How to Cheat in Photoshop CS4 - The art of creating realistic photomontages

• 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 complete with Reader Forum where Steve answers your 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 CSX, this must-have resource is also backwards compatible - relevant to any version of Photoshop.'How to Cheat in Photoshop CSX'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, and unique in that it's written by a working professional sharing his tips on how he makes money producing this imagery, 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 CSX, 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 CSX'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 professional graphic artist, author and journalist. Content: Copyright , Page ii How to cheat, and why , Pages vi-vii Acknowledgement , Page viii How to use this book , Pages 1-2 Chapter 1 - Natural selection , Pages 3-38 Chapter 2 - Transformation and distortion , Pages 39-60 Chapter 3 - Hiding and showing , Pages 61-78 Chapter 4 - Image adjustment , Pages 79-98 Chapter 5 - Composing the scene , Pages 99-116 Chapter 6 - Getting into perspective , Pages 117-144 Chapter 7 - Light and shade , Pages 145-182 Chapter 8 - Heads and bodies , Pages 183-224 Chapter 9 - Shiny surfaces , Pages 225-264 Chapter 10 - Metal, wood and stone , Pages 265-302 Chapter 11 - Paper and fabric , Pages 303-324 Chapter 12 - The third dimension , Pages 325-358 Chapter 13 - Hyper realism , Pages 359-378 Chapter 14 - Advanced techniques , Pages 379-420 Chapter 15 - Working for print and the web , Pages 421-433 Index , Pages 434-437 What's on the DVD: thefullmontage , Pages 438-439 Art & Design in Photoshop , Page 440 Do you want to let your creativity run wild in Photoshop, but don't know where to start? Are you having trouble getting your ideas out of your head and onto the screen? Do you need your photomontages to look convincing ... and fast? Nobody knows more about how to work quickly under pressure and still produce top-notch results than hands-on digital artist, author and journalist Steve Caplin. This guide is packed with real-world examples, timesaving hints and tips and detailed step-by-step instructions that make the impossible seem possible. Fully updated for Photoshop CS4, this must-have-resource is also backwards compatible with any previous version of Photoshop. * Extensive new material to show you how to take your Photoshop skills to a professional level * 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! When you're short on time with crunching deadlines - but there's no way you can sacrifice quality - this book comes to the rescue. Cutting through the grind with on-the-job techniques and shortcuts guaranteed to show you how to work faster, this guide to Photoshop demonstrates how you can take your skills to the next level

Photoshop CS4 edition of Steve Caplin's widely acclaimed classic on photomontage