Photoshop Classic Effects: The Essential Effects Every User Needs to Know

I bought this book a few months ago when I was still a beginner and I have picked up a great deal from it. Most of the lessons revolve around making ads for the printed media. What I love about this book is that each lesson is step by step and practical. As the previous reviewers mentioned, it is not for the advanced student. But if you are new to Photoshop and want to build a strong base, this is the book to get. Scott Kelby has a talent for making this package easy to learn. I even like his magazine where new techniques in Photoshop are introduced.

This book centers around Photoshop techniques for ad work. These include billboards, letterhead, DVD boxes and the like. The techniques covered include photo manipulation, typography work, and completely artificial drawings. The author does a good job of explaining each design step-by-step and making it all very easy to follow. The designs are pretty slick and there are some good ideas to borrow there outside of the context of learning about Photoshop.

Scott Kelby, the editor in chief of Photoshop User magazine talks about not how to use Photoshop, but a series of maybe two hundred little hints and tips that show not only how to do something but clearly illustrates the effect being created using actual screen shots. These are not the super sophisticated complicated and rarely used procedures. These are the techinques that real everyday users have developed to get their jobs done on a day to day basis. It combines in one volume a whole bunch of "Of course, why didn't I think of that," ideas. What I find in this book is new ideas of ways to convey the message I'm trying to send. Just one or two such ideas makes the cost and the time spent on the book worthwhile.

I just bought this a few days ago and I really have enjoyed flipping through it. Pretty much its a good 'cookbook' of photoshop techniques and effects. The book is more targeted for the basic and moderate user. Advanced users may find it a bit dull.

Where many of the Photoshop "effects" books start your mind racing, Photoshop Classic Effects retunes your creative engine on a far more important level -- it recenters your skill set with better, easier, smarter ways with things many of us Photoshop folk think we can do in our sleep. Pluse, there are twists and updates on the tried and true effects that give them new life, like Beck breathing in some new interest to an Al Green song. One of the nicer things about this book is how Scott takes you through the steps. Whether you're a Mac or PC guy, entered Photoshop at version 1 or version 7, the steps are logical and easy-to-follow. Every library needs a cornerstone. This should be the one for the Photoshop user.