Adobe Illustrator Cs5 Classroom in a Book

This book covers a lot of topics and in decent detail. As an absolute beginner this is a wonderful resource. I purchased the printed version so I could easily refer back to spots in the book should I have any issues. Plus, I prefer having the book near my laptop as I read.The topics range from using artboards to 3d rendering. Each lesson tells you how long approximately it should take you for each lesson. These were typically on target, a few I spent additional time trying out what was just taught on a few chapters. Overall,it was 20+ hours of Illustrator help.In a few instances, you will see a shaded box which is a citation from Adobe Help. It was good to know if you had issues, Adobe Help would go in more detail than the book did. It was slightly annoying too to think most of the items could be in the free Adobe help but at least the book is a nice little compilation in an easy to follow fashion.There were a few spots I got stuck in the book but I did not reset my Illustrator preferences as they instruct at the beginning of each chapter- so be certain you do this.Overall, I feel more confident in using Illustrator. I do not feel 100% yet but I am hoping with practice and maybe a vector drawing book I will become an expert. I do suggest this book for beginners. It even goes over what is new in CS5.5, which I found useful upgrading from CS3.

The Illustrator is a complicated program but this book does a good job of explaining various features through lessons. While following the instructions in the book, I realized how difficult it is for them to describe every step precisely and clearly, in part because the book has to address both PC and Mac users and the program menus and tool settings change depending on the screen resolution of the user computer. For example, the book asks the reader to click the word Transform but some readers may not see the Transform in the described panel because of their limited screen resolution. So the book describes another way of selecting the Transform. In addition, the Illustrator is highly customizable, so the book reminds the reader to start with the default settings, not just once but over and over again. So the book tries hard not to lose the reader in the lessons by anticipating possible situations the reader may face.Due to the complexity of the program, every step has to be described very clearly in order for the reader to successfully complete each lesson. Sometimes I was stuck because my result from the previous step was different from what the book expected. I thought the book missed some step or the previous step was incomplete. After spending some time trying to figure out what went wrong, I just corrected the result in my way to match the book's result.Considering the complexity of the program and the variety of the user hardware environment, I thought the book does a good job of getting the user started with the Illustrator. I know there is still a long way for me to go but I feel that I have a good foundation to grow from thanks to the book.

I just started reading this book while completing the exercises page by page and for a beginner, it is simple to follow and in my opinion, the BEST way to learn. Doing SO MUCH from the very beginning allows me to follow along at a snail pace while learning even NEW techniques and tools! This book and CD are a MUST-HAVE if you want to learn hands-on and inside-out in order to use the program professionally. From the very first page, you create the cover of a tea box! The second exercise, which I'm on now, is creating and laying out a brochure!The exercises have me pacing the house and wanting to pull my hair out because my brain feels like it is going to explode from all the information, but in a very good way. I feel like this book, if I follow every single step, will truly have me mastering this program little by little.My honest to God advice: If you buy ONE book on Adobe Illustrator CS5, this is the one...and probably all you'll ever need.

I am enjoying the Adobe Illustrator Classroom in a book. It will be a nice reference guide once I'm through my course. However, I feel the invaluable lessons my teacher gives me that the book doesn't really touch on is much needed. I am now working on my own personal logo for a class project, and understand how to draw curves (those are the trickiest to learn in my opinion), how to do gradient fills, and how to make and delete layers. I'm also looking forward to trying some projects in the future on masking objects. It's definitely a good book for those interested in learning Illustrator. The projects in the book are step-by-step and walk you through how to do each thing. You will get a lot of practice using the pen tool and the text tool.

I have no formal education in graphics, but I needed a program to help me create patterns for my business. I selected Illustrator. My only experience with Adobe other than PDF was Elements 6 through 8 versions. I knew I would need help learning to use Illustrator. I selected this Classromm in a Book for Illustrator based on the reviews. I have not been disapointed.While I am not completely finished with the lessons, I continue to work my way through them. With the lessons completed to date, I will say that this is a great way to learn how to use this extensive program and its features.I have no regrets about this purchase and highly recommend this book. The lessons can be completed at your own pace and repeated if you so choose. I was not confident that I could learn to use this program, but now I am. Thanks!

I'm going through chapter 6 right now. I was able to breeze through the first few chapters since I'm familiar with Photoshop and it's tools. The information is VERY thorough in that everything is explained well even for someone who has never worked with any Adobe products. The only complaint I have so far is that, in the Kindle version, even zooming, some of the illustrations are still too small to see very well. This is a Kindle issue, not a book issue. Hopefully in the future, the Kindle will allow you multiple zoom levels so you can see what is going on.

Like all the Adobe CIBs this one is VERY awkward to use. The text is not very clear and the layout poor because it is very hard to distinguish between instruction and information. They are both in same font and font weight. Also the page layout is wasting nearly 50 mm on one side as a margin that is used marginally, instead of being used to illustrate where to find buttons etc. And it is a real time-waster that often it is not shown where to find what you need for next step, but seemingly expected that you remember all from in the beginning of the book.Compared with the brilliant Illustrator CS5 it becomes very clear how poor the layout really is. Unfortunately there is no Missing Manual issued for Ai CS5, because they are really the ultimate in usefulness, and treasure-chests of information.Considered this one is also quite expensive in comparison to the brilliant Illustrator CS5 (about twice the price), it is poor value for money.It could maybe have been worse, but I can't quite see how!

Adobe Illustrator is possibly one of the most frustrating bit of graphics software out there. It's not actually that difficult, but many people struggle with it. I teach this application (I'm an Adobe certified Instructor) and once we've gone past simple shapes I know people will have issues. Often I'm asked what book they can get to help. This is the book. It will teach you all the main features and quite a few obscure details that people overlook. It will teach you mastery of the pen tool, a tool you MUST master to understand Illustrator.What it won't do is teach you to draw. There are plenty of other books that will teach you that; and I'd always suggest a pencil and paper first if you actually need drawing lessons. What it will do is teach you drawing with Adobe Illustrator and I highly recommend it.

I've never been a great fan of buying how-tos for software. Usually, I prefer to mess around in the program until I have a basic idea of how to achieve my aims. However, recently I was asked to produce some vector graphics for work. These graphics would preferably look nice, so the old AutoCAD wasn't an option. I was in a situation where I'd have to learn how to use Illustrator, and quickly.The book is divided into projects that utilise and demonstrate different features of the program. As with anything else, actually going through the process of creating something with these actions is much more informative than just being told what they do.I haven't completed all of the exercises yet, but those I've done have given me a far greater understanding of Illustrator than I would have found without the aid of this book.

I bought the Kndle edition having read the sample and other reviews here - despite the one that says you can't get lesson files. I have just completed the first lesson and am very happy. I have used Photoshop for years and consider myself quite competent at it but was finding getting started with Illustrator tough because it is so different in many ways to Photoshop. This book is helping to bridge that gap. I don't normally like follow along type books but felt I needed one to get up and running with Illustrator as quickly as possible and this book is not disappointing. The Kindle Edition works well despite being monochrome - the pictures are clear enough so that you can tell what you are supposed to do and you can check the colours in the downloadable lesson files (yes, they do exist at peachpit). If you want to learn Illustrator from scratch this is a good place to start but it may not be the book for understanding how best to use it if you already know the mechanics.

I've now got three of the Classroom in a Book series and find them a very good starting point. Adobe apps have all sorts of features hidden away that you'd never find on your own and these books, using a tutorial approach, take you through a lot of hidden bye-ways without getting bogged down in too much detail. No good as a reference, you start at the beginning and work your way through the exercises, chapter by chapter.