Amazon.co.uk Review
Many digital designers, even fans of Macromedia Dreamweaver, use Adobe Photoshop/ImageReady and Illustrator for image creation and manipulation, constantly going back and forth between applications. In this latest Bible, Dreamweaver power user Joseph Lowery proved to himself that Macromedia Fireworks, which handles both vector and bitmap art, is an effective replacement for those applications, increasing both productivity and creativity.
As with others in the series, Fireworks 3 Bible works well both for beginners who need guidance learning the software and experienced users looking for a good reference manual. Although not tutorial-based, you perform step-by-step tasks along the way and the index is thorough enough to help you find solutions to problems.
The book is not written as a face-off between Fireworks and other applications, but you'll quickly discover tasks for which Fireworks has the edge, particularly in Web production. For example, methods for creating hotspots and sliced GIFs are similar to those in Photoshop/ImageReady, but here we learn how to use Fireworks' Insert Slice option to instantly encompass an entire object, including all of the drop shadow or other effects.
Fireworks is included in the Dreamweaver Studio package, and the construction of the application fits the Macromedia model. This is most apparent when creating rollovers; Fireworks uses Behaviors, while ImageReady uses layers and a rollover/animation panel. Lowery is adept at explaining the whys along with the hows, and the chapter on activating Fireworks with Behaviors clearly explains this method and gives a firm foundation on how Behaviors work in Dreamweaver, Flash, and, on a much larger scale, Director.
There's not much to complain about in this excellent book, except for a small but confusing organisational choice in the step-by-step instructions: a more intuitive organisation would have been to have the "Notes", that offer advice and caveats, precede the step to which they refer rather than follow them. Otherwise, Fireworks 3 Bible is as comprehensive as it is well written and may just convert those diehard Illustrator/Photoshop/ImageReady Web designers. --Angelynn Grant, Amazon.com
Topics covered:
- tools and interface, including new tools in version 3;
- learning the Fireworks way of creating graphics;
- using Live Effects and Xtras;
- methods for optimising workflow and having a consistent look in images, for example, using Library, Commands and History palettes;
- integrating work with Dreamweaver;
- basic GIF animation techniques and customising Fireworks with JavaScript Application Programming Interface.
CD-ROM contains trial and demo versions of relevant software and filters along with extra commands, templates, textures and other art.
Product Description
From vector drawing to bit map editing to animations, Fireworks 3 puts all the Web graphics tools you need into a single, cohesive package. Packed with timesaving tips and real–world examples, this comprehensive guide shows you how to make the most of Fireworks, whether you′re looking for an in–depth tutorial on program fundamentals or savvy advice on the new workflow management tools and enhanced Dreamweaver integration.
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