Illustrator CS for Dummies

This book is so helpful, for many people. Even people who know illustrator, can freshen up with this book. Great buy

If you're interested in Illustrator, this is the way to learn it. You'll laugh your way through it, and you'll be amazed how the foreign language of Illustrator can be so easy to understand.

I am a complete novice to any drawing software. So when I bought Adobe Illustrator CS and listened to the accompanying "training" tape, I knew I had to have a lot more instruction. I have found that most software manuals are like dictionaries--fine if you already have a good idea of what you're looking for, but not if you don't. So usually a great place to start is a "good" Dummies book. This Dummies book is better than most. It is written in a clear, concise manner with instructions on how to accomplish each feature covered in the chapters. If a simple earlier instruction is needed in a later chapter, it is repeated instead of referred to from the earlier chapter. This saves a lot of time flipping back and forth. And I appreaciated Ted Alspach's humorous approach to topics--at least the first time around. If you have to go back and re-read, it just gets in the way. The only drawback to the book is that it needs either an accompanying CD filled with Illustrator graphics for practice or an Internet source for such vector graphics. Often the instructions say, "Select a piece of artwork..." and I'm left struggling to find a decent example.

After trying desperately to understand the manual that came with Illustrator 10, I was ready to give up. I'm an artist, not a computer whiz. This book was so much fun, and it was delightfully humorous as well. I looked forward to each lesson. My only problem was that I would become so enamored with each thing I'd learned, I would spend hours trying different ways to use it. Actually, in retrospect, it was a good thing because I now feel totally comfortable in Illustrator. So take your time, ENJOY it, and you will discover there's almost nothing you can't create. I loved this book, and without it, I would have long since abandoned the whole idea of learning Illustrator 10.

I had never used Illustrator before, but this book has me creating all sorts of things I thought only the pro's could make.Easy to follow, it really makes Illustrator usable for anyone.