Introduction

Photoshop CS2 is the latest and greatest version of a program that has set the standard for image manipulation since 1987. The new version has lots of new features, including Smart Objects, a beefed-up File Browser that's been renamed Bridge, a new Red Eye tool, Reduce Noise and Smart Sharpen commands for cleaning up photos, and a lot of "under-the-hood" enhancements that make your work easier and quicker. If you've used an earlier version of Photoshop, you'll be amazed at how much more powerful this one is. If this is your first experience with Photoshop, you'll be blown away. It's that good! The big surprise for first-time users is that it's really not as difficult to work with as it looks. If you have used any other Adobe software, the Photoshop interface will be immediately familiar to you. If this is your first step into creating digital graphics, you'll find the going easier if you work on the hours of this book one at a time and don't skip the activities or exercises.

Also, please be aware that this book was written using beta versions of the software. As such, some of the figures might be slightly different from what you see on your screen. Nevertheless, every possible effort has been made to keep the book as accurate as possible.

Download the Pictures!

I've provided a few of the source images for the book's exercises on the Sams website dedicated to this book. To download the images, point your Web browser to www.samspublishing.com, and type the book's ISBN: 0672325926. (Note: Don't use any hyphens.)

After the main book page has loaded, click the Downloads link to get to the files.

Please be aware that all images are protected by copyright and cannot be used for any purpose other than to work on the exercises.

There's honestly no way to become an overnight expert, be it in Photoshop or anything else, but Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop CS2 in 24 Hours will get you up and running in 24 hours or less. It's divided into 24 one-hour lessons, rather than chapters. Each lesson should take you about an hour to complete. Some lessons might need more time; others, less time. Please don't try to do it all in one 24-hour day, even if you could. The best way to learn is to take an hour or two between the lesson sessions to try out what you've learned. You'll want to simply poke around, and see what's on the menus and what happens when you click here and there.

Here's one for you to start with: Open the About Photoshop window and wait for a minute. You'll see it start to scroll through the list of all the people who worked on the program. Watch carefully for the very last name on the list. It's a pleasant surprise.

Ready? Let's get to work.