought it a week later.I've had this book for almost 3 weeks now, and Holy Crap!From the start, it explains the history of the Unreal engine and gives you a close up look of all the tools used.It has in-depth tutorials that make designing your first map a breeze.The CD contained in the book also has the May 5 Personal Learning Edition on it.In fact, the CD is my only complaint.This book expects you to use the CD for every texture and static mesh used.Overall, the book is a must buy for any begginner.

Unreal Mapping.
This book is the best and only one book published in Unreal technology nobody beat this tutorial book for mapping in Unreal tournament 2004 I recommend this thick book to anyone wanting to master the Unreal editor.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Games    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Microcomputer Graphics    7. Programming - General    8. Programming - Software Development    9. Video & Electronic - General    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / Game Programming    11. General Theory of Computing   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (19)

Good program, difficult to learn
The product is a very good one but difficult to learn, I have spent much time in self help.The documentation is difficult to use and to follow.I had to separately purchase an instruction book.Particularly confusing is how it organizes the photo and the methods to categorize, tabing, collections, etc.After getting the hang of it, editing photos is really fun, and the results are great. Printing and emailing is rather simple.Good program, Thumbs Up.
This is a must read.
I struggled with Photoshop Elements 4 until I found Deke McClelland's Photoshop Elements 4 one-on-one.His training methods are well designed and will lead you to an understanding of the power of Photoshop Elements 4 I never imagined.The video is better than first class and the book is written in a very clear way that leads the student on a guided descovery of Elements 4.I asked my local camera store for help and they promised something in the future.When I cruised through Amazon.com and read other reviews of this book I simply took a chance and bought it.Wow, what a wonderful surprise.Deke won't let you down.Paul

Must Have !!!
Photshop is an asset to anyone with a computer.This book, which is quite easy to follow, is a much needed addition to the bookshelf.
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Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop elements    2. Adobe Photoshop elements (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - Design    5. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    6. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    7. Computers    8. Computers - Desktop Publishing    9. Computers - Other Applications    10. Digital techniques    11. Photography    12. Computer graphics    13. Computer programs    14. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    15. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    16. Computers / Desktop Publishing    17. Image processing    18. Photoshop    19. adobe elements, elements, deke, photography, digital photography, image editing, total training, elements 4.0   

Reviews (4)

Really truly teaches you to use Illustrator
I loved this book from the moment I saw it.It is visually very pleasing to look at, and when you're reading a book that's over 500 pages, how it looks really matters.The page layout is very clean, and the readability of this book is very high.One of the sections I appreciated was a breakdown by genre of use, such as "graphic designer," "package design," or "fashion and apparel design," that directs you to the chapters that would be most helpful to you.This book is good because he teaches you to actually use Illustrator in a functional manner rather than detailing every item of every possible submenu.Additionaly, you learn the conceptual why and then the how-to.There are "Featured Match-Ups" that clarify the differences and similarities between two similar tools, and for more complex features, such as 3D Revolve, there are excersizes to better demonstrate the tools.Overall, this is a really good tool to get you started in Illustrator, and has enough explanations that the intermediate user can benefit from reading it too. And finally, there is an appendix on converting from FreeHand to Illustrator, which, though not one of my needs, is faily good sized for those that are looking for help in that area. This book is a very complete overview of the whole Illustrator CS2 package and will have you actually accomplishing what you want to in the program.

This is a MUST HAVE reference on Illustrator CS2
When those of us who are experts in Illustrator run into a problem, Mordy Golding is often the person we go to for help. Now you too can turn to Mordy for help by keeping the Real Wolrd Adobe Illustrator CS2 book next to your computer.