How to Cheat in Photoshop
The art of creating photorealistic montages - updated for CS2
3rd Edition
Published on 11. August 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-240-51985-2 (ISBN)
Description
How to Cheat in Photoshop helps you cheat in two ways: it shows you how to create images that look like photographs and also offers shortcuts and invaluable tips to help you work faster and more efficiently. This new edition of Steve Caplin's bestseller includes new techniques showing how to make the most of the power of Photoshop CS2. New chapters are also now included on perspective, transformation and distortion, time-saving techniques, and working for print and the web.
Steve Caplin shows you how to work from the problem to the solution, gaining the best possible results from Photoshop CS2. On every double page spread there is a new step-by-step project, making 150 projects in total. On the companion CD you'll find QuickTime movies of the projects illustrated in the book, along with free sample plug-ins and high resolution images allowing you to experiment with each technique and create your own montages.
Steve Caplin shows you how to work from the problem to the solution, gaining the best possible results from Photoshop CS2. On every double page spread there is a new step-by-step project, making 150 projects in total. On the companion CD you'll find QuickTime movies of the projects illustrated in the book, along with free sample plug-ins and high resolution images allowing you to experiment with each technique and create your own montages.
Reviews / Votes
"...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 artis hunger for are here. So dig in, dig deep, and Shop yourself mad." www.dingbatmag.com
"Not brand new, but the latest edition of a classic. Steve Caplin has the rare gift of being able to make complex techniques seem perfectly straightforward and logical. " Computer Arts Projects, December 2006
On the previous edition:
'...written in a succinct and accessible style. Each chapter is self-contained with every spread taking the reader on a step-by-step guide to one particular technique. The real strength of the book lies in Caplin's use of the 'real world' examples. The Cheat of the title refers to shortcuts. Unlike some other writers, Caplin is aware of the concept of deadlines, as his workman-like approach to the subject shows.'
British Journal of Photography
'a superb set of step-by-step how-to guides for achieving photorealistic montages from the master himself. By "cheating", Caplin means quick, easy-to-grasp shortcuts to impressive ends. The book shows you how to create many effects, using a gallery of Caplin's commissioned montages - the finished pictures alone are almost worth buying this book for. A must for all montagers.'
Simon Jary, Editor MacWorld
'Shows you how to exploit features and be more creative in less time, covering just about everything you could want to do in Photoshop. The book's credentials are clear - many of the examples and case studies are taken from real-world commercial projects. There's a goldmine of practical and downright useful tips, tricks and step-by-step workthrough in this book.'
Keith Martin, MacUser
'A great book - even if just using Photoshop Elements! This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone with Photoshop Elements or the full version. While it is not possible to do everything shown in the book, at least 80% can be done straightaway using Elements and much of the rest can be done with work arounds or a bit of lateral thought. There are some cracking ideas and projects to get busy with, with Caplin's work being recognisable from many Magazines and Newspapers.'
Amazon.co.uk customer
'Well-written, insightful and beautifully illustrated throughout.' Digital Creative Arts
'The book is beautiful in color, very clear in structure and filled with real life examples...I highly recommend this book.'
www.photocrack.com
'A great book to help you add realistic shadows, highlights and perspectives to your creations.'
www.ephotozine.com
"Subtitled 'The Art of Creating Photorealistic Montages,' Steve Caplin produces a worthwhile book and a CD that contains QuickTime video clips showing many of the projects illustrated. Cleverly designed and copiously illustrated, this is a wonderful book that includes a chapter called 'Heads and Bodies' which covers the digital 'guillotine effect' of mixing and matching bodies and heads." -Joe Farace, Shutterbug
More details
Edition
3rd New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional photographers, designers, illustrators and retouchers who want to create photorealistic effects using Photoshop. Also design and media and photography students. Beginner Photoshop users. There are over one million Photoshop users!
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
Approx. 850 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 189 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-240-51985-2 (9780240519852)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
05/2007
4th Edition
Focal Press
€30.94
Article is exhausted; no reprint
Previous edition
Book
01/2004
2nd Edition
Focal Press
€32.18
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Steve Caplin is a freelance artist and author working in London, England. His satirical photomontage work is commissioned by newspapers and magazines around the world, including The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, Radio Times, Readers Digest and L'Internazionale.
Steve has worked for advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Lowe Howard Spink, and his work has won two Campaign Poster Awards and a D&AD Pencil award. He has lectured widely in England, Norway, France and Holland, and has taught digital design at the University of Westminster and the University of the Arts London.
Steve is the author of ten books: How to Cheat in Photoshop (five editions), How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements (co-authored, three editions), Icon Design, Max Pixel's Adventures in Adobe Photoshop Elements, The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration (co-authored) and Art & Design in Photoshop. He has also co-authored three mainstream books: Dad Stuff, More Dad Stuff, Stuff the Turkey and Complete and Utter Zebu.
When he's not at his computer Steve plays the piano well, the accordion moderately and the guitar badly. He spends his spare time making improbable constructions out of wood and other materials. His first commissioned sculpture was for the Bethlem hospital - the original 'bedlam' - in 2010.
Steve has worked for advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Lowe Howard Spink, and his work has won two Campaign Poster Awards and a D&AD Pencil award. He has lectured widely in England, Norway, France and Holland, and has taught digital design at the University of Westminster and the University of the Arts London.
Steve is the author of ten books: How to Cheat in Photoshop (five editions), How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements (co-authored, three editions), Icon Design, Max Pixel's Adventures in Adobe Photoshop Elements, The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration (co-authored) and Art & Design in Photoshop. He has also co-authored three mainstream books: Dad Stuff, More Dad Stuff, Stuff the Turkey and Complete and Utter Zebu.
When he's not at his computer Steve plays the piano well, the accordion moderately and the guitar badly. He spends his spare time making improbable constructions out of wood and other materials. His first commissioned sculpture was for the Bethlem hospital - the original 'bedlam' - in 2010.
Content
Natural Selection; Transformation and distortion; Hiding and showing; Image adjustment; Composing the scene; Getting into perspective; Light and shade; Heads and bodies; Shiny surfaces; Metal, wood and stone; Paper and fabric; The third dimension; Hyper realism; Time saving techniques; Print and the web