Product Description

The Technique and Power of Creation"This is a book of techniques. They are the techniques that I have developed in the creation of my fine art. My art is considered photo-realism because the final product looks like a photograph. As a commercial illustrator, I am commissioned to create photographs of products or situations that can't be photographed with a camera. In most cases, the product does not yet exist. To achieve such a high level of realism, I have developed the techniques I share with you in this book. This does not imply that you will become a photo-realist painter, but you will find that many of these techniques can be applied to many of the imaging problems that can arise in the workflow of anyone involved with the use of images. They are also techniques that might inspire you to explore the outer reaches of your own creativity."

--Bert Monroy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #451012 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

From Amazon.com
If you've been lucky enough to catch Bert Monroy's demonstrations on the TechTV cable show The Screen Savers, you know how good he is at revealing the magic within Photoshop. Monroy is a power user in the truest sense; Adobe even includes two of his brush styles (grass and maple leaf) in Photoshop 7. In this latest book, as on TV, he walks you through the steps he took to achieve such dazzling effects as snow and rain falling, sun glinting on the edge of a mirror, and reflections in a puddle, all using his own photorealistic digital paintings. Along the way, he touches on side issues like the effects of perspective on objects or how light sources create shadows in the "real" world.

As Monroy explains it, while creating one painting he finds methods to solve problems that arise in others. In the same way, he hopes that readers will learn by following along with his specific situations, for example, type that moves along the folds in an awning ruffle or an extremely subtle reflection of a matchstick in a marble. Since there are neither online project files nor a companion CD-ROM, readers are encouraged to work things out for themselves using their own artwork.

Monroy provides extensive advice on working with brushes; creating shadows, reflections, and surfaces (wood, metal, bark, stucco, and more); and creating fog, fire, and a nice flag waving in the breeze to finish it all off (where the miracle of clipping groups becomes clear). Readers learn the power behind the many options buried in Photoshop's palettes and menus.

If you own his previous book, Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop & Illustrator, you won't find much overlap here. Some of the images are the same, but for the most part they're used to show new techniques. You'll marvel at Monroy's digital masterpieces, many of which are collected in a bonus gallery section. Monroy's love of teaching and of making art is evident throughout, and it will light the fire of motivation and inspiration in readers of all levels. --Angelynn Grant

From the Back Cover

The Technique and Power of Creation"This is a book of techniques. They are the techniques that I have developed in the creation of my fine art. My art is considered photo-realism because the final product looks like a photograph. As a commercial illustrator, I am commissioned to create photographs of products or situations that can't be photographed with a camera. In most cases, the product does not yet exist. To achieve such a high level of realism, I have developed the techniques I share with you in this book. This does not imply that you will become a photo-realist painter, but you will find that many of these techniques can be applied to many of the imaging problems that can arise in the workflow of anyone involved with the use of images. They are also techniques that might inspire you to explore the outer reaches of your own creativity."

--Bert Monroy

About the Author

Bert Monroy was born and raised in New York City, where he spent 20 years in the advertising industry as an art director and creative director for various agencies as well as his own. Upon discovering computers with the introduction of the Macintosh 128 in 1984, he embarked on a new digital career. He embraced the computer as an artistic medium and is considered one of the pioneers of digital art. Bert's work has been seen in MacWorld, MacUser, Byte, Verbum, Computer Artist, MacWeek, and the comic book Shatter, to mention a few. His work has also been featured in scores of books including Making Art on a Macintosh, The Photoshop WOW Book, The Illustrator WOW Book, The Art of Digital Painting, The Grey Book, and Photoshop A to Z in Japan. His work has also been used to introduce many software products, such as VideoWorks (predecessor to Director), PixelPaint, SoundCap, and ImageStudio. Bert was a founding partner in the New York firm Incredible Interactivity, which was responsible for interactive multimedia presentations as early as 1986—before the terms had been coined. Presentations were created for such clients as General Motors, American Express, and Knoll International. Bert co-authored The Official Adobe Photoshop Handbook, which was the first book on Photoshop and the only one for almost two years. It won various awards. He also co-authored Adobe Photoshop: A Visual Guide to the Mac, which was published in 14 languages, and Photoshop 4, published in Japan by Agosto and BNN. A current book, Photoshop Channel Chops, co-authored with David Biedny and Nathan Moody, concentrates on the most advanced features of the program that are not covered anywhere else. His most recent book, released in 2000 by New Riders, is called Bert Monroy: Photorealistic Techniques with Photoshop and Illustrator. It concentrates on the techniques he has established over the years in the creation of his fine art works. Bert is an accomplished teacher and lecturer who has served on the faculty of The School of Visual Arts (NYC), Center for Creative Imaging (ME), Dynamic Graphics Educational Foundation (IL), and California College of Arts & Crafts (CA), and lectures at many other institutions and conferences around the world. He currently teaches at San Francisco State University. Bert now lives in Berkeley, California. He continues to serve his installed base of clients, which include Apple Computer, Adobe Systems, Pioneer Electronics, Fujitsu, SONY, AT&T, Chevron, and American Express. Bert has also done a considerable amount of film work for Industrial Light & Magic, Pacific Data Images, and R/Greenberg Association. ) Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

The book is beautiful, very informative.
I found this book very useful, very well illustrated, as Bert Monroy describes his technics. He teaches methods that opened my mind to the power that Photoshop CS has. While he covers many aspects of the program he dos not indulge in the usual rehash of every photoshop feature, focusing on specific projects. His reputation for a graphics artist and teacher are well deserved. Wonderful examples, just enough detail to convey the point without beating you over the head. Included color photos are well laid out, his teaching method couldn't be better. The tone will particular instruct the novice or intermeadiate user, but everyone will find something of use here. If you are looking for blow by blow 'how to' for every feature, look at Photoshop CS Sudio Techniques, or the Adobe Class Room in a Book. I only wish this book had more samples, examples. If you can't buy it, hope your local libray has or will. Do this for its artistic voice.

Paint in Photoshop!
Bert is a great artist and teacher. I took a class from him, and learned so much, but couldn't absorb it all at once. This book allows you to learn his techniques at your own pace, and will give you the confidence to start creating images from scratch in Photoshop, or add painting techniques to your image manipulation. Highly recommended for intermediate to advanced Photoshop users and all artists.

Amazing Work from an amazing artist
Bert Monroy is probably one of the most talented Photoshop users there is. If you've ever seen him on TechTV, you've seen how effortlessly he uses PS.

This book is full of amazing artwork Bert has done with Photoshop, along with a lot of tips and techniques from the master himself. You'll have a hard time believe that this book isn't just a collection of photos. Bert style is so photo-realistic it's jaw-dropping.

Definitely a must-have book for any PS enthusiast. Even if you don't plan to use PS for Photoreal artwork, there are techniques here that are applicable to other uses for PS but the book itself is worth the price just for the awe factor of Monroy's work.