Illustrator CS3 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide

This gives you a hands on feeling when you read it. The best thing I can tell you is do NOT rush through reading and understanding this book. Yes it is a Visual QuickStart Guide, but to get the most out of this book, I'd really say take your time, do little projects to get you comfortable with it.

I start working with that guide and I think is very complete. The explanations are clear and everyone can understand them even if this is the first time they try illustrator. I would like to have it with an exercise-example cd though. Reccomended at max.

I am taking a series of courses on the Adobe CS3 design programs. These books are the required texts. I am extremely pleased with the content and support they provide for me to learn the programs. They are a mix between "techbook" and "textbook" - they are NOT as dry as other technical manuals, yet cover "just enough" material to help out in a tight spot. There may be other books that other reviewers prefer, however I wish to point out that they are titled "QUICK START" guides, not "every single thing you need to know about this piece of software" guide. If you are trying to learn the software on your own, might I suggest the Adobe Press "Classroom in a Book" series. Also the Adobe Press "Real World" book series gives insights into the software that these quick start guides do not. If you are learning with a teacher, these books fit the bill.

I am learning illustrator for the first time and found this book to extremely helpful. If you are struggling with illustrator, you need to buy this book!!

This manual provides someone just getting started using Illustrator with clear explanations for each menu option, tool, and function, along with step-by-step instructions on how to use them. All the other manuals inevitably assume that the reader is familiar with earlier versions of Illustrator and take too much for granted. The tool-by-tool organization and step-by-step instructions of this manual are refreshingly clear and specific, and tell the reader exactly how to use this powerful software.