"Al Ward’s innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation doesn’t just tell you how to do it...he gives you something to chew on, something to dream about."
--Fred Showker, editor/publisher of DT&G magazine

Photoshop for Right-Brainers, Second Edition goes beyond the cookie-cutter techniques and shows you how to take full advantage of Photoshop’s powerful capabilities. With more novel projects and striking artwork, additional advanced techniques, and hundreds of new actions for automating tedious tasks, this revised edition will help you unlock pathways to creativity.
You’ll get a firm grounding in key tools and techniques, then hone your skills by working through complex projects. By the end you’ll be able to bring your artistic and fanciful visions to life on your computer to generate your own mind-blowing photographic art.

Photoshop wiz Al Ward will teach you pro techniques for creating dramatic images, including how to:
* Expertly blend multiple photographs into realistic composites
* Add sharpness and detail to any image
* Give your portraits digital face-lifts: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth
* Create mind-boggling mirror effects
* Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate chrome and glass surfaces
* Turn any photograph into a line drawing, oil painting, or retro image
* Produce symmetrical landscaping and patterns in the sky
* Transform people into frightening characters
* Invent comical cross-breed species by altering animal photos
* Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
* And much more!

The CD features more than 400 productivity-enhancing Photoshop actions designed by the author, along with images and project files from the book, as well as exceptional stock images.

Attention Right-Brainers!
You’re an artistic visionary, right? In your head you imagine clever image fixes, fanciful photo manipulations, and artworks of startling genius. But when it comes to bringing these visions to life on your computer -- well, that’s the hard part. If this sounds familiar, then Photoshop wiz Al Ward’s innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation might just be the key to making your dreams come true.
Photoshop for Right-Brainers doesn’t hamstring you with follow-the-leader, cookie-cutter techniques. Instead, the book explores the artistic creation process, demonstrating how Photoshop can open pathways for originality and keep you from getting stuck creatively. You’ll start off doing real-world Photoshop work to get a firm grounding in the essential tools and techniques. Then you’ll work through complex projects, honing your skills and learning how to translate even your wildest visions into reality. By the end you’ll be able to generate mind-blowing photographic art of your own.
Inside you’ll learn how to:
* Expertly blend multiple photographs into composites that are incredibly real
* Add sharpness and detail to any image
* Retouch a portrait like a pro: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth, and more
* Create mind-boggling mirror effects
* Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate reflective surfaces like chrome and glass
* Turn any photograph into a line drawing or an oil painting
* Map patterns onto contoured surfaces for greater realism
* Subtly adjust colors to make them more vivid -- or replace them completely
* Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
* And much more!

Attention Right–Brainers!

You′re an artistic visionary, right? In your head you imagine clever image fixes, fanciful photo manipulations, and artworks of startling genius. But when it comes to bringing these visions to life on your computer—well, that′s the hard part. If this sounds familiar, then Photoshop wiz Al Ward′s innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation might just be the key to making your dreams come true.

Photoshop for Right–Brainers doesn′t hamstring you with follow–the–leader, cookie–cutter techniques. Instead, the book explores the artistic creation process, demonstrating how Photoshop can open pathways for originality and keep you from getting stuck creatively. You′ll start off doing real–world Photoshop work to get a firm grounding in the essential tools and techniques. Then you′ll work through complex projects, honing your skills and learning how to translate even your wildest visions into reality. By the end you′ll be able to generate mind–blowing photographic art of your own.

Inside you′ll learn how to:

• Expertly blend multiple photographs into composites that are incredibly real
• Add sharpness and detail to any image
• Retouch a portrait like a pro: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth, and more
• Create mind–boggling mirror effects
• Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate reflective surfaces like chrome and glass
• Turn any photograph into a line drawing or an oil painting
• Map patterns onto contoured surfaces for greater realism
• Subtly adjust colors to make them more vivid –– or replace them completely
• Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
• And much more!

Note: CD–ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Attention Right-Brainers!

