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

Midwest Book Review
Start with a computer scan of almost anything, from an engraving to a photo, and use it to turn out high-quality, original works of art through a guide which tells how to browse illustrations for scanning potential, how to tinker with visual images, and how to bypass the camera for optimum results. An essential guide for any who would use scanning in the course of creating art.

Book Info
Shows how to start with a scan of almost anything, a clip art engraving, a lackluster photo, or a household object-and turn it into an original, high-quality piece of art. Gives clear, step-by-step instructions along with hundreds of full-color illustrations of useful ideas. Previous edition: c1996. Landscape format. Softcover.

From the Back Cover
Start with a Scan, Second Edition shows designers, illustrators, and hobbyists how to transform raw scanned images into high-quality, finished illustrations. The book starts off by covering the basic techniques of scanning and then moves on to provide a wealth of valuable scanning tips used by the experts. The bulk of the book uses four-color illustrations and step-by-step instructions to show you how to take a scan of almost anything -- a lackluster photo, clip art, an ordinary household object -- and turn it into beautiful artwork using graphics manipulation programs such as Photoshop, FreeHand, and Illustrator. This new edition includes additional chapters on using scanned images for Web design and creating your own arts and crafts projects. The discussion throughout is geared for users of both Macintosh and Windows platforms. If you do a lot of scanning, this book can help you squeeze more out of your work and get more attractive results.

About the Author
Janet Ashford is a freelance writer and designer, and is the co-author of five books on computer graphics as well as two books on women's health. She is the co-author of Getting Started with 3D (Peachpit Press) and the previous edition of this book. @AUTHBIO= John Odam is an award-winning graphic designer and a principal of John Odam Design Associates. He is the author of Start With a Digital Camera and is the co-author of the previous edition of this book.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Start with a Scan shows you how to start with a scan of almost anything - a clip art engraving, a lackluster photo, a household object - and turn it into an original, high-quality piece of art." "The second edition of this best-selling book includes all new art on every page plus two new chapters: "Using Scans in Arts and Crafts" and "Scanning for the Web." With this book in hand you'll be able to browse through hundreds of full-color illustrations for ideas you can use and follow clear, step-by-step instructions to get the results you want.

FROM THE CRITICS

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