Special Edition Using Adobe Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS [With CDROM]

I am an avid reader of Photoshop books. This one is incredible. It is a detailed, comprehensive look at all the functions of Photoshop. It is written in plain, simple language in a manual style but I never found it boring or tedious. This is a must have for anyone serious about learning Photoshop to its core. (I do not own Illustrator so I skipped the last 250 pages which are devoted to Illustrator)

Peter Bauer has done a tremendous job in this double volume book and if you own the Adobe Creative Suite ,he will guide you torough all the secrets of Photoshop & Illustrator in a great time consuming book !This was my first buy to learn the PS and ILL techniques and I read it whith enthusiasm(honestly I jumped over the different paragrahps to have an overall impression from the several techniques explained)Bauer knows it all,his books is fully detailed and he explains also the why's behind PS,Image Ready an Illustrator plus a lot of tips and tutorials.This book is NOT for beginners but it has a real treasure on guidelines and practical tips for the most advanced user of the Creative Suite.It's more like a Bible!The first part of the book is dedicated in 217 pages to the Creative Suite Concepts.Part two tells you the fundamentals of PCS(page 271-481)In part three Bauer leads you trough the Power of PS(channels,manipulating color & tonality,mastering blending modes,repairing and enhancing images with the production filters,adding special effectsa and preparing for print(513-671)Part four:image ready gives you Web and Image optimization and creating rollovers & adding animation(695-733)Illustrator starts at page 761 and learn you all the tech ;creating and editing paths,shape,drawing,graph tools,brushes,type and text,transforming,distorting,creating blends,layers,sublayers and groups;defining patterns,style palettes,gradients and meshes,masks,transparency;effects and filters,linking and embedding images & fonts;illustr and the web and finally moving artwork between Illustr and PS(page 1133)Hell of a job !!Bauer's style is well explanatory and detailed.On the companion CD you'll find color images from the book examples and demo versions of PS and Illustr plug-ins and tools.This is a reference guide for Specialists but if you put this book away a while and learn the basics in other books I assure you that after a few months or even sooner you'll come back to this Bible and take the time to improve your skills refering to Peter's stellar job!!