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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/867
48 MacDirectory
BOOK REVIEWS
CLASSROOM IN A BOOK > ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS4
WORDS BY LISA P. HILL
Imagine sitting in a classroom surrounded
by students hunched over their keyboard
and stylus sticks. Questions fly across the
room as the instructor roams between
desks, scrambling to answer each
response. Yet she takes the time and
pauses behind your chair, observing and
offering informative suggestions. As the
classroom fades out, the instructor remains
solely focused on assisting your training.
"Okay, now press the select button and
click on this star. Drag it to the far corner."
"Hey, that's cool. If I shift click the left
snowflake, both of them drop down.
What does this blob brush do? Wait…I
didn't want to do that."
"Here, just click Edit and Undo. Easy to fix.
Watch what happens."
"Awesome!"
Sound too good to be true, to have your
own tutor in a book? Most computer
classes don't provide one-on-one tutoring,
yet Adobe offers
Illustrator CS4
Classroom in a Book
as a great
substitute. Each lesson is well laid out to
aid readers learn how to manipulate
powerful illustration tools. Beginners can
follow each lesson chapter-by-chapter to
improve their skills, while experienced
users can explore many advanced
features. This book acts as a personal
tutor standing beside you at your beck
and call.
Why is
Illustrator CS4 Classroom in a Book
a good learning application for print,
multimedia and online graphics? It allows
from beginners to experts to master a
wide variety of application tools to create
artwork for page layouts, blog illustrations,
logos, stationary, posters, etc. It integrates
with Adobe's Flash movies, InDesign
layouts, Photoshop imagery, and Flex
open source framework.
In the first lesson, Adobe encourages
users to jump right in and create an
advertisement art board. It's okay to feel
a little lost, and not recognize work panel
names or their function. Adobe guides
the reader step-by-step, and if one
fumbles, it's easy to retrace, correct
and continue.
There are many "Wow…cool" moments
using various tools in the Application Bar
and various work panels. And it's easy
to customize and reposition these
panels. Illustrator CS4 is all about
providing paths to create, experiment
and expand your horizon.
Individual lessons are provided on the
Classroom CD, which was easily
downloaded on a MacBook Pro. The
program requires Mac OS X.
At the beginning of each chapter, Adobe
estimates each chapter's completion time
ranges from 45 to 90 minutes. Review
questions and answers are provided at
each chapter's end. In less than one
month, beginners will be amazed at their
competence and skill level.
Don't think the lessons provided are your
sole learning source. Adobe offers
additional teaching resources with online
Adobe TV, Community Help and the CS4
Resource Center. Adobe also provides
numerous online self-help articles to
further enhance and define illustration
skills. In addition, Adobe provides online
paths to help you in becoming an Adobe
Certified Expert.
Adobe's
Illustrator CS4 Classroom in a
Book
is a good value at $54.99, and
Adobe offers various online savings
opportunities. Through Adobe Press,
Safari Online books offer a free 10-day trial
period. Download the free trial of
Illustrator CS4, and Adobe gives beginners
to experts the opportunity to explore both
Classroom in a Book and Illustrator CS4.
With today's shrinking economy, media
professionals, writers, Web designers, and
graphic artists must not only maintain
their marketable skills, but expand their
creative knowledge.
Illustrator CS4
Classroom in a Book
offers champagne
training for a six-pack price.
Illustrator CS4 Classroom in a Book
Adobe Press