Start with a Scan (2nd Edition)

Product Description

This well-illustrated book shows photographers, designers and illustrators how to transform raw scanned images into high-quality finished illustrations. It starts with the technical basics of scanning, then features gorgeous full-color illustrations with clear, step-by-step instructions that show you how to achieve those results. Learn how to scan almost anything a lackluster photo, a piece of clip art, even a household object and turn it into beautiful artwork using Photoshop, Freehand, and Illustrator. From still images to multimedia to the Web, this one has it all! 144 pp., 100+ color illus., 8 1/2 x 11 , Softbound. (C) 1996

Amazon.com

The art of mixed media has taken on new meaning in the digital production environment, and the second edition of Start with a Scan guides new artists through the maze of image acquisition, hardware, and software toward the goal of final output. This is not just a book on scanning and creating art, but about the art and science of scanning, editing, and tailoring an image to your needs, too.

Beginning by explaining how scanners work, the different types of scanners that are out there, and why it's important to know how the scanned image will be used, the book quickly digs into the meat and potatoes of editing, altering, tracing, and otherwise changing a scanned image to suit a project.

Arguably the most interesting chapters are "Creating Textures and Backgrounds from Print and Paper" and "Transforming Photos into Graphics." One of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks that a designer faces is finding and creating background elements and graphics. In these two chapters, which probably are worth the cover price alone, Scan explains how to use scanned photos or raw elements (cloth, paper, and so on) to create the element that you need.

Although the book deals with digital tools (e.g., scanners and computers), it hardly could be called a computer graphics book. The goal is teaching how to scan and alter images, and Scan never loses sight of that. The authors deserve a great deal of credit for creating what is an educational and inspirational book on a form of visual art that happens to use computers as tools, instead of a computer book that happens to talk about digital graphics. This is how books of the genre should be written. --Mike Caputo

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Book, a guide to the both the technical and artistic .......2007-08-18

I bought this book solely for reference on scanning line art and fonts, but have found that it has much, much more to offer. I disagree with a prior reviewer that this book is only for beginners and that much of the information is out there on the web. I have been searching, without success, for specific directions on scanning line art and fonts and converting those scans into usable art. (Just two chapters in this book.) This book not only gives one specific instructions for this, but goes much further and delves quite deeply into the actual creation of real art from a simple scan. The book also provides a lot of information on turning photos into graphic art. I had considered myself a fairly advanced user of photo software, but this book has opened my eyes to an amazing range of techniques and ideas on image usage.

I was expecting a technical guide to basic scanning techniques, and this book provides that. It also takes one much further beyond mere technical skill and is a wonderful guide to both the creation and use of computer generated graphics.

Amazing book.......2005-02-14

I was graphics-challenged till I read this. The most I ever did with graphics was pretty much to resize them or add a little text. This book gives you a whole range of possibilites with color, texture, cropping, layering, etc. - more than just applying a fancy filter or tweaking the brightness and contrast. Now, based on the wealth of ideas in this book, I look at clip art and photos with a new eye, and have applied the various ideas to make a much wider variety of graphic images. The best thing about this book is that it's DESIGN-centric, rather than SOFTWARE-centric, so it's not limited to what a handful filters might do. Instead it expands your thinking to combine a whole variety of techniques to create something really unique.

for beginners.......2005-02-03

I ordered this one. I will return it. Yes, there are very good ideas in this book, but nothing great that you cannot come up by yourself if your are creative. Trust yourself.

There are many references to using photoshop (I am an intermediate photoshop user) that you can find elsewhere, not pertaining specifically to scanning.

Technical discussions on file types, resolution are OK but, once again, if you have read other books, doesn't add anything.

I think that you can find better tips and ideas surfing the Web.

Simply not for me.

The secret of great graphic design.......2001-03-31

I have already reviewed the first edition of this book. There is a second edition with *all new* graphics and more about making art for the world wide web. It is so good that I was moved to come back here and say this... here goes...

This book is the best book I have ever read about scanning. It is also the best book I have ever read about the principles of GRAPHIC ART itself. Everything that I learned formally about graphic design in years of study I found expertly summarised within these pages. This book must be the bargain of the century. Most artists would jealously guard these great secrets, tips and tricks. Look carefully at every illustration (I am still making great discoveries) analyse the appeal, reproduce in your own way and reap the artistic and financial rewards. Real insight freely and abundantly given into how professionals make the grade.

