What to read after Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide?

Learn the principles of vector drawing as you learn technique, composition, and other art essentials--then apply your skills to creating websites, animations, logos, photographic retouches, and more. Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide shows you how to customize the software, use QuickShapes, draw vector paths, use fills for photorealistic effects, and compose professional desktop publishing documents. This hands-on resource brings you from concept to completion with examples that span a range of art styles--using the vector drawing program that thinks it's a bitmap editor. With these tutorials that apply to Xara Xtreme, Xtreme Pro, and Magix Xtreme Photo & Graphic Designer, you'll:

• Work with vector paths that look like paint strokes
• Tag colors to dramatically change complex drawings in seconds
• Build multi-page, graphically rich websites in a few hours
• Convert bitmap web graphics to resizable vector shapes
• Design artwork in minutes that looks like it took days
• Create and export original Flash animations for the web in no time
• Create 3D text and apply special effects to imported photos and vector shapes
• Invisibly retouch photographs with feathering, fractal fills, multi-step gradients, and transparencies

Inside you'll find an inspirational Xara GrandMasters Gallery of award-winning artwork from around the world. Get started today by downloading free trial software from www.xara.com!

Download lesson files from www.mhprofessional.com/computingdownload and www.theboutons.com.

Gary David Bouton, an international award-winning illustrator, has authored 25 books on graphics software, including CorelDRAW X4: The Official Guide. He practices what he teaches: his work can be seen on Graphics.com, TalkGraphics, The CG Society, and YouTube.