Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book, The: Creative Techniques in Digital Painting

High Recommendation from a Digital Artist

One of the most valuable things about, 'The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book' is that Cher gives us a variety of projects we can do that will help us master digital painting. Not only are we guided through how to use a graphics tablet and stylus in combination with Photoshop and Painter software, but through some of the basics of drawing and composition, as well. Plus, each project is accompanied by step-by-step examples that are refreshingly original and clear. So, whether someone is new to the medium or has a decade of experience with digital painting like I do, Cher provides projects we can all learn from. Because of that, this book is a welcomed addition to my creative library and one that I highly recommend.

Inviting, Inspiring and Informative

Inviting in its design and detailed in its coverage of digital painting, Cher Pendarvis tackles both the technical side of Painter and Photoshop and the artistic techniques that turn their expressive brush strokes into art. Traditional artists struggling to cross over to the world of digital painting will find Cher¿s well-illustrated, step-by- step chapters a welcome hand guiding them to the best digital tools and techniques to achieve the effects they have been painting using traditional tools. Each chapter focuses on a fundamental artistic technique, like creating volume and atmosphere and working with simulated paper and canvas, or on more advanced techniques like mixing media and sketching or on specific tasks like photograph restoration. By naming tool names and suggesting software settings, Cher provides an immediate starting point from which readers can begin getting great results. The main tool, however, remains the Wacom tablet whose presence is felt on every page of the book. The tablet is the ¿brush¿ that Cher demonstrates can be a paintbrush, a soft pencil, a fine airbrush, a coarse palette knife, or just about any other kind of artistic tool. Cher¿s book will find a wide audience among traditional artists as well as graphic artists who will be inspired to move beyond simple graphics to creating expressive art with the look of traditional art tools.

A Gem For Your Library

You'll want this gem of a book in your library whether you are a beginner, dabbler or accomplished digital artist. Cher Threinen-Pendarvis is a master teacher. The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book is a skillful and generous distillation of her vast experience and knowledge as an artist in both traditional and digital mediums. Because of its thoughtful and complex structure, the book is both dense with information and userfriendly throughout. The Artist Tablet Book makes the often daunting graphics applications of Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter accessible to anyone. If you have never used a Wacom tablet, Cher's instructions will deftly guide you. She gives the reader just the right information in just the right amounts. The book's format gives you lots of ways to use it. You can approach it as a series of delightfully illustrated individual lessons: There's about a year's worth of college training in drawing, painting, and digital photo manipulation. You can dip into it to pick up specific tips and techniques: Color coded sidebars let you quickly see which apply to the Wacom tablet and which to Photoshop or Painter. You can browse through it for inspiration: There's no shortage of good stuff to steal. And you can use it as a reference guide to everything from how to set up a functional digital studio to where to find a service bureau to produce quality art prints of your work. Even after more than fifteen years as a digital artist, demo artist, and teacher, I continue to find the digital medium amazing, expansive, challenging, and almost too much fun. These qualities inform every page of Cher's marvelous Artist Tablet Book. It would take a review several times as long as this one to touch on all the features that make the book such an invaluable resource. No one with an interest in making or understanding digital art should hesitate to get a copy.

A must for Painter and Photoshop

Excellent book!!! Written by a true artist for artists!!! A how to book with a artistic touch. Anxious to take one of her workshops as well. Pre-ordered Painter 9 Wow as well.

Excellent book for both the experience and novice user

I had given a passing thought that this book might not have much to offer me as I've been using Photoshop, Painter and a graphics tablet for a number of years. I was glad looked at the book closely as it offers a wealth of information and examples for both the knowledgeable user and for those with minimal experience in Photoshop, Painter and graphic tablet use. The author's writing style is informative, open and relaxed making for an inviting read. There are numerous interesting and well thought out examples throughout the book along with excellent quick tips. The author has taken the time to compare and contrast not only brushes available *within* Photoshop and Painter but also *between* Photoshop and Painter. Each sample image is created in both programs showing the individual brushes used which allows users to not only see what can be accomplished in each program but also showing those users who own only one of these programs what they can create within the program they use. This book is an excellent addition to the library of both experienced and entry-level users.

A terrific book

Sometimes it's hard to write an honest review of a book by a long-time friend. But not this time. No matter where you are on your way to learning to paint or draw on the computer, this beautiful book offers worlds of insight, training, and support. A scholar of art history and proficient with traditional artists' tools even before she developed her computer expertise, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis is uniquely qualified to teach both art and digital craft. If you're a painter but new to the computer, Cher's experience and strong, concise teaching style will very quickly make you comfortable with the new tools¿Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop, and the digital tablet and stylus. On the other hand, if you're experienced with the computer but new to painting, she demystifies the process of 'seeing' your subject and translating its form and color into line and brushwork - so that's how they do that! Encouraged by her warmth and clarity, you can relax as you acquire artists¿ skills and develop your style. And if you're new to both computers and painting, how fortunate! The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book: Creative Techniques in Digital Painting offers you the opportunity to learn from a master of both, before you've developed any bad habits! The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book: Creative Techniques in Digital Painting is a collector's item¿a unique blend of art and computer craft. It's a book you'll want to open again and again just because the pages are so beautiful. But don't miss a word or an image. Regardless of whether you use Painter or Photoshop or both, you¿ll want to read all the instructions and sidebars. Having a tablet is important to getting the full benefit of what the author-artist has to offer, but it¿s a great book even if you don¿t have a tablet yet.

Digital Painting Explained

Although I've owned Painter for years, used Cher's Painter Wow books to understand the software, and even taken some traditional art courses, I have always been frustrated trying to translate what I know from traditional art to the tablet and pen. Cher's book demystifies using a tablet to create original drawings and paintings. Through each lesson, Cher carefully explains how the pen makes different marks depending upon how we hold it, how much pressure we use, and how we modify the 'brushes' we use. After a couple of frustrating starts, I found myself fighting the pen less and less, and reading more carefully about tilt, angle, pressure and the speed with which I made my strokes. My traditional 'pencil and paper' style needed to change, and the lessons helped me concentrate on making those changes. Strategies for making the most of digital techniques that can't be duplicated in traditional art are explained in detail. But this is real drawing and painting, no faking it, and the lessons will take some time to finish. Whether you prefer to start your painting in the software, scan a sketch, trace or even clone directly, Cher gets you started, and shows you how to still be the one painting the entire image, stroke by stroke, keeping the painting fresh and original. The pictures of her work in progress are so clear you can easily follow along with her methods. I would have preferred expensive spiral binding, but the book is bound well enough to stay open fairly easily while you refer to it. The lessons are classic, making them useful for experienced artists who need to practice with the digital 'brush,' and for beginning artists who need lessons in both using a tablet and in basic drawing and painting skills. Because these lessons are timeless, you can repeat them over and over with different subjects and brushes without ever making the same painting twice. This book won't be obsolete when Painter and/or Photoshop bring out a newer version of the software. The lessons in this book remain the backbone of digital painting.

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