Product Description

* New! Zip through the learning curve in a snap with the free DVD! * Hundreds of new Photo Objects, companion project files, QuickTime movie tutorials, sample plugins, and more.

* Don't miss the website www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com where the author answers your reader questions directly!

When you're short on time with crunching deadlines, but there's no way you can sacrifice quality, this book/DVD comes to the rescue. Nobody knows more about how to work fast under pressure and still produce top-notch photographic images than hands-on graphic artist and journalist, Steve Caplin.

Steve cuts through the grind with on-the-job, do-it-now skills, techniques, and shortcuts guaranteed to show you how to work faster, smarter, and better to produce the best work of your life. With a lifetime of practical experience in photo-montage Steve is the go-to person for professional designers, graphic artists, illustrators, photographic retouchers, and students of design media and illustration who want to create photorealistic effects using Photoshop.

Updated for Photoshop CS3, this must-have resource is also backwards compatible - relevant to any version of Photoshop.

'How to Cheat in Photoshop CS3' helps you "cheat in" (or take advantage of) Photoshop in two important ways. You learn how to make images look like photographs, when they're not so that you can create photographic work without a studio. And you find useful shortcuts to work more efficiently, economically, and with quick solutions to achieve the same superb results that come from long, complex operations that take forever.

Whether you're working for print or the web, dip into this book and extract the info you need - fast. Icons mark where Photoshop files or movie tutorials are available for you to open immediately to try for yourself. Stuck? Visit the Reader Forum on the web and question the author directly (and expect other readers to weigh in, too!) at www.howtocheatinphotoshop.com.

Crammed with gems that other books simply don't cover, this book/DVD excels in practical tips to turn the ordinary into the awe-inspiring, quickly. Don't miss how to create new artwork from scratch from starting points that aren't always obvious.

This fully updated new edition shows you how to get the most out of Photoshop CS3, including the Quick Selection and Cloning tools, and more. Yet it's backwards compatible with previous releases of Photoshop. The book's step-by-step tutorials alongside the DVD packed with hundreds of images, project files, and live tutorials show you how to:

* Create convincing smoke effects and make effective explosions - the simple way
* Take years off someone's appearance
* Turn a photograph of someone looking straight into the camera into a different perspective with the entire head (not just the eyes)
* Modify a statue so it looks like a living person or paint hair directly on any surface
* Produce the perfect cutout in the shortest time with Photoshop CS3's new Quick Selection tool... and more

A host of timesaving techniques and insider secrets teach you to work faster and more adeptly moving from the problem to the solution to get fantastic results!

Steve Caplin is a graphic artist, author and journalist.

* Extensive new material to show you how to take your Photoshop skills even further
* DVD includes all the brand new images from the book, 300 high resolution AbleStock images plus over 2 hours of QuickTime movies of the projects
* Benefit from a professional illustrator's timesaving tips and tricks!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148920 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amateur Photographer (Review of Previous Edition)
"...this book is fascinating and Steve is unquestionably the
master in his field."

Review
"A fun project-led workbook for anyone who wants to get to know Photoshop more intimately. Covering all the techniques you'll ever need, it's packed with inspirational projects to try - from combining body parts, to making introduced light sources, shadows, textures and reflections look realistic. With this handy guide, the digital world really is your plaything." - Photography Monthly (Aug 2007)

Previous edition reviews:

"The tutorials are concise, well presented, [and] show the reader what is possible with a select few of the tools, those which serve as the quickest and most practical in any given situation.. The only title which focuses on getting things done in the shortest amount of time as well as producing photo-realistic results."
David Asch, UK based freelance digital artist and photographer specialising in photo-montage and image effects.

". refreshingly candid and easy-going approach to teaching Photoshop techniques. It is enjoyable and informative. It's greatest strength is its approachable, friendly writing style combined with obvious expertise.. more personal and direct than any other Photoshop book I've read."
Keith Martin, UK based freelance graphic designer, Technical Editor for MacUser magazine.


