Adobe Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book

The book made light work of the subject. As a novice i was able start producing work in a short time.

I have completed many of the Adobe Classroom in a Book series.
I have come to the conclusion that Adobe can do better.
Many times the structure and sentences are confusing.
Adobe could do a better job if they did an advanced version of the Learning Visually series. That is really what these books are all about, yet many times the reader must reread a simple sentence many times to decipher the true meaning of simple tasks.
I hope with with all their billions they could afford to overhaul the training material for their avid fans (no pun intended).

For anyone attempting to learn the Adobe software, pick up this series. I have used it in Illustrator and Photoshop and they were highly informative and helpful. :)

This is certainly the first book you need to get started with Adobe Illustrator.
Illustrator Classroom in a Book provides practice lessons using most of the features of Adobe Illustrator but does little to explain the hows and whys of the tools. Follow the instructions precisely, and you'll be ready to tackle your own artwork. But skip a step or misunderstand an instruction and you can get lost. This is not a book for the impatient student.

I am new to Illustrator and the Adobe programs in general, and from that perspective, this book was ideal. It got me much more comfortable with the work environment to the point I found myself actually wanting to use the program to perform design tasks.

This book is not comprehensive. Some things (just my list) this book does not cover, but are essential to professional users of the program:
1. Graphics tablet features.
2. Creation of Flash symbols/integration with Flash.
3. Keyboard Shortcuts.
4. Charts/Graphs creation (this is most likely the most common commercial use of the program).
5. The pathfinder effects (these very important tools are briefly touched upon, but are essential for good use of the program and really really counterintuitive).
6. A bibliography or resource list.

I feel this book really should have shipped with the program. Like many software developers, Adobe asks a-lot when it does not provide a manual with such an expensive program. Adobe Help has much improved with CS3, but it's not the same as a true manual.

Illustrator itself is a decent program that has much improved with CS3. It's still not ideal, and really gets more attention than its competitors largely through Adobe's ingenious marketing of the "creative suite."