All the tutorials in this book are old and available on the web. The only good thing is that it covers a lot photoshop shortcuts for both MAC and Win users.

This is an excellent book for an advertiser or graphic designer. There are TONS of text effects and tricks that would be vital to creating ad copy or web graphics. As a photographer, I found very little that was relevant to my line of work. So it's a great book for a lot of people, just not for photographers.

Again, another Photoshop 7 book by Scott Kelby, my favorite expert. Like all his other books, this one is informational and easy to follow. It has effects that are ones you will use when making photoshop art as well as information to improve ordinary photographs. Photoshop is such an amazing program that keeps surprising me with effects I have not discovered. This book is another that teaches us some things that the program includes. I recomend this book to anyone who loves Photoshop and wants to learn more about it.

In many ways, I'm sure it's a five star book for those who are into type. I'm not.

This book teaches you how to do "FUN AND ZANY WACKY PHOTOSHOP TRICKS." There's a couple good ones. But anyone who is paying 800 dollars for a piece of software isn't going to buy a book to learn how to make cool watery text. Well, maybe they are.

The book is decent.

I bought this book a year ago. I did manage to successfully complete certain tasks but in my opinion, he uses too many shortcuts. Obviously this book wouldn't be for a beginner. His sense of humor is dry and wasn't needed. This book would have been slightly better if a CD were included as well as a place to download the images he used so that we may practice on them.

Photoshop has a very steep learning curve. The depth of the program is daunting. While I'm no guru on this program - yet - I've found that just diving right in and doing some of the more involved applications of the program exposes you to the maximum amount of features and you learn much more in much less time. With this book, you can do some very simple things, or jump into some of the more complex, such as creating "from scratch" illustrations. Everything is presented with beautiful, full color illustrations of every step, including menu examples and keyboard shortcuts. This book is very good for the beginner, but can also be a valuable resource for the more experienced user, and can help you to become your own in-house Photoshop innovator.

Photoshop has a very steep learning curve. The depth of the program is daunting. While I'm no guru on this program - yet - I've found that just diving right in and doing some of the more involved applications of the program exposes you to the maximum amount of features and you learn much more in much less time. With this book, you can do some very simple things, or jump into some of the more complex, such as creating "from scratch" illustrations. Everything is presented with beautiful, full color illustrations of every step, including menu examples and keyboard shortcuts. This book is very good for the beginner, but can also be a valuable resource for the more experienced user, and can help you to become your own in-house Photoshop innovator.

this was one of teh first photoshop books i bought, along with another of Scott Kelby's books Photoshop for Digital Photographers, they are both great and make an excellent reference pair. Down and Dirty tricks was infinitely helpful to me, before it i really didn't know how to use any of the good tools in photoshop, and even though the book is set up as seperate instructions on how to make specific projects (which can be rather helpful at times so you can just jump in and start), I learned techniques and tricks that i use everyday in photoshop, and the side bars in this book help almost as much as the main content, giving you keyboard shortcuts and extra info. Although this book is not very indepth about advanced concepts in photoshop, it shows you how to do alot of neat stuff and Scott Kelby is a funny author so its not as dry as some of the other photoshop books I have read.

AS a recent graduate of a web design program I found this book to be both pratical and inspirational. The steps are easy to follow and produce fantastic results which have helped add some energy to my work. For anyone interested in Photoshop 7 this is the must have book.

A must have for any Photoshop/Design teacher. The tutorials of this book is impressively simple yet with breath-taking results. My students simply love to try out all of the possibilites this book offers while practicing the tools and effects that Photoshop offer us. That book revealed some features of Photoshop that I never used before. Easy to use, easy to learn and very straight forward content.

A must have for any Photoshop/Design teacher. The tutorials of this book is impressively simple yet with breath-taking results. My students simply love to try out all of the possibilites this book offers while practicing the tools and effects that Photoshop offer us. That book revealed some features of Photoshop that I never used before. Easy to use, easy to learn and very straight forward content.

