Customer Rating:  
Summary: Only a user "reference" guide
Comment: I purchased this book because of the quality of the "Bible" series I have purchased in the past (Word, Project, Access, Excel, QuickBooks, Dreamweaver, Visio, PowerPoint, etc). This was by far the most disappointing.
The power of the Bible series is in the projects & examples included in each manual and accompanying CD; step-by-step instructions on "how to" use the features of the software. The CS3 Illustrator Bible contains very few examples; it is wordy and will not help you much if you want to explore and learn to use the CS3 Illustrator software.
If you are looking for a resource to learn "how" to use CS3 Illustrator, I would suggest searching for a different book...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Illustrator CS2 Bible
Comment: This is a book that has everything you ever wanted to know about Illustrator CS3. The only draw back to this book is that it has no tutoring projects and for me that's an important part of a book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must have for graphic designers!
Comment: I just love this book! I started learning Illustrator with CS2. I was connecting the dots with CS3 and decided to get the Illustrator CS3 Bible. By not having classes with Illustrator CS3, I was missing out on all the cool new tools like Live Trace. A great designer always has the best refrence books! I also have the Photoshop CS3 bible and the InDesign bible... get them all!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Is it trustworthy?
Comment: I purchased this book to help migrate from Fireworks 8 to Illustrator CS3. I have read six chapters so far.
Another reviewer commented on the "newspaper" pages, and while the pages are somewhat thin, it doesn't detract from my reading process.
The book's first few chapters covers all of the basics any newcomer needs to start drawing simple designs and my reading was going rather well until I read about symbols.
The author's description of a symbol is, well, nothing. The first mention of symbols is, "Since the addition of the Symbol tools in Illustrator 10, the world has never been the same. Small children can now, with ease, make a sensible drawing using the Symbol Sprayer tool."
So I read on, expecting to be enlightened, and he never even tells the reader what a symbol is, or why "the world has never been the same"! Such a bold statement with absolutely no supporting dissertation. There are 6 pages dedicated to symbols with not one mention of the fact that the concept significantly increases productivity and efficiency.
Luckily, I know enough about symbols to know the author really missed the mark, and instead of exposing their true power, passes them off as art that can be spray painted on the the canvas. Yeah, that's kind of helpful in certain situations, but those situations are far and few between.
If I wouldn't have already understood what symbols are and how they work, I wouldn't have figured it out by using this book. I am, therefor, lead to question how much information is left out. Am I going to be left in the dark on some other basic and important concepts that the author either doesn't understand or doesn't care to share? Probably.
This is the only time I have ever wanted to return a book...I simply don't think I can trust it as an authority on the subject.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ted does it again! Great Illustrator CS3 Bible reference
Comment: It has been 2 years from last "Illustrator CS2 Bible" and now we have updated version of it to CS3.
This time book again written by Ted Alspach alone and he stays the guard of this reference from version 7 (in far 1997). And the most interesting thing that every time Ted tried to power this book on 100% with information.
Bible keeps not only it's author, but also great style. With minimum clear explanation it gives you the most full information on an object. There're couple of color insert with nice Illustrator examples (seems very creative). Book consist of 700 pages. Pages are not not white shiny to make you blind, but pretty good indeed and in calculation of (book information*paper quality)/price buyer wins a couple of times.
All information you need is included: from novice to professionals - this reference is for everybody. To study new features or start from basics, to draw simple lines up to combine them in one complicated object and up to professional printing process of your work.
Great information order, information presented very clear and it is easy to follow, easy to find and it is explained step by step.
As we all know Illustrator belongs to Adobe family products, that's why almost every month such programs as Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop and other are used together to make work more easy and productive. Ted took one chapter of this time to explain the very basics of this programs integration (to expand our vision on this program and it's possibilities).
Illustrator is also a very powerful program and has a lot of "hot keys" and the complete list of it you can find in Appendix.
For people who never used Bibles, I would like to give table of content to let you know what you can expect from Bibles:
Part I: Illustrator Basics
- What's new in Illustrator CS3
- Understanding Illustrator's Desktop
- Working with Illustrator Documents
- Understanding Drawing and Painting Techniques
- Creating Objects, Graphs and Symbols
- Learning how to select and edit
- Understanding Color, Gradients and Mess
Part II:
- Using Illustrator to Organize Objects
- Working with Type
- Using Creative Strokes and Fills with Patterns
- Applying Transformations and Distortions
- Using Path Blends, Compound Path and Masks
- Using Live Trace
- Using Live Paint
Part III:
- Working with Graphic Styles, Filters and Effects
- Creating 3D in Illustrator
- Customizing and Automating Illustrator
Part IV:
- Understanding PostScript and Printing
- Creating Web Graphics
Appendix: Shortcuts in Illustrator CS3
Index
But in couple of words, we have here a titanic work of Ted Alspach that was put on paper for your satisfaction. And I really can't imagine a person that would not enjoy it. This book is really all you need.
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