Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy

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

Table of Contents:
1. Off to a Good Start. File Browser. Photoshop Layers. The Alpha Channel. The Illustrator-Photoshop Connection. In the Beginning... The Sketch. Walking a Thin Line. Realistic Text. Tiny Details. Creating a Chain with a Pattern Brush. Spring into Action with Transform Again. The House Blend. Perspective. Putting Things into Perspective. 2. The Art of Brush Making. Putting the Brushes to Work. Up in Smoke. 3. A Greener World: Creating Foliage. Creating a Lifelike Tree. Turning Over a New Leaf. Redwoods. 4. Lights and Shadows. Shadows with Layer Style. Distorted Shadows. Creating Shadows. Double Your Pleasure. A Shadow from Glass. Shadows on Angled Surfaces. Let There be Light. A Bright Spot. 5. What's It Made Of? Creating Textures. Creating Realistic Wood Textures. Weathered Wood. Wood Bark on a Tree. Hard as a Rock. Creating Stucco. Creating Concrete. As Thick as a Brick. Heavy Metal. The Best for Last. 6. Creating the Elements. A Rainy Day. Standing Water. A Drop in the Bucket. Let it Snow. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire. Feeling a Little Foggy? 7. Reflections. A Need for Change. Easy Stuff. A Well-Rounded Understanding. Getting a Handle on Things. 8. Bending Things a Bit. Shadows Cast on a Rough Surface. Flag Waving. The Gallery. The Subway Inn (1989). Objects on Cloth (1989). Lock (1990). Sam's (1990). Height's Deli (1990). Sphere Chamber (1990). Nail Enamel (1991). Zanzibar Motel (1991). Hayden Orpheum (1991). Peter's Ice Cream (1991). Abraham's Automotive (1992). Parkers' (1992). The NY Deli (1993). Akihabara (1994). Bean Bins (1994). Pic-n-Pac (1995). Miller (1996). View 2 (1996). Subway Seat (1998). Window in Krakow (1998). Studio Theater (1999). The Raven (1999). Hotel Arcata (2000). Little Church (2000). Streetlight (2000). Tower with a Weathervane (2000). AnyM (2001). HAMBURGERS (2002). Index.

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.