The Adobe Illustrator WOW! Book for CS6 and CC, 2nd edition

(This 15th book in the series updates the previous edition’s CC content through CC2019)

To order the print and/or ebook directly from Peachpit at 37% off retail
(through December 31, 2019, including free U.S. Shipping on print books)
from www.peachpit.com/ and enter the code WOWCC at checkout.

If you’re a teacher or educator you can order your free review copy from your Pearson rep via: .

Download a free course outline for using the book in a 2 or 3-day workshop, or as a semester-long class.

Here’s some info about the book…
For decades, Sharon Steuer and her international
 WOW! team have been showcasing the world’s best artists and designers working in Adobe Illustrator. In this edition of the best-selling and award-winning Illustrator WOW! Book, you’ll find hundreds of tips, tricks, and techniques derived from actual projects from top illustrators. You’ll discover exciting ways to create complex effects, learn fresh ways to use venerable tools to speed up your workflow, and find updated information on features through the 2019 CC release. This edition is loaded with lessons, technical information, and stunning artwork galleries including:

  • Coloring with Freeform Gradients, Gradients, Mesh
  • Transforming with Puppet Warp
  • Painting and generating artwork with raster brushes
  • Harnessing Live Corners/Rectangles, and new reshaping tools
  • Mastering type effects and controls
  • Creating airbrush and neon effects with gradients on strokes
  • Quickly styling with multiple lines, fills, and effects
  • Creating complex repeating patterns
  • Forming 3D and perspective effects
  • Exploring different ways to globally change artwork
  • Preparing and saving artwork for print and web
  • Using Adobe Illustrator with Adobe Photoshop and other apps

Register your book at peachpit.com to download artwork that you can manipulate in Adobe Illustrator, see the “How to use this book” section for details.

“This book has the perfect mix of inspiration and instruction–I have yet to find a better motivational tool for using Illustrator to push the envelope and create art that forces people to notice.”
—MORDY GOLDING, Senior Director of Content, lynda.com

“Every Illustrator user should have a copy of the WOW! book. Period.”
—DAVID BLATNER, co-publisher of CreativePro.com and InDesignSecrets.com

 

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Welcome to resource central for WOW! art, tips, tricks, and more

Below find more more Illustrator WOW! content from Sharon and the WOW! team’s posts on CreativePro.com:

Why might you want to update to Illustrator CC?
Read about Sharon’s “5 Favorite Illustrator CC Features” in her DigitalArtStudio column on CreativePro.com.

Did you know that if you have CC installed, you can’t just switch back to CS6 if your CC expires?
Read about what to do if this happens to you in this DigitalArtStudio column on CreativePro.com.

Want to find out more about a new digital pen+paper=> Illustrator workflow?
Read Sharon’s evaluation of drawing with the Neo Smart Pen.

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How to Prepare Raster Images for Use with Illustrator Brushes
by Sharon Steuer

STEUER-Pattern brush

and

Creating a Pattern Brush in Illustrator CC Using a Raster Image
by Lisa Jackmore

LJackmore-pattern

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The Touch Type tool can transform an ordinary title into a unique work of graphic art. See the artwork from a lesson in the booklet that demonstrates how Steve Gordon uses the tool to create a map title on his

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For a sneakpeek at more from the booklet: from the booklet page on click on the “Sample Content” tab to download a free PDF SneakPeek of the booklet (containing the full front matter and TOC, thumbnails of the intro, lessons, and galleries, Artists’ index, and more).

When you purchase the booklet, register it with Peachpit.com/register to access files to download from WOW! ONLINE. Files include the artwork examples from each of the lessons and galleries, plus a complimentary issue and offers from Design Tools Monthly, links to demos from Astute Graphics, The Adobe Illustrator CS6 WOW! Book, sample chapter, and more.

You can also download the full Chapter 4 (brushes and strokes!) from The Adobe Illustrator CS6 WOW! Book .

To keep in touch please pop Sharon an email, sign up for Sharon’s newsletter (at right), subscribe to her blog, and/or you can get more immediate responses via Facebook or Twitter.

For course outlines using the The Adobe Illustrator CS6 WOW! Book  in a classroom setting, see theedu page of Sharon’s site.

WOW! CreativePro posts

Here are some of Sharon’s “how to” articles on CreativePro.com.
And following are links to CreativePro articles by the WOW! team:
Steven Gordon’s posts
Lisa Jackmore’s posts
Cristen Gillespie’s posts

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*Who “we” are:

Also collaborating on WOWartist will be WOW! team co-authors Steve Gordon, Cristen Gillespie, and Lisa Jackmore, and (occasionally) our testers and tech guru Jean-Claude Tremblay!

Steve Gordon operates Cartagram, a custom mapmaking company located in Madison, Alabama.
Cartagram’s Blog is about mapmaking and mapmakers, map trends and map sightings. It’s about visually stimulating and innovative maps, and the software and techniques to achieve them.