Adobe is used to having a lot of books written on its products. They tend to be the most complex of any program on the market, but it is because they are so powerful. If you have got the Photoshop bug and can't make pretty changes to your pictures or projects, this is a good book to start with!!!
Yes it will not teach you a lot of the "Why???" of Photoshop, that can take some years to learn anyway. A lot of Photoshop books come it two groups, those that know Photoshop and those who don't. Most of those that are for the expert expect you to know your Gaussian Blur from your Unsharp Mask and what kind of effect it will have on your picture. Photoshop "cookbooks" as some have called them teach by example, this author's "recipe's" are easy to follow and will give hints in the margins to learn more indepth or customize. Again you might be mimicing the author, but sometimes that is all you need to feel good about your investment in Photoshop. The CS (PS 8) book was a complete rewrite from the Photoshop 7 book, I own both because both have a lot to offer that was different enough to almost consider them volumes 1 & 2. Also if you are just needing digital photographry help, I would check out Scott Kelby's books on just digital photographry.

..

An outstanding book for digi-art!

I have used just about every effect you can think of in photoshop.
This book shows you how to do some very creative work in CS and you can use them in 7 as well. Photo's take on a brand new creative world with these tools, some of which I never knew possible! I have worked in the publishing arena some 20 years now and have won online photography contests with the techniques found in this book.
I would suggest Scott Kelby's new book for anyone with a photoshop skill set of 5 or better on a scale of 1 to 10.

No matter what books you now have on hand, Down & Dirty Tricks will be the 1st book you reach for when the going gets tough and the competition is rough!

"Down and Dirty Tricks" by Scott Kelby is more than just a collection of tutorials on how to get dynamic effects with Adobe Photoshop's plethora of options, it is a way for PS users to familarize theirselves with all the program has to offer through these step-by-step recipes for creating eye-catching effects in digital art and graphics. While naysayers make the point that Kelby has simply rehashed many frequently seen tutorials from the Web, that is not true. Many tutorials to create similar effects to the ones found here can be seen on different sites, such as teamphotoshop.com, but Kelby's instructions and well-rounded use of the program through the book's tutorials should give even an inexperienced PS user a good time learning the program and a good variety of skills. This book is a valuable addition to the library of any graphic artist or desiger or just anyone who is interested in doing things with Photoshop. Highly recommended.

I love this book, bottom line, I've spent hours creating special effects. Its very important to carefully read each paragraph. You can miss a few steps, however, as you get more comfortable with the tool, the special effects are amazing and empowering. For the most part the book provides step by step examples and pictures to verify your at the correct stage. The visual aids were very helpful when I missed a step. Here are the following techniques I liked: Gel Characters, liquid Gold and Chrome Characters, Glass pills, Carved in Stone, Glass tabs, Full metal jacket, Studio Tarp, ultimate chrome, Going for the Gold, and saturday night effects. The book covers alot of the Photoshop functionality in under 300 pages.

Some tricks are a bit redundant, but there were many times that I found myself saying, "So THAT'S how they do that." The depth of field FX, the "Matrix" and "Band of Brothers" type FX and the Interface Design FX are all very good.

This book is such a cool group of tricks and makes doing them very easy. I love the metal finishes! You'll need at least a beginner's working knowledge of Photoshop to use "Down & Dirty", since Kelby doesn't guide exactly step-by-step. That's great for his audience, since if you're looking for these kinds of goodies, chances are you're getting into some more complicated designs anyway. Plus, he's actually got a sense of humor and didn't write a total bore of a techy manual. He made his book fun to read - I can't wait for the next addition!

This book should be a free ebook on the web since I can find most of these "tricks" on the web somewhere.
Also, the so called companion images on his website aren't complete & don't help.

He doesn't explain anything to you so you have NO IDEA what your doing or why your doing it, which means your learning NOTHING.

His "support" won't answer questions questions right, they give answers that have nothing to do with what I asked which means they either Don't read it well or they are extremely stupid and should NOT be answering questions about the book.

If all you want to do are the EXACT things Scott shows in his book with his EXACT text and images, well then go for it!

But if you want to learn something about Photoshop and do things to ANY of YOUR OWN images then get something else.

Seems the Photoshop worl just gave Scott some credibility cause he owns NAPP, but other than that, he isn't much and there are MANY BETTER such as everything Bert Monroy does!

The entire book is about Jello, Jelly, Wooden and Chrome stuff. I have never as many bad taste ugly effects in one place my entire life. There is a BIG difference between knowing a software and knowing about design. We all know how to write but only few of us are writers. the book teaches you how for example how to ad RED flames to a GREEN guitar. Make wooden text. Lots of Jelly buttons and interfaces. I am very dissapointed, go buy a book writen about a designer, about basic principles of graphic design if you are a beginner and stay away from this book, it won't do you any good. Please excuse my English.

