[.ca] Creative Photoshop: Digital Illustration and Art ... (ISBN 0240520467)

Fantastic book!:
have a fan of Derek Leas work for a number of years since first discovering his tutorials in Computer Arts magazine. I often emailed Derek asking him if he was going to write a book on advanced digital imaging techniques. Derek finally took the challenge of writing a book and to say that the wait was worthwhile is an under statement! If you are a keen digital artist hungry for new techniques to apply to your work this is the book for you. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!!

This Book is a refreshing change:
There are so many generic Photoshop books out there that I stopped looking at them a while ago. Then I found this. Derek Lea has written the definitive guide for artists who want to create within Photoshop. I find the art so inspirational and the style of writing so easy to follow that I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to do something really cool with Photoshop. Lea also maintains a companion website to the book with an active forum. I found loads of people posting questions and even Lea himself was there to offer support to almost everyone who posted. Buy this book, then check out the web forums that go with it. You won't be disappointed.

I learned a lot:
This is the only book I've come across that teaches a number of different artistic techniques in Photoshop. The explanations, tips, and step by step approach is terrific. The artwork is very inspiring as well. The quality of art is something you'll find nowhere else. That is why it is fulfilling when you finish a chapter and learn how to do it. You will need to have a bit of experience in Photoshop. If you know almost nothing and are fond of the 'dummies' or 'classroom in a book series' then this is not for you. You won't understand and you'd be better off with very basic free tutorials from the internet. However, if you already know your way around a bit and want to create professional quality art, this book is a must have. Also, this is not a book for photographers or people who want an overview of Photoshop itself. The focus is on learning innovative creative techniques. It is ideal for aspiring or experienced visual artists, designers, or illustrators. This is a one of a kind book!

Amazing!:
I don't usually write reviews but after going through this book in depth I want to recommend it to everyone who is interested in digital art. Finally, a Photoshop book that tells you how to create stunning art in depth! The cool thing about Lea's book is that it is a series of very detailed tutorials. What sets it apart is that each chapter walks you through the process of creating a single, stunning piece of art. All of the files are on the disc and the linear, methodical, step-by-step approach helps you every step of the way. The cool thing about Lea's approach is that each chapter is self contained and as long as you follow each step, you'll create the amazing image at the beginning. You can jump around from chapter to chapter rather than building up from start to finish, which is cool. There is also a lot of inspirational art in galleries at the end of each chapter. So even though you created the art in the tutorial, you have a clear indication of what else you can do after learning Lea's techniques. It really is amazing to see how much diversity one guy is capable of. I found the explanations clear and on the same level with my skills, which i guess could be considered intermediate. If you want to create impressive art in Photoshop, this is the book for you. However, if you're a newbie, and you want to learn quick and simple tricks this isn't the book for you. If that is the case, you might benefit more from some of the very basic tutorials for free on the net, or you may want to check out something from the more basic 'classroom in a book' series. This book is essential for those who want to really flex some creative muscle in Photoshop and aren't afraid to get into something complex.

A Book of Confusion:
I'm new to photoshop and require it for my new job so i picked up this book to help me out. Little did i know by the end of the book I was more confused then before. The author has a hard time stating his ideas clearly and only results in back tracking on every other page. I managed to get to the end of the book through much struggle only to hit a road block at the final chapter which was completely incomprehensible. I had to put down the book at that point, I bought The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers and this book completely cleared things up for me, leaving Mr.Leas book as a nice 15$ doorstop.