Raising scanning to an art form.......1999-07-24

Enthralling. That's a pretty strong word to use about a technical manual, but this is no ordinary book about scanning. Everything in here is an utter delight. The history and theory of scanning are clearly explained. Yes, it may well start with a scan, but it ends with rekindling your enthusiasm for computing and graphics in a very big way. If you read it with your system booted up and immerse yourself in the chapters, you can see why these guys are so passionate about their work. Wonderful value for money. Apart from revealing hundreds of ways to turn lacklustre clipart and other sources into money-making graphics, it doubles as a handy guide to the features and versatility of Photoshop. This is a tour de force from two very generous authors. Arriving in the same package as Lynda Weinman's excellent " ", I can't remember when I was last so happy just reading. Thanks!

START WITH A SCAN A GUIDE TO TRANSFORMING SCANNED PHOTOS AND OBJECTS INTO HIGH QUALITY ART

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START WITH A SCAN A GUIDE TO TRANSFORMING SCANNED PHOTOS AND OBJECTS INTO HIGH QUALITY ART
JANET AND JOHN ODAM ASHFORD
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLMG6G

Start with a scan: A guide to transforming scanned images and objects into high-quality art

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Start with a scan: A guide to transforming scanned images and objects into high-quality art
Janet Ashford
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006E7YU4

Customer Reviews:

Nice item hard to find... but nice.......2004-12-28

This 2004 wall calendar was a very nice treat to X-Men fans. Probably the month-day-number design wasn't the best of all. Actually it's hard to easily detect in which day you are living... but half of the calendar are big pictures of our heroes... well most of them. It also includes a little picture in the left side of the numbering and the come in a very matrix style.
The order is as follows:
Mystique: September - December 2003
Iceman: January 2004
Rogue: February
Wolverine: March
General Stryker: April
Pyro: May
Magneto: June
Lady Deathstrike: July
Jean Grey: August
Cyclops: September
Nightcrawler: October
Professor X: November
Storm: December

Book Description

If it's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die is a must-read book for all film students, film professionals, and others interested in filmmaking. This enlightening book guides filmmakers toward making the right color selections for their films, and helps movie buffs understand why they feel the way they do while watching movies that incorporate certain colors.

Guided by her twenty-five years of research on the effects of color on behavior, Bellantoni has grouped more than 60 films under the spheres of influence of six major colors, each of which triggers very specific emotional states. For example, the author explains that films with a dominant red influence have themes and characters that are powerful, lusty, defiant, anxious, angry, or romantic and discusses specific films as examples. She explores each film, describing how, why, and where a color influences emotions, both in the characters on screen and in the audience. Each color section begins with an illustrated Home Page that includes examples, anecdotes, and tips for using or avoiding that particular color.

Conversations with the author's colleagues-- including award-winning production designers Henry Bumstead (Unforgiven) and Wynn Thomas (Malcolm X) and renowned cinematographers Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption) and Edward Lachman (Far From Heaven)--reveal how color is often used to communicate what is not said.

Bellantoni uses her research and experience to demonstrate how powerful color can be and to increase readers awareness of the colors around us and how they make us feel, act, and react.

*Learn how your choice of color can influence an audience's moods, attitudes, reactions, and interpretations of your movie's plot
*See your favorite films in a new light as the author points out important uses of color, both instinctive and intentional
*Learn how to make good color choices, in your film and in your world.

*Learn how your choice of color can influence an audience's moods, attitudes, reactions, and interpretations of your movie's plot
*See your favorite films in a new light as the author points out important uses of color, both instinctive and intentional
*Learn how to make good color choices, in your film and in your world

Download Description

Relevant and enlightening for film buffs and filmmakers alike, this unique book is already generating buzz among top Hollywood filmmakers. Color can be an incredibly powerful tool for filmmakers, yet many don't know how to maximize the effect it has on audiences: it can influence how audiences feel, act, and react and be used to further plot, character, and scene development. If it's Purple is based on Patti Bellantoni's groundbreaking color seminar at the American Film Institute, in which she teaches how to stop analyzing and thinking about color and start feeling it instead. Full-color film stills and gorgeous illustrations make this book as appealing to look at as it is to read. Conversations with the author's colleagues--including award-winning filmmakers Henry Bumstead (Unforgiven), Wynn Thomas (Malcolm X), Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption), and Edward Lachman (Far From Heaven)--reveal how color can be used to communicate what is

Customer Reviews:

A great introduction to color's role in storytelling.......2007-09-19

This book is definitely on the beginners side of the spectrum. (no pun intended) You're not going to learn to be a production designer just from reading it, but it's a great start to becoming more aware of the use of color in film (or comics, video games or any other visual media) to influence underlying mood of the story. And once you're aware of color's presence, you can start making educated choices on how to use color in your own work.