I like Scott Kelby's writing - and Down and Dirty Tricks for Photoshop 7 does contain some absolutely terrific hints -- but reading the book left me wanting more.

The tips are clearly explained, with step-by-step instructions. However, for [the price], I feel that more variety of tips and tricks could have been included. There is a bit of overlap from Scott's previous D and D book for Photoshop 6.) Still, it is nice to have all tips in one place.

This book is perfect for someone just starting out with Photoshop and also intermediate level users as well.

This is one of my favorite Photoshop books. Scott Kelby has a very straightforward writing style; he lays out the steps for each technique in a clear manner. Highly recommended for Photoshop 7 users who already know a few Photoshop basics.

All the tutorials in this book are old and available on the web. The only good thing is that it covers a lot shortcuts for both MAC and Win users

A wonderful book. It did what it said it gonna do. Helps develop cool stuffs even without knowing much of photoshop. But, if you wanna learn the basics of Photoshop its not the one.

The quick tutorials in this book are very nice and useful for total beginners, but the quality of them is sometimes not all too great.

Kelby only teaches the very basic techniques - he never really gets into anything deeply, and doesn't show how to do stuff absolutely professionaly.

I learn photoshop only by browsing thru various websites' tutorials but with this book, you can do professional, high quality magazine pictures. This book is funny, witty, and straight to the point, no fat but pure meat and it will make you stay up all night. Got 3 books from S. Kelby and so very happy with my investment!

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PHOTOSHOP ARTIST , THIS BOOK IS YOUR CHOICE , 80% OF THE TIPS WORK GREAT , THE EXPLAINING OF STEPS IS EASY , BUT SOME TIPS NEED TO BE EXPLAINED IN MORE DETAIL , NEVER THE LESS , A REALY GOOD BOOK TO BUY , ONE MORE THING , THE GRAPHICS ARE COOL .

I did not think I could have more fun with a Photoshop book than the 6 version of this...and here it is Photoshop 7 Tricks! Thank you, Scott, for giving us new ideas, new ways to work in Photoshop 7 and for nudging our creativity! I bought every book he has written and enjoyed each one.

If you work in Photoshop 7 BUY THIS BOOK - NOW!

This book is fantastic for beginners who want to get right into the creation of impressive digital effects. Easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions are provided for every example. Get this book for fast results and one of those "great" reference-style books to help round out your understanding when you have time for long read.

For the beginning to intermediate Photoshop user, this is a really cool book. It is just a collection of recipies leading to tasty finished products. If the pictures of the finished pieces look good to you, just follow the recipie to make it. After creating a number of these pieces, those learning PSP will begin to understand how certain core functions of the software work. It's up to them to strike out on their own using these concepts to create new artwork. This book doesn't pretend to be an all-encompassing guide to the details of PSP. It's a guide in how to create cool stuff. And those learning the software will love the fact that they can create pretty impressive stuff by following the recipies.

This book is for beginning to intermediate users of Photoshop, so graphics professionals, or anyone who relies on Photoshop to do their job, should beware. The "tricks" aren't that special, and the text is ponderous in the author's attempt at wry humour.

The title is Down & Dirty Secrets but there are not many secrets in this book. Illustrations and step by step guidance to recreate the "tricks" are well done. It's an OK reference but I'm not sure the world needs another book of this stuff.

Scott Kelby has a way or writing books for the adverage person, but puts enough interesting information in there for experienced graphic designers. Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks is the top book of his in my opinion. You could start on any page and pick up something fun and interesting to work on. If you take the time, you even get friendly support from Scott in straight terms. When I read it, I get a sense of ease in being able to figure out how to create really cool tricks in a short amount of time. I could see some people being dissappointed in the book for this. Instead of diving deep into any design concepts or photoshop tools, he focuses right on particular effects. Once you complete the book, if you feel the need to read it from cover to cover, you may feel cheated if you're the kind of person who likes in depth explainations of tools and filters of photoshop. I see this book being best for someone who already has a basic understanding of photoshop and wants to pick up a few really cool tricks here and there. If it's the first time you're working with photoshop, you'll be able to put together some really impressive artwork in no time. I think the extent of your photoshop abilities will be pretty limited in the long run if you choose this book as your source of learning a highly developed graphics application, however. It's comparible to learning a couple songs on guitar, but skipping all the principals that could help you in playing or writing whatever song you want to.

If you idea of photography is like the "Crock Hunter's" idea of nature. This book is for you. If you find fascinating beautiful images all around to document. Pass.

I'm totally new to Photoshop. I adapt quickly though. I feel like I have developed a very good understanding of layers and effects from following the examples in the book. I'm not into downloading the same exact examples that refer to the book; I like to follow the directions and either do exactly what the author did or substitute with my own graphics. This book is so well done that I was able to do just that. It's very well written. So from a beginners standpoint; I was able to get up and running in no time with this book; that says alot about the book and it's content. I would have liked a little more detail as far as getting those space aged colors and effects (in the same detail as the projects) in his final examples. But for the price; I'm absolutely satisfied. I only go to the bookstores to actually look through the books i'm interested in; then I head on over here (amazon) for the reviews and for the savings.

Special effects cookbooks may have a place in the Photoshop world. Still, some are in better taste than others. If you want a really engaging book of this type, buy instead Froebisch et. al., Photoshop 6 Cookbook. The effects you'll practice there are stunning. Those in the Kelby book may leave you feeling, "Huh? Why? So what?"

Just bought this book, flipped thru it, tried the very first effect on page 68 "Blending Images for Instant Collages" and it didn't work!

Is there an online forum or helpdesk for this book that I can seek advice? Or anyone kind enough to send me an email regarding the missing step(s)? My email addy is paul@lavivo.com

Thanks.

Just bought this book, flipped thru it, tried the very first effect on page 68 "Blending Images for Instant Collages" and it didn't work!

Is there an online forum or helpdesk for this book that I can seek advice? Or anyone kind enough to post the missing steps here?

Thanks.

nexstep from St. Petersburg, FL is mistaken. It was not Photoshop but PageMaker that was owned by Aldus and later bought by Adobe. If you are gonna be a know-it-all make sure you have your facts straight.

I received this book as part of my upgrade to Photoshop 7. The book is written in a way that is informal and fun, not stuffy and boring. If you follow the directions carefully, you can't go wrong. If you are a beginner or want to learn photo retouching, this book is not for you. If you want to do absolutely spectacular things with images and make eye-catching content from literally nothing, buy now!

I credit this book with taking me from an intermediate to advance user level. The techniques shown really clicked with me -- I started looking at all kinds of different ways to use the Photoshop features I had never thought to use before. I was a heavy Adobe Illustrator user and though Photoshop couldn't be used to create original artwork the same way -- I was wrong, as shown to me by this book.

Some of the tips are VERY useful, and some are of lesser interest. But I'll admit that I use many of the tricks I've learned in much of the work I've done, and often use two or three of them in combination. Some of the tricks can be easy to recreate from memory, while others (like faking transparency and recreating the Oreo logo) will need to be looked up.

A very special plus with this book is on just about every page there is a Quick Tip. The information ranges from "Neat to Know" to "So THAT'S why" information.

Bottom Line: This book is a gem and worth keeping on your bookshelf as a reference source.

Before I picked up this book:
I was a total newb to photoshop...
I was intimidated by all the icons and seemingly complicated interfaces...
I was overwhelmed by all the functionality with which I didn't know what to do.

After I read this book:
People think I am a professional graphic designer.
It doesn't bother me if I don't know some functinoality...
cauz I can do much with what I know already...But with some solid skills under my belt, learning new functions became only enjoyable.
I am writing this while I am searching for other books by Masta Kelby...

And here's a quote from Kelby you might like to hear - "This book is about teaching you the coolest special effects that will blow your clients away, make you truckloads of money, and give you the most fun you've ever had using Photoshop-without all the boring technical stuff."

And I agree 100% with what he said about this book...

This would be a great book if there weren't soo many errors in the text. Obviously the other reviewers did not work through the examples. When you perform 40-100 steps to complete an effect, and several of those steps are wrong, You have to figure out where the author went wrong and correct the method. Rather than choose examples that everyone can use, the author has tricks that work only for his text and images, so if you have different text or images, many of the tricks do not work.

This is one of the most helpful PhotoShop books I've come across. It's not for beginners, though. Kelby starts with the assumption that you have more than a passing accquaintance with PhotoShop and jumps right into showing you how to do some incredibly cool stuff with text, photographs, graphics, etc. This is a book to definitely have within arms reach when your using or working with photoshop. After reading it, you might find yourself looking at magazine ads and other things differently, and trying to figure out what PhotoShop tricks were used in them.

This book shows you step by step how to create some very cool graphic effects and tricks which you see everyday but are not obvious on how it is accomplished. There are plenty of photos illustrating each step, which I really like (I can't stand those step-by-step books that don't include photos or simply do sketches). I hope this author comes out with more books, like one for Illustrator 10!

Only oldtimers (not necessarily as old as me but older nonetheless) remember that Adobe did not create Photoshop. It bought Photoshop's parent company (Aldus) and the market. Not all of us feel that was a good thing because Adobe is, at best, quirky in its terminology and interfaces. Which is why so many of Photoshop users spend more on plug-ins than on Photoshop itself.

Enter Scott Kelly and his latest book Photoshop 7 Down and Dirty. If I'd known before what I know post-Kelly, I could have done vastly better work in a fraction of the time and for pennies instead of dollars.

Kelly is a brilliant communicator. His words are perfectly chosen for effectiveness and humor. Every step in each of the numerous projects is illustrated by what is seen on the screen. Even better, his projects are all useful and inspiring. The next time you see a stunning graphic and wonder "how did they do that?" start with Kelly's book.

I'm considering dumping the dozens of other Photoshop books in my collection and keeping just this one and Learning Photoshop Visually.

I love taking photos of my family and my vacations. I have limited experience with Photoshop but purchased the software to enhance my photography. This book helped me make some of my most cherished photos into real eye catching displays. I used the easy to follow step by step instructions and added a title of Alaska Cruise at the top of one photo and everyone who sees it remarks that it looks like a professional advertisement. This book is a real treat for amateur photographers who want to enliven their photos like the professionals.

While it is relatively easy to discover how to do most of the effects contained in this book (try searching the internet), this book provides the convenience of a concise, one-stop resource. The time and effort to collect the same number and quality of tips makes the book well worth its price. Take note that this book does not guide you through the basics of Photoshop; instead, it shows you step-by-step how to create cool effects without too much background information. This method is ideal for Photoshop beginners who just want to jump right in and start designing.

If you have purchased the previous versions of Scott Kelby's Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks book, I highly recommend getting this new version.

In his introduction he does talk about if you need Photoshop 7 to purchase the book or can someone use Photoshop 5 and use the book and he lets the reader know that in previous books, to make certain shapes you needed to go through quite a few steps but with Photoshop 7, it's much easier and less time consuming to do certain tricks which he had in his previous books and also he has added a lot of new tricks using the latest Photoshop version.
He also points out the advantages of Photoshop 7 and how the newer features will benefit photographers but he mentions that P6 owners can take advantage of the book.

I like to think that I know Photoshop very well but what I love about his book is learning how he does certain tricks so quickly, I seem to do some of those tricks in a more time consuming manner. So, to see his way of doing certain tricks definitely helps. You see, I'm not a manual reader and as
much as I would like to sit back and learn every new feature of Photoshop 7, I don't have the time and maybe I'm just too hard headed that would rather learn on my own. And if you are like me, then you will definitely love this book.

Anyway, for those who are not familiar with his books. You don't have to read it like a usual book, just peruse the pages and if there is a trick you like, you can learn it. He explains step by step how he creates the trick and on each page at it's sides, there are tips for Photoshop 7 users and how to utilize the best image for print or web work.

Kelby takes a look at the current Photoshop trends that he sees in magazines within the last year and incorporates it into his book. From metallic effects to 3D effects to advanced shadow techniques and many of the popular effects you see on print and the web from popular fad/tricks such as the tv scan lines, Matrix text, halftone pop dots effect, glassy reflections and so
much more. Kelby's "Down & Dirty Tricks" has never disappointed me and has only been a big positive to adding his techniques to my print and web work but also to learn to do certain techniques quicker.

An excellent Photoshop reference book! Check it out!

When I first saw this book I thought it would be a rehash of the Photoshop 6 Down & Dirty Tricks, but it's not. What a pleasant surprise. There are dozens of new and unusual graphic effects you can do, making if more of a playbook than instructional. Total fun. And you learn as you play. Make sure you buy this one.

One of those all time great books that makes you say, "COOL!" at every page turn. Useful "quick tips" on every page, step by step instructions on how to do some of the most professional and impressive photoshop tricks I've ever seen. You'll perform like the master graphic artists of today, many of their secrets are revealed.

Your only problem will be finding enough projects to incorporate your new skills!