Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book

by Adobe Creative Team

A project-based tutorial designed to help readers master the techniques of Adobe Illustrator CS3 combines practical, self-paced lessons and real-world project files that introduce the applications of such features as LiveTrace, LivePaint, enhanced tools, and the Adobe Bridge file browser. Original. (Beginner/Intermediate)

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Reference, Art, Technology, Software, Graphic Novels

458 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1993

About the author

The Adobe Creative Team is made up of designers, writers, and editors who have extensive, real-world knowledge of and expertise in using Adobe products. They work closely with the Adobe product development teams and Adobe's Instructional Communications team to come up with creative, challenging, and visually appealing projects to help both new and more experienced users get up to speed quickly on Adobe software products.

Reviews

[Hannah Linder · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first introduction to Illustrator; highly recommended book.

[Ren (A Bookish Balance) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

I don’t know what it would take to get me to rate a textbook on how to learn a software 5/5 stars because programs like this, in my opinion, are best learned through trial and error. The likelihood of me remembering everything I learned from this textbook is low, and I know will only be remembered through practice. I really liked that the contents of this book were easy to download and easy to follow (plus a lot of it was really beautiful) but that doesn’t stop this from being boring. I think this book is a great place to start with the program, and I can definitely see myself referring back to this textbook in the future.

[marko]

Odlična knjiga za sve one koji žele da se upoznaju sa Illustratorom ili da detaljno obnove svoje znanje. Velika zamerka je izdanje ove knjige, jer su fotografije u crno-belom formatu, a kada je u pitanju Illustrator (gde je potpuno očigledno da će biti reči o bojama i gradijentima) to značajno otežava posao i praćenje materijala.

[Derrick Trimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've floated in and out of Illustrator for several years. Mainly I use Photoshop. The activities in this classroom in a book were useful and opened my eyes to new possibilities with Illustrator. If nothing else, the mysteries of Illustrator had some light shown on them.

Being almost all new to me, I struggled at times. I found I had to return to prior steps on numerous occasions when I arrived at a stage that looked nothing like the example. Fortunately, the repetition of some actions helped reinforce my retention. Like anything of this nature, that will be the key to my use of Illustrator--repetition and practice.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book to learn Illustrator CS5 on. I had to use it for a Web Design class and knew absolutely nothing about illustrator. It was very helpful because it provided to opportunities to learn how to use the tools that Illustrator provides and gives you projects to practice on. I highly recommend using this book if you want to learn Illustrator.

[Scott Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I switched from Photoshop to Illustrator and the world opened up (mainly due to this book). The examples are comical, but the techniques being illustrated are everything I could have hoped for from a pro-level class. Buy it if you are entering into the program. Now I want an advanced book for serious illustration.

[Gerold · Rating 4 out of 5]

...good intro with lots of guided tutorials - illustrator is the essential tool for any serious infographic

[Dil Nawaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a serious book obsession in 2019. I attempt to purchase whatever books on various subjects that I can. I purchased this official Adobe expensive illustrator coursebook.

I acquired a lot of design books because I am a graphic designer. The main drawback of this book is that you may only use the source files provided by Adobe to those who purchased it to practice on vector files.

Although the book is quite thorough, I believe tutorials are far superior to books. I now understand that some books cannot teach you anything. You occasionally need to work practically.

Therefore, try online courses or places like skillshare.com rather than purchasing Adobe books.

Not Recommended
Dil Nawaz.
Karachi, Pakistan.
https://ocdil.blog

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books is really informative and necessary to learn Illustrator but also it is aggravatingly condescending. I spend half the lesson undoing the previous step because the author wanted to reiterate what was already taught in previous lessons. This is a college level book and should treat the readers as such. I do love the graphics, it doesn’t feel like I’m working on someone’s posters from the 90’s that were discovered in a forgotten computer file. They are modern and new. It is a big help to keep me interested.

[Michael Gaston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight from the source, no better tutorial out there.

[Dermawan Laoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to read this for school. good introduction to the software. just a book where each chapter is tutorial on how to do an illustration

[Unicorn Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for class and I'm making goodreads count it as one of my books for my yearly goal

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I am fond of Adobe products, I am not a fan of their Classroom in a book series. This one ranks just as OK. I am currently teaching a course in Illustrator and am using the book as a basis for lectures to lesson plans.

Like so many training books, this one over-explains topics which, in my opinion are more confusing and do not have a lot of real world applications. Many of today's students and instructors turn to video to quickly learn/find "how to.." The book serves to fill in the gaps and it is still a good companion to the course.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer on the use of Adobe Illustrator. I found it helpful to go through the whole book, even if you are knowledgeable on the information in some chapters, if only for the sake of seeing how Adobe uses their products (key commands, steps, thought processes). This is NOT a book about design. This book teaches you how to use Adobe Illustrator. I am planning on taking the certification tests that Adobe offers for Adobe Illustrator. They recommend reading this book as preparation. We will see how helpful it was once I take the tests.

[Yee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this book is not suitable and confusing for beginners. I've learned most of the skills and features from other tutorials on other websites. This book provides the descriptions of the features and functionalities. Despite there are lessons for different skills in every chapter, I felt difficult to master the skill being taught from this book whereas I've learned from more online tutorials. However, all the illustrations in this book are very beautiful.

[B Lucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big book of tutorials showcasing AI CS4's full toolbox. Fantastic study book for beginners or anyone who needs a week of warm up exercises and reminders. Lots of little stuff in here I never knew about from learning AI on my own. Would be a 5 star if they had made it less sterile and void of personality.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't just pick this one up at a bar and take her home for a one night fling like the Quickstart Guides, but Adobe's Classroom In A Book for CS3 rewards you if you have patience, caring, and strong, confident hands.

[Tara]

Illustrator is the best. The book is helpful for those unusual things that crop up. It is also good for the basics. No book can teach everything that there is to know about this amazing program or its counterparts in the adobe suite.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes over pretty much anything you can do with Illustrator CS5, and help you familiarize yourself with its tools. You also get little exercises to practice. It's a good way to learn if you're on your own and need to tame this program.

[Jeanie]

I've set this one aside as I've decided to concentrate my limited free time on mastering Photoshop. Although this book and CD package is loaded with great hands-on tutorials, I'll probably use it more as a reference book when I need to work with vector art.

[Nicole O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time of this book purchase, I enjoyed working through it. It's one of those books that I like to keep on my shelf. Most of this sort of information is available on the internet now. Adobe also offers free tutorials with their programmes.

[Tiffany Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a part-time graphic designer I'm always looking for short-cuts or ways to make my work be taken to the next level. Chop full of exercises. You can start at the beginning or jump to what your curious about. I have the kindle version, but I read apparently the paperback falls apart very easily.

[Ambreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

the easiest book to follow in terms of learning a design program through text.

[Melissa]

well...can't very well go back to school at the moment.

[Jonathan Briehl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for beginners.

[Elizabeth Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for school... and honestly the only thing I'm reading right now...

[September · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the easiest and best way to learn AI CS4. Great book. Well organized, well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to Illustrator. The CDROM included with the book has many easy to follow projects that makes vector-based drawing a snap.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

bad binding, books fell apart for most people in class... okay for basic learning, good step by step.