You’re an artistic visionary, right? In your head you imagine clever image fixes, fanciful photo manipulations, and artworks of startling genius. But when it comes to bringing these visions to life on your computer -- well, that’s the hard part. If this sounds familiar, then Photoshop wiz Al Ward’s innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation might just be the key to making your dreams come true.

Photoshop for Right-Brainers doesn’t hamstring you with follow-the-leader, cookie-cutter techniques. Instead, the book explores the artistic creation process, demonstrating how Photoshop can open pathways for originality and keep you from getting stuck creatively. You’ll start off doing real-world Photoshop work to get a firm grounding in the essential tools and techniques. Then you’ll work through complex projects, honing your skills and learning how to translate even your wildest visions into reality. By the end you’ll be able to generate mind-blowing photographic art of your own.

Inside you’ll learn how to:

• Expertly blend multiple photographs into composites that are incredibly real
• Add sharpness and detail to any image
• Retouch a portrait like a pro: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth, and more
• Create mind-boggling mirror effects
• Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate reflective surfaces like chrome and glass
• Turn any photograph into a line drawing or an oil painting
• Map patterns onto contoured surfaces for greater realism
• Subtly adjust colors to make them more vivid -- or replace them completely
• Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
• And much more!

Attention Right-Brainers!
You’re an artistic visionary, right? In your head you imagine clever image fixes, fanciful photo manipulations, and artworks of startling genius. But when it comes to bringing these visions to life on your computer -- well, that’s the hard part. If this sounds familiar, then Photoshop wiz Al Ward’s innovative and personal guide to the art of photo manipulation might just be the key to making your dreams come true.
Photoshop for Right-Brainers doesn’t hamstring you with follow-the-leader, cookie-cutter techniques. Instead, the book explores the artistic creation process, demonstrating how Photoshop can open pathways for originality and keep you from getting stuck creatively. You’ll start off doing real-world Photoshop work to get a firm grounding in the essential tools and techniques. Then you’ll work through complex projects, honing your skills and learning how to translate even your wildest visions into reality. By the end you’ll be able to generate mind-blowing photographic art of your own.
Inside you’ll learn how to:
* Expertly blend multiple photographs into composites that are incredibly real
* Add sharpness and detail to any image
* Retouch a portrait like a pro: soften wrinkles, erase blemishes, whiten teeth, and more
* Create mind-boggling mirror effects
* Control reflections and highlights as you manipulate reflective surfaces like chrome and glass
* Turn any photograph into a line drawing or an oil painting
* Map patterns onto contoured surfaces for greater realism
* Subtly adjust colors to make them more vivid -- or replace them completely
* Prepare your artwork for display online or in printed contact sheets and picture packages
* And much more!

Disappointing

After all the rave reviews, I picked this up. It was very disappointing.

The good: Clear step by step instructions, well printed and illustrated. Covers some tools that aren’t covered often: blending modes, the blend-if option, and displacement maps.

The bad: A bare handful of conceptual techniques are covered, and they’re repeated throughout the book. Blending modes, blend if, and displacement maps are great tools, but they’re used in the same way in the majority of the examples, giving the same kind of result. Without that repetition, the book would have been less than a third the size, and no loss of training would result.

His coverage of Apply Image didn’t show anything that can’t be done less destructively by using layers. (Apply Image can do a lot more, but that was never discussed.)

Some of his techniques were more convoluted than needed, and some used methods which cost time and resources unnecessarily.

Worst of all, from my perspective, all but one of his examples (bricks with text/bricks with stripes) looked faked. That didn’t give me much confidence in the technique.

Overall: The author covers some tools and techniques not frequently discussed. If you’re trying to create art that doesn’t need to look realistic, this may be an acceptable option, but I’d look at other books before buying this one.

Beware, the CD in my book held a trojan!

I like this book (a brand-new copy bought through Amazon) a lot for the reasons others have said, and for the obvious need it fills.
But when I tried to open the CD, my antivirus software found "trojan SHeur.AEPL!!!" Good grief.
I wrote Sybex (the publisher) customer support and they did respond within 24 hours, saying: "Discussion Thread
Response (Mark C.) 01/28/2008 10:13 AM
"Hi, and thanks for writing.
The files on the disc are not usable.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience. The files that were missing are provided in the attachment." (There was no attachment.)
This is unprecedented in my experience. But be warned, fellow customers, the CD in your book may hold malicious code. Apparently Sybex will send you the missing content, but that has not reached me yet.

Joe Cantrell

Right Brainers

For all those who would like to get to grips with the nitty gritty bits of Adobe Photoshop this book has it all.Mr Al Ward has long been associated with the Adobe people and his methods of teaching others in this book is brilliant.
You Have all the tools and advice on how to use them illustrated, plus you have the oppportunity to use your own pictures and adapt them to create the illustration shown. This then makes the finished article more personal as you have used your own work and not that given to you.
Highly recomended

This is a reWARD

Its always difficult to buy a book that gave you where you looking for, but this is for me one of the best books for photoshop addicts.

Fun

Good book. I borrowed it from the library then decided to buy it. Worthwhile tutorials to learn very cool stuff. I would recommend for beginner - intermediate.

Finally....something different !!!

I love this book! I’m an intermediate user, and I was looking for some new inspiration, and I found it here! I love Deke McClelland’s videos, and Scott Kelby is a useful, enjoyable read. Katrin Eismann has some great stuff, but you’ve got to really put your thinking cap on for hers..not always what I’m in the mood for. This book finally has some new ideas and the images are visually stimulating, combined in an interesting way, AND they are included on a CD. I climb into bed with Al’s book wanting to relax and learn and then want to jump out and try something! A must have!!!

Big book, little action

First of all, Macintosh users beware. The entire book was written from the standpoint of PC users; ’control this, control that’ in regards to keyboard and mouse issues. Anyone who writes a Photoshop book without Macintosh interface directions along with PC information should be tarred and feathered. Secondly, this is a big, expensive book which only teaches you a handful of concepts beyond the basics. I’m glad I got it from the 3rd party listings. I expected a lot from the title and description, but I firmly believe it’s better to go to a bookstore, flip through the books and then go to Amazon for a good price for something you really feel is useful.

A Must Have

I’m a professional graphic/web designer, and I purchased this book to improve my photoshop skills. Most design books rehash the same old tired stuff, but not this one. It has many new and interesting projects that will keep right brainers happy and inspired. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in graphical art. I’m so glad that I purchased it.

Finally!

I’ve earned a living retouching photos for years and I continually seek out new material that will stretch my abilities. Most books are a rehash of the same old stuff for people like me. I discovered Photoshop for Right Brainers mentioned in one of Al Ward’s tutorials and decided to take a look at it. FINALLY!!! A new source of inspiration! This book would probably be over the head of beginners but for those who have at least a working knowledge of Photoshop CS and how it applies to photos, this book ROCKS!!

Giving PhotoShop Skills Advanced Life

PhotoShop for Right-Brainers is the art of photo manipulation at its finest. Al Ward clearly and explicitly takes the learner step-by-step through different techniques enabling the reader to advance his/her proficiency in huge leaps with each chapter. Each technique and tool Al explains is accompanied by a picture to elaborate his words. The knowledge and insights from Al’s book will give each learners’ PhotoShop skills advance life. Huge thanks to Al Ward.

Excellent book!

Wow! Al Ward has outdone himself in this one. The book is beautifully presented on really high quality paper and the layout is stunning.

All the tutorials are easy to follow with wayyyy cool results. There is stuff in these pages that I have never seen in Photoshop books before and I have have read a lot of them.

If you are an accountant andall you ever want to do is crunch numbers and you hate pictures - run - run away fast... as far as you can from this book.

For anyone who has even a twinkling of interest in being creative, then this book is a must buy! It will open up new realms of possiblilities for you!