Photoshop 7 Down and Dirty Tricks

Scott Kelby shows you how to create all those visually stunning effects you see, get excited about and want to emulate, before coming back down to earth and saying to yourself, "that would take far too long", or "I just don't have the skill/talent/knowledge..." And here's the good bit--it's not difficult or time consuming and anyone can do it, even if the only thing you've ever done in Photoshop 7 is spend 10 minutes making your boss look absurd with the liquefy tool.

The effects are explained in four to six easy-to-follow plain-English steps, accompanied by colour screen grab. If you've been impressed by a particular technique--Apple's Aqua-gel effect buttons and type, distressed type, metal effects, water drops, TV scan lines, texture mapping--there's a good chance you'll find something like it in these pages.

There are a few more involved projects, a single-image montage, movie poster and 3-D packaging and an entire chapter is devoted to producing a high-tech interface of the kind that has proliferated on the Web in the last couple of years.

Scott's boundless Photoshop knowledge, friendly style and an abundance of quick tips--one on every page--keep the pace moving fast. If you want to produce stunning effects such as these, but don't have the time to make a decent cup of coffee Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks is instant gratification. --Ken McMahon

Unfortunately, it didn't. There are tutorials on typography, interface design, image manipulation and enhancement etc. everywhere on the Internet which are just as good, if not even better, as the ones in this book.

The tutorials in "Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks" are clear, easy to understand and well illustrated. The only other PS book I have is "Photoshop 6 WOW Book", which did teach me quite a lot of new stuff, but definitely wasn't as easy to understand as this book.

If you are an advanced Photoshop users, don't get this book, as you most probably won't learn anything new. However, if you are a beginner, and you prefer having your resources on paper than on your screen, or if you don't want to search the web for tutorials and compile a collection of them, then I do recommend this book. If I would be a beginner, I would probably give this book 4/5 stars. From my perspective as a more advanced user, I only gave it 3/5.


Photoshop 7 - Down & Dirty Tricks   November 27, 2002
J SHAW (MANCHESTER, LANCS United Kingdom)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

Review by John Shaw

Described as a 'Photoshop book that takes risks...' this book certainly contains several concepts that differ from the more traditional tomes found on bookshelves today. Appealing to all levels of expertise, this is a book to have fun with !

Its eight chapters are packed with easy to understand, step by step instruction that will enable you to produce a multitude of special effects quickly and efficiently. These vary from metal chrome text, to high tech interface design. It is aimed at the intermediate to advanced user, as it requires some previous Photoshop experience, but having used the book to create several effects, I can say a novice would also find it very useful and productive.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this book is the ability to 'jump in', pick a page and have a go. You don't need to read several chapters before getting to something interesting, its instant !

It contains a neat introduction, in which the author pens some relevant Q. & A. in a format any prospective purchaser would want. This is a new version that not only encompasses the new tools in Photoshop 7, but includes lots of new slick effects and revamps some of the older ones. Although it doesn't come with a CD you are able to download many of the images used from a dedicated website and try them out yourself.

The Down & Dirty concept will make a huge difference to Photoshop users, helping readers to master cool, jaw dropping images, in the shortest possible time. It must be pointed out that some of the effects can be found in many of the third party Filter or Actions packages around, but these tend to be expensive. There is also a greater satisfaction in knowing how to simulate the effect yourself and having total control over it!

So, take a leap forward and buy this book. A must for any serious Photoshop enthusiast. Highly Recommended


Up and running in minutes...   November 26, 2002
Mr. C. Nolan
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

It works! It really works I ordered this being a little sceptical as I have received Photoshop books before and thought "Eeek I need another lifetime to read all that..." this one is different because you can actually use the information provided within minutes of opening the book! I have used the tricks for websites, presetations and lots of other commercial applications. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to get quality results in the shortest possible time!


The perfect guide for new and experienced Photoshoppers....   October 29, 2002
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I have been using Photoshop from v3 and I thought I was a competent user. This book has opened a whole new Photoshop world for me - Alien Skin not required!
Take a look at the finished product then follow the step by step instructions, adapting for your own needs along the way, and you have some pretty hot graphics for web or publishing.
This is not a Photoshop manual but does cover keyboard shortcuts and some complicated techniques that encourage further experimentation with the bundled tools.
New to Photoshop? This is the book to start with.
Experienced user? Still worth having - you're bound to find a mass of new techniques in there!!
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