Photoshop Web Magic

Provides a simple tutorial on Photoshop tools, details specific graphic techniques for customizing web design to fit client needs, and considers such topics as file size, color shifts, resolution, transparency, and HTML assembly. Original. (Advanced).

Photoshop Web Magic is a four-color book with instructions on how to use Photoshop to create numerous effects. The authors show you how to create backgrounds, titles, icons, rules, buttons, and bullets using such elements as photos; patterns; clip art; custom brushes; decorative fonts; gradients; and 3D, neon, beveled, and glass effects. The authors also demonstrate how to design menu bars with tabs and gradients, how to create rotating and twirling animations, and how to produce many other sample effects.

This book has a direct style and an attractive design, which is handy because you need to have a clear visual understanding of what effects you're trying to produce when creating Web graphics. The book claims to be for both beginners and experts, but solid experience with Photoshop is helpful for tackling some of the tasks. What sets this book apart from others is that you see not only what the effects look like, but also how good-looking the effects are. A CD includes practice files, clip art, photos, fonts, Web utilities, and trial versions of filter plug-ins.