Photoshop 7 Magic (with CD-ROM)

Photoshop 7 Magic also have CD problem, I can't open picture in Project1 Folder. So, I can't Follow the book. Further more, Most of all folder contain only Start File.. no psd, no finish file there are only TIF file without layer! oh dear Sherry London, I'm not professional like you but I need some PSD file to see each Layer because sometime I can't follow your instruction. (as I see, 3 folders have finish file.. it's a big mistake)

in page 47 of this book, Phill Williams say only use Retouching tool to move object in TIFF file to other place (this is like a photo retouching) but they give me only 2 picture in that page .. just only original image and finish image.. there are no clue to point me out where I have to rubber stamp nor start to clone! and it's very small .. I do not understand why they left space behind. Maybe this is a MAGIC! So, it's very hard to understand. I need more picture and bigger! I do not know why her left space away like this .. :(

Worst ever, NO FONT!! but in book say include in cd, (lier) .. and many many error i.e. wrong folder name (I read only 3 projects but I found 4 or 5 errors!! it's too much!) and wrong picture in project 4!! you can download fix file from newriders website but it doesn't help anything! because errata still have error itself!! oh no.

Only a few better left is good tech support! but it's useless because this book is .... ok, I can say only don't purchase this book until next edition of this title came out! or try by yourself :) or purchase Photoshop 7 Wow! book instead!


Book Review   October 24, 2002
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

A plethora of new books are arriving on bookshelves thanks to Adobe releasing version 7 of Photoshop, and Photoshop 7 Magic by Sherry London and Rhoda Grossman from New Riders is one of the latest.

I have been using Photoshop 7 for a few months now (and had used a beta version, Liquid Sky, for a few months before that) so I am pretty comfortable with the new version. I was hoping Photoshop 7 Magic would teach me something new, something I did not know I could do with the new version of the program. Alas, that is not what this book is about.

Starting off with some very simple ways to use text, layers, and transparencies, the book moves into many different categories of Photoshop, from Marbled Backgrounds to Satin Beveled Type. The book is broken out into three main segments, Artistic Techniques, Web Techniques, and Image Manipulation Techniques.

The book features some really nice artwork and the accompanying CD-ROM has all the files you need to re-create the projects done in the book.

The book is well written, if somewhat Spartan. There is no sense of who the people are writing the book. It is "I did this, then I did that, etc..." With all the white space in this book, I would have liked to see a little more of the personalities of the writers come through. As it is, it is a boring read. Photoshop 7 Magic is a textbook, not an entertaining read. With the great pictures and examples in this book, it could have been so much more. Perhaps Sherry and Rhoda should take a page from another New Rider writer, Scott Kelby, and liven their work up a bit.

This book is geared to new Photoshop users, or graphic designers just now making the switch from brush and canvas to mouse, stylus pen, and monitor. Experienced graphic artists who have been using Photoshop for a few years will get little from this book they do not already know, or have learned from the countless book already available on the subjects covered in this book. Add to that and the very hefty price tag of the book, a whopping forty-five bucks, and I cannot recommend this book unless you are really lacking in Photoshop skills, unlike the demographic this book seems to be catering to.

Average book at best. Nice paperstock and heft to the book, but price is way too much for the quality of the 275 pages of actual content. The only Magic here is watching [money] disappear from your wallet or purse.

MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5

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Five Big Ones!   August 5, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

With hundreds of choices out there for the category, this one stands out. Photoshop 7 Magic really enhances the possibilities of the tool. As a user, I want a text that's simple to read and NOT overwritten. Just show me how to do it! I'm a painter who found the chapter on brush techniques and liquid painting to be very helpful. You'll want this book on your shelf.


Wonderful Book   August 1, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

It seems that most photoshop books simply recycle the same tutorials over and over again. NOT this one! Photoshop 7 magic takes a wonderful approach to not only going over the basics for beginners, but diving into some of the newest features such as the painting engine. The tutorials in the book are easy to follow and duplicate, yet are not long winded with and over abundance of info. I think they did a wonderful job with spreading out the abilities of photoshop without lingering one one feature too much. Whether you are new or a long time user, this is a book worth checking out!