Learn to think like a painter and render images that look like they were created with oils or acrylics, using the latest digital artist's tools. Author and artist John Derry introduces the process of interpreting a photograph into a painted work of art. He begins by explaining his system of visual vocabularies, which describe how to replace the visual characteristics of a photograph with that of expressive painting, and also shares the custom brush sets and actions he uses to achieve these results in Adobe Photoshop. The course also covers working with filters, layers, effects, and more to add further detail and texture.

In this course, photographer and author Jan Kabili walks you through importing, organizing, and finding your photos using the Organizer in Adobe Photoshop Elements 11. The course covers importing photos from your camera and computer; reviewing and evaