Customer Reviews
Ted does it again! Great Illustrator CS3 Bible reference - By: Svetlana Lensselink, 22 Mar 2008 
It has been 2 years from last "Illustrator CS2 Bible" & now we have updated version of it to CS3.
This time book again written by Ted Alspach alone & he stays the guard of this reference from version 7 (in far 1997). And the most interesting thing that everytime Ted tried to power this book on 100% with information.
Bible keeps not only it's author, but also great style. With minimum clear explanation it gives you the most full information on an object. There're couple of color insert with nice Illustrator examples (seems very creative). Book consist of 700 pages. Pages are not not white shiny to make you blind, but pretty good indeed & in calculation of (book information*paper quality)/price buyer wins a couple of times.
All information you need is included: from novice to proffesional - this refernce is for everybody. To study new features or start from basics, to draw simple lines up to combine them in one complicated object & up to professional printing process of your work.
Great information order, information presented very clear & it is easy to follow, easy to find & it is explained step by step.
As we alll know Illustrator belongs to Adobe family products, that's why almost every month such programs as Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop & other are used together to make work more easy & productive. Ted took one chapter of this time to expain the very basics of this programs integration (to expand our vision on this program & it's possibilities).
Illustrator is also a very powerful program & has a lot of "hot keys" & the complete list of it you can find in Appendix.
For people who never used Bibles, I would like to give table of content to let you know what you can expect from Bibles:
Part I: Illustrator Basics
- What's new in Illustrator CS3
- Understanding Illustratoc's Desktop
- Working with Illustrator Documents
- Understanding Drawing & Painting Techniques
- Creating Objects, Graphs & Symbols
- Learning how to select & edit
- Understanding Color, Gradients & Mess
Part II:
- Using Illustrator to Organize Objects
- Working with Type
- Using Creative Strokes & Fills with Patterns
- Applying Transformations & Distortions
- Using Path Blends, Compound Path & Masks
- Using Live Trace
- Using Live Paint
Part III:
- Working with Graphic Styles, Filters & Effects
- Creating 3D in Illustrator
- Customizing & Automizing Illustrator
Part IV:
- Understanding PostScript & Printing
- Creating Web Grepahics
Appendix: Shortcuts in Illustrator CS3
Index
But in couple of words, we have here a titanic work of Ted Alspach that was put on paper for your satisfaction. And I reallly can't imagine a person that would not enjoy it. This book is reallly alll you need.
A Bible? You bet! - By: Jay Dunlop, 09 Sep 2007 What a weighty tome this is! The book is massive, & is barely readable in bed (Trust me, I've tried!). But boy! is it worth the struggle!
Ok, now down to the nitty-gritty. You get 1164 pages, 2 blank pages at the end & a 'free' CD for £26.99 in the UK & $39.99 in the US - less if you buy it from Amazon of course. it has 16 pages of coloured illustrations in the centre of the book, & what seem like hundreds of black & white diagrams, screen shots & examples. Some of these are found on the CD so that you can experiment & explore. The tutorials here, are themselves, worthwhile additions to your own library of 'How to do' examples. The book is laid out logicallly in 6 parts, & has a comprehensive index.
The Preface is interesting, which is more than you can say about most books, & it leads in nicely to the book itself. Each Part is divided into chapters & these are usuallly short & to the point. You could read this book from end to end ( if you have the strengh & the stamina), & pick up millions of tips & tricks, but for the dedicated Photoshop user, it has an even better side. Dip into it as & when you have the need, & you'll find that the answers to most of your questions about CS3 will be right where you expect then to be!
This book is well written, well researched & eminently readable. It both shows & tells you how to get the best out of Photoshop CS3 & is a credit to the authors who are themselves well versed in alll things 'Photoshop".
In conclusion therefore, this is a book which will be like a 'bible' for me. I'll keep it to hand on my desk so that I can refer to it as & when I have the need. And yes, I'll even try reading it in bed again - once I've been to the gym for some weight lifting practice!
