Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 6.0 Classroom in a Book

Seventeen project-based lessons take you through every aspect of Photoshop. The book starts with the basics--the revamped interface, selection tools, and working with layers--and then moves on to more involved projects like retouching, using the new vector shape and clipping path features, advanced layer management, and special effects. Each lesson begins with a clear introduction and finishes with a brief review section, which is a good way of assessing how much you've learned and whether you need to go over anything again.

Anyone who is, or wants to be, a Photoshop pro must eventually tackle color management, and two lessons are devoted to this difficult subject. "Setting Up Your Monitor for Color Management" examines the principles of color management and shows you how to calibrate and create an ICC color profile for your monitor using the Adobe Gamma control panel. "Producing and Printing Consistent Color" deals with proofing images on a CMYK PostScript printer and creating color separations for commercial printing. There's also a chapter devoted to spot-color printing. The remainder of the book deals with producing Web graphics using ImageReady 3.0.

While it lacks the depth of some of the other Photoshop tomes, this is probably one of the most effective courses there is for beginners and intermediate users. --Ken McMahon, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description
Adobe Photoshop is like having a darkroom right inside your computer. And now, with Photoshop Classroom in a Book, created by Adobe's own training experts, it's like having an expert tutor in your own book. Photoshop Classroom in a Book gives you a comprehensive set of Photoshop lessons to teach you everything you need to know to use this powerful image-editing software. And best of all, you can learn at your own pace.

Start with the basics of Photoshop, from navigating the interface to creating layers and selections to working with Photoshop tools, then move on to more complex Photoshop features, like masks, channels, retouching techniques, and special effects. In no time flat, you'll master these skills like a grade-A student, and you don't even have to bring an apple for the teacher.

I have heard two competing (and contrary) objections to these courses. People complain that there is a) either not enough or b) too much information in the Classroom in a Book series. It is true that Adobe has not developed a course that custom fits the requirements of every single possible user. This can hardly be held against them. They have created a series of straightforward courses for intermediate users. Neither this book (nor the application it is designed to teach) is for absolute beginners. It is for people who are comfortable in front of their computer. Nor should an expert user looking for some advanced tricks and tips purchase it. There are other books available to fit these needs.

Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book does a wonderful job orienting a typical computer user to a heavy hitting image manipulation application. If you take the time to complete this course, you will know your way around Photoshop. By properly learning the skills featured in this book, you will be prepared to absorb the sorts of tricks you have always wanted to learn.


Beginners beware...Intermediate have fun!   March 29, 2001
S. Nare (Lebanon, OH United States)
57 out of 59 found this review helpful

Typical of the "Classroom in a Book" series, this book is set up as a series of lessons. They take you through the major functions of Photoshop providing both instructional overviews and hands-on exercises. Lessons-wise, I can't fault the authors. They did a bang up job of hitting all of the major functions of the program.

I would however like to warn users to realize that this book and the others in the series are really not for beginners. Photoshop packs A LOT of functionality. If you are a beginner and you start going through these lessons, you may feel VERY overwhelmed. I strongly suggest beginners start with another Photoshop book. Perhaps SAMS 24 hrs version. Good intro. Then buy this book and try the lessons. You really need the grounding in the application so you won't feel blown away.

I really did like this book, but it is truly for intermediate to advanced users only.


A waste of time - too confusing for new users   August 23, 2001
lucyislawless
54 out of 60 found this review helpful

I teach Photoshop at the local college and have complained to my adminstrator about the use of this book for our level one classes. The lessons are too long, and introduce too many different features of Photoshop at one time. I've found that students appreciate a linear approach, and want to master the essentials of one topic before they move on. The lessons in this book "skip" around so much that my students get lost easily, and I've reorganized many of our lessons as a result. As well, it often ignores the "why" of a feature, and focuses instead on the "how". Inquisitive students want both questions answered. Adobe Photoshop is fabulous, but this book is not. I'd recommend that a beginner use the Visual Quickstart Guide instead.


Useful book for Beginners and Intermediate users   January 13, 2001
Onder EREN (ISTANBUL, Avrupa Yakasi Turkey)
45 out of 55 found this review helpful

I read the manual of Photoshop 6 too and I think everytime a Classroom in a Book book is better than manual of its software for beginners. Book gives you general use of software with 17 Lessons. Some lessons got tool techniques for getting the theory . ( Expecially every beginner will like Lesson 7 : Basic Pen Tool Techniques . ) I advice to new Photoshop 6 users to read this book firstly . And after that to improve their Photoshop 6 skills should read book's manual . If you firstly read the manual you can bored about it because there are too many theory ( not too much practices) You can spend your money for this book ! It will deserve it.


CD-ROM with images Accompanying Book Big Plus   July 2, 2002
carol irvin (chesterland, OH United States)
32 out of 34 found this review helpful

I don't think there is a 5 star book on Photoshop. That could be because no one book could possibly do justice to the whole of Photoshop so the books have to pick and choose where to put emphasis. I teach at a community college in an area different from this. I am taking the Photoshop course there and the book we are using is packed with so much information that I've found it worthless as a starting text, although now that I am getting the hang of Photoshop even it is useful. I now own 5 Photoshop books and they all do different things. This one's plusses are, in order: the images on the CD-ROM to do your lessons with that are in the book; the simple, straight forward style on an unjumbled, uncrowded page format and a logical, orderly way of proceeding and learning. Photoshop is considered a really tough program so I am not surprised that one book does not do it all. I would say if you are going to get more than one book, make this one of them. If you are only going to buy one Photoshop book, I honestly don't know what to recommend to you. It might be better to tackle the lessons in online tutorials in that case. The Photoshop Magazine is also excellent and better than all the books combined because it is chocked full of all color visual tutorials, every single page.