"...this book is fascinating and Steve is unquestionably the master in his field." - Amateur Photographer

"Brilliant illustrations, step-by-step instructions and packed full of tricks from one of the finest masters of them all." Tom Ang

"An invaluable guide to creating impressive montages from your digital photographs. Composed primarily of step-by-steps, this tome is packed with useful shortcuts and time saving tips." - What Digital Camera

"A must-have for all Photoshoppers" - www.total-image-nation.co.uk

"Covering all the major techniques, author Steve Caplin takes you on an intriguing and insightful journey through the realms of the digital montage." - Advanced Photoshop

"Its 376 pages, plus CD, are crammed with colourful instruction on making your dull, unexciting snaps look altogether different...It should be required reading for anyone using Adobe's image tweaking tool in a semi-pro environment." - MacUser

"You'll find plenty of fun in the author's offbeat lessons and examples which explore the program's hidden powers. What makes CHEAT so unique are the gems that other volumes simply don't cover. The juiciest bits that real artists hunger for are here. So dig in, dig deep, and Shop yourself mad." www.dingbatmag.com

What Digital Camera (Review of Previous Edition)
"An invaluable guide to creating impressive montages from your
digital photographs. Composed primarily of step-by-steps, this tome is
packed with useful shortcuts and time saving tips."

Customer Reviews

Fully and wholly recommended for beginners and experienced Photoshoppers alike!
I had the first edition of this book and learnt an incredible amount from it. This newer version (fourth edition) includes many more examples and is substantially more beefy, with almost twice the amount of pages, over 400! The other benefit of getting the new edition is the inclusion of two hours of video tutorials (it seems Steve has responded to feedback on his forums, as people mentioned how helpful the videos were in previous editions).

If you've ever studied illustration and photomontage you'll know that the Author is a pioneer in this field. You've probably been turning through the pages of The Guardian or The Times or any number of popular magazines and seen his work without even realising it. Anyway, my point is that the Author is busy working in the industry and if you want to learn from someone then he is the best man for the job! A particularly nice touch is the inclusion of various "interlude" sections of the book which divide up the tutorials. They give the reader an idea of what people in the industry might expect of you as a graphic artist, self-promotion, and tips on sourcing images etc.

I think it's important to say that this book does something that the other CS3 books don't - that is explain how you would use Photoshop quickly and painlessly everyday to complete the tasks a publishing company/magazine/newspaper would ask of you. The layout of the book is superb with everything is broken down into small chapters that explain each step to completing the dramatic transformations to images that you will undertake. He does say in the introduction its not the kind of book you'll be reading cover to cover (as you might know some of the techniques mentioned already) but it is the kind of book you'll be able to pick out tutorials you find interesting, or perhaps need to learn for a particular project or brief. This approach works very well and it feels a little less daunting when holding the weighty book in your hands! The fifteen chapters are broken down into several tutorials that explain pretty much everything you'll ever need to achieve in CS3 ranging from simple techniques to change the colour of a woman's jacket or a building, to time saving techniques and ways to save your files (very important if you're working to a short deadline) all the way through to subtle lighting/shading/shadow techniques and layer masks.

The other thing that I would say distinguishes this volume from others is the practical explanations for the tools, including the Pen tool which, to me made little sense prior to reading the tutorial! It also explains the new tools in CS3 which also made little sense before I got the latest edition!

This book however isn't just aimed at the professional illustrator/graphic artist or those studying to work in the industry, it is also aimed at people who like to have a bit of fun with Photoshop for personal pleasure. There's a weekly contest on the website forums where readers can come together to assess each others work, and Steve Caplin offers tips and advice on those images you're working on. Its a fantastic resource, and very interesting to see how other people have taken his techniques and adapted them for their own work.

It is well worth buying if you found the first or second editions useful as I did. Even if you have quite a bit of experience with Photoshop there will be many tutorials which will show you how to improve your skills.

wish I had got this one first
Having spent a small fortune on photoshop books from all different authors I wish I had bought this one first,I could have saved a small fortune this book explains how to do all the things you would do on a regular basis,but it shows you the easy way of doing it leaving you thinking why didnt I do that earlier,simple and to the point.I cant recommend this book highly enough,its the only book I have ever reviewed on Amazon out of all the books I have purchased(around 8 photoshop book)

How to Cheat in Photoshop
If you are an inexperienced Photoshop user BUY THIS BOOK. If you are an experienced Photoshop user BUY THIS BOOK.

I can honestly say that I learned more about day to day use of Photoshop from this one book than all the others combined.

Steve Caplin takes you through real world examples in very easy to understand steps and shows you techniques that you might never even have thought about.

Having read the book navigate your way to the "How to Cheat in Photoshop" website also run by Steve to find out more and join in the "Friday Challenge".

Come on in. The Photoshopped water is lovely!