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Scott Kelby is both funny and generous. His wry sense of humor doesn't get in the way of the hundreds of nifty techniques in this new collection of Down & Dirty Tricks. In fact, when you first flip quickly through the book, gobbling up all the creative ideas and timesaving tips, his sly jokes only add to the I've-just-hit-the-lottery feeling. Whatever you're looking for--type that looks distressed, made of gel, or carved in stone; shadows in perspective or in motion; text that wraps around a globe; a glinting starburst on the edge of an object; a logo artificially placed at the bottom of a pool; or a starry sky created in an instant--just about every trick is here. And most are done in 10 steps or less. Also, each page has a Quick Tip sidebar (there're over 200 of them) that are worth the price of the book alone, with everything from getting better results from your eyedropper tool (click on Options and change the Point Sample to "3 by 3 average") to the quickest way to change units of measurement (the secret is in the Info palette). The book has been updated since the previous edition with mostly new illustrations, many new and better ways to perform the same tricks, and a few completely new ones. Project files and images can be downloaded from the book's companion Web site at downanddirtytricks.com. Although aimed at experienced Photoshop users, the text is detailed enough for readers of all levels. For example, steps like "make a copy of that layer by dragging it to the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette" or "press the letter m to switch to the Rectangular Marquee tool" are repeated in full whenever a trick calls for them. This not only helps beginners, it allows all readers to hop around the book and be able to carry out any trick in any order. Yet another reason this book could've been titled Speedy Down & Dirty Tricks. --Angelynn Grant |