Although a few more pictures would've been nice, the author does a good job of taking each of the six primary & secondary colors and defining its role in general and then giving numerous specific examples of the different visual and emotional tones each color can take.

If nothing else, this book added about 8 movies to my Netflix queue.

The Importance of Color.......2007-08-06

Unlike most books on the psychology of color, this one focuses on film and relies heavily on the author's personal experience teaching the subject. Useful for film students--and others.

Interesting but I don't buy all of the conclusions.......2007-06-08

This book is very thought provoking. Some of the theory is similar to other books on color and its importance and psychological, physiological impact, but keeping it completely grounded in the "sexy" world of feature films makes the book very readable and interesting.

My biggest issue is that many of the author's personal opinions are delivered as facts. Color is just not that black and white if you'll pardon the joke. If you can read it and be prepared - and well-schooled in color theory - to ignore or disagree with some of the author's conclusions, then you will like this book a lot.

Her research seems to have been pretty self-guided and ignores a pretty wide body of work. I also would have liked to have seen more interviews with the actual people who made the movies about which she makes certain assertions. In some cases, I'd think the film makers would disagree with her "facts" regarding their movies. In other cases, her insight into the color schemes are very interesting and thought provoking and some of them ARE based on the actual artists involved in the making of the films.

Basically, it IS an interesting book. There is really nothing else like it, but you need to take it with a grain of salt. Many of the other reviewers here are actually referenced IN the book, so you need to take THAT with a grain of salt as well.

At the same time, I bought "The Visual Story: Seeing the Structure of FIlm, TV and Media." It has a chapter or two devoted to color that seem much more grounded in "fact." But for a whole book on color in film, this is the one. ... and it's got a great title.

Steve Hullfish
Co-author, "Color Correction for Digital Video" and author of the upcoming "The Art and Technique of Color Correction"

reasonably interesting ramblings on colour in film.......2005-10-06

Bellantoni's book is interesting, a nice light read on colour in film. It is nothing in comparsion to Bruce Block's 'The Visual Story' which explains colour, whereas this book is just a series of examples. It's both the author's interpretation and she's interviewed a number of DOP's etc of note. I'm not trying to say this book is of no value (it has good interviews, great colour stills and covers a lot of films), but I feel a more accurate review is required on this book given the other reviews are clearly written by Bellantoni's New York and LA friends. The back of the book says please review this book online, which indicates the publishers know the value of these reviews, and therefore seek to send out a few themselves.

color me satisfied........2005-10-03

Every now and then you come across a book that is both a revelation and a pleasure from cover to cover. "If It's Purple..." is just such a read. I'm a film editor and color plays such an important role in how I try to juxtapose imagery. Ms. Bellantoni illumuinates the use of color in some of my favorite films and has given me the joy of seeing some of them in a fresh and altogether revealing way. The book is an insightful exploration of familiar and lesser known works and how they use color as a remarkable tool to achieve their emotional and psychological wallop. It's a fascinating journey.

Book Description

Contents include: If I Have to Live Alone * Meadowlark * Where Is the Warmth.

Customer Reviews:

only three songs.......2004-05-22

In short, not much of a selection.

Book Description

What are the obligations of the university to society and its communities? What are the virtues of university education? What are the university's civic and ethical responsibilities?
This comparative text considers models of higher education in the UK and the US, and individuals' perceptions about the role of university in society. Higher education is subject to pressures - both financial and ethical - and this book forms a thoughtful study of how institutions are reacting to these pressures. It will prove stimulating reading for anyone concerned with the university's place in society - including educational thinkers, academics and policy-makers.

Citizenship and higher education : the role of universities in communities & society

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Citizenship and higher education : the role of universities in communities & society

Manufacturer: RoutledgeFalmer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H5YOLY

Book Description

Here is a comprehensive guide to the most popular and effective herbal products on the market. Discussing the names, uses, benefits, cautions, and price ranges of herbal products, this book is arranged by therapeutic uses to give you a variety of clear and concise options for various ailments. Covering only the herbs which have been scientifically proven to work, Tyler's Tips will help you decide what herbal products are reliable, safe, and right for your needs.

Book Description

"Once let a black man get upon his person the brass letters 'US,' let him get an eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets and there is no power on earth which can deny that he had earned the right to citizenship in the United States."-Frederick Douglas

A fascinating examination of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, United States Colored Troops-the Union Army's first black regiment from Ohio. Although the Fifth USCT was one of more than 150 regiments of black troops making up more than 10 percent of the Union Army at the end of the war, it was unique. The men serving in the Fifth USCT were freemen who were raised in a northern state and saw serving in the army both as a way to gain equal rights under the law and as an opportunity to prove their worth as men.

Amazon.com

With this new volume, John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr build upon their groundbreaking work in The Secret World of American Communism and solidify their reputations as the foremost historians of Soviet espionage in America. In Venona, they provide a detailed study of how the United States decrypted top-secret Communist cables moving between Washington and Moscow. This account, based on information unavailable to researchers for decades, reveals the full extent of the Communist spy network in the 1940s. At least 349 citizens, immigrants, and permanent residents of the United States had a covert relationship with Soviet intelligence agencies, among them Harry White (assistant secretary of the treasury in FDR's administration and the Communists' highest-ranking asset) and State Department official Alger Hiss, whose association with the Soviets had been hotly debated since the moment he was first publicly accused in 1948.

"The Soviet assault was of the type a nation directs at an enemy state," write Haynes and Klehr. They go on to suggest that Venona's code-breaking "indicated that the Cold War was not a state of affairs that had begun after World War II but a guerilla action that Stalin had secretly started years earlier." Moreover, "espionage saved the USSR great expense and industrial investment and thereby enabled the Soviets to build a successful atomic bomb years before they otherwise would have." Haynes and Klehr deliver what is at once a real-life spy thriller and a vital piece of scholarship. A grand achievement. --John J. Miller

Customer Reviews:

Great research, but somewhat moralistic.......2007-04-26

Informative, though reads a little like a phonebook. The all-too-often repeated pattern: so-and-so -- name, birthdate, birthplace, education -- became a Soviet agent, and passed such and such secrets (and so on for about hundred times). Motives of individual agents are seldom explored (though the final chapter has important insights into the "why" of agent work), while the authors rush to make moralistic judgments: so and so betrayed his country, so and so committed treachery, how many lives would have been saved had the Soviets not learned of US military or atomic secrets!

The argument that Stalin would have been much more circumspect and cooperative if he had not obtained a bomb in 1949 is not convincing in the light of what is now known of his foreign policy behavior; indeed, Stalin's apprehension of US military superiority only made him more stubborn and adamant in the face of perceived American pressure.

Was MaCarthy right about the communist conspiracy? This book shows that some of his allegations were justified, though not his paranoia.

The book makes the argument that US security was lax, allowing spies to penetrate all government agencies and even the Manhattan project. Indeed, US efforts to penetrate the Soviet atomic project came to nothing, and recent research shows that Stalin took much greater care to preserve his own secrets. But so what? The US was not a police society, and hopefully never will be; if Venona is a testament to the success of the NKVD in the US, then it is also a testament to the resilience of democracy. It is a testament to the futility of secrecy and a powerful argument for greater governmental openness.

Great reference book, it even has a list of all US agents deciphered by Venona. The authors also make a very good use of the Russian archives, especially those of the Comintern, though their research in this area is a little dated and will hopefully be improved by other enthusiasts.

A Shocking Book, Perfectly Written, Desperately Needed.......2006-11-11

The subject of this book is a shocking fact of American history that, for reasons inconceivable, has been thoroughly neglected by the historical community for more than a decade. The secrets uncovered through the VENONA Project and presented here by Haynes -- all of them factual -- dramatically re-cast American Cold War history, so much so that any American, regardless of political orientation, should and will be shocked by the story Haynes tells.

"VENONA: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America" reveals that, all along, the intelligence community had incontrovertible proof of the Rosenbergs' guilt, and that Alger Hiss was unquestionably a Soviet spy. Countless others -- whose guilt has been debated for decades, or outright dismissed by nearly every serious historian as just one more "McCarthy-ite" lie -- were known from the very beginning to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, though the government withheld the proof to keep VENONA a secret.

This is the story of what was by far the most pervasive and disturbing infiltration of the United States government by hostile foreign elements in history. It is also the story of by far the most important counter-intelligence initiative the United States has ever undertaken. Both of these stories were forgotten and needed to be told. All Americans owe Haynes a debt of gratitude for what he has done here.

The truth of the book's claims have been established by the Moynihan Commission, and can be personally verified by any member of the public per the official declassification of VENONA in 1995.

A valuable and important contribution to the history of Soviet Cold War espionage.......2006-09-05

Spying is the everyday word for the fancier word espionage. The main thing is that we know every side does it. Everyone is trying to get an edge on knowing what the other is doing. So, why does it matter what the now defunct Soviet Union was doing in its spying efforts during World War II? Simply, it is because it still plays a part in our current political debate. Our super secret efforts in developing the atom bomb were compromised; this is certain. There is still debate how much of our diplomacy was compromised at the end of World War II, particularly at Yalta, by agents who were sympathetic to the USSR while having sworn loyalty to America and its Constitution.

During World War II, the United States was able to intercept encoded Soviet messages. They were supposed to be encoded in one time ciphers that were almost impossible to break in the age before super computers. Fortunately for America, the Soviets were sloppy are reused the cipher pads and better still, we were able to get our hands on a pad that was supposed to have been burned.

Much of the material was not decoded until after the war, but all of it was kept classified under the made up name Venona (as well as others). The program was ended in 1980 and the first public disclosures in 1995 (although there were books and articles on the program before that release of documents).

This book is an excellent summary of the program and what was learned from the program about key events that remained in the public debate for decades. Was Elizabeth Bently telling the truth about her spying? Yes. Was Whitakker Chamber telling the truth about Alger Hiss? Yes. Was Harry Dexter White, an assistant secretary of the Treasury and influential in the New Deal, working with the Soviets? Yes. Was Julius Rosenberg a spy? Yes. Was Ethel? Probably not more than an accessory to her husband's work.

There is much more in this very readable and informative work. Another book to read on this subject is "The Venona Secrets" by Rommerstein and Breindel. "The Haunted Wood" by Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev is also quite good.

A High Standard of Scholarship.......2006-03-21

In his book, A People's History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn described the Communist Party of the United States of America as a Party "known to pay special attention to the problem of race equality." Zinn said very little about communist espionage in the United States, and instead emphasized the roles of communist activists in the labor movement and the civil rights movement. Zinn is characteristic of leftist American historians who are quick to describe the Red Scare as an assault on civil liberties and ignore the very real threat posed by radical groups in the United States. Unfortunately for scholarship, their paradigm is regarded as mainstream.

John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr have produced a scholarly work that forces the reader to rethink the notion of the American Marxist as a benign reformer. Decoding Soviet Espionage uses hard evidence gleaned from decoded past Soviet diplomatic traffic to expose the espionage of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Theodore Alvin Hall, Harry Dexter White, Armand Hammer, Lauchlan Currie and literally hundreds of others. Haynes and Klehr prove that the members of the CPUSA regularly stole technology and information from their employers: private industry and the Federal Government. Moreover, they had absolutely no moral qualms about doing this, since they regarded the Federal Government and private corporations as illegitimate, repressive organizations that would soon be replaced by a revolutionary utopia. Haynes' and Klehrs' thesis is convincing and compelling.

Although an anti-communist bias becomes quickly apparent, Haynes and Klehr manage to establish a neutral, scholarly tone throughout the book and avoid falling into a shrill ideological chorus. In fact, the book gets four stars because in some places the analysis drags, as though it was a raw data report.

Decoding Soviet Espionage should be required reading in any course about the Cold War era in U.S. History.

Spies and Lies.......2006-03-19

A well-researched book on an interesting subject. The findings of the Venona project shed new light on communism in America. It was fascinating to learn that communists in this country during the first half of the 20th century were doing more than just freely practicing their political and sociological beliefs - they were making serious and deliberate attempts to undermine our government, our defenses, and our technology. The detailed descriptions of espionage by communists in America, supported by factual evidence found in the Venona transcripts changed my perspective on this era of our country's history.

VENONA: DECODING SOVIET ESPIONAGE IN AMERICA.(Review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life

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VENONA: DECODING SOVIET ESPIONAGE IN AMERICA.(Review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
Andrew J. Bacevich
Manufacturer: Institute on Religion and Public Life
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on May 1, 1999. The length of the article is 2112 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: VENONA: DECODING SOVIET ESPIONAGE IN AMERICA.(Review)
Author: Andrew J. Bacevich
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1999
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Page: 53(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America

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Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America
Harvey Klehr John Earl Haynes
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OS9HUC

Book Description

A first-of-its-kind anthology bringing together the best writing and photography available on loons. Includes loon myths and legends.

Customer Reviews:

Loons, Song of the Wild.......2000-03-31

I purchased this book shortly after it was first published ... and read and reread it numerous times, always enjoying the experience and always picking up a new tidbit of information that I had previously missed. The photography is excellent ... it makes you feel like you are there with the loons ... transported to a beautiful, peaceful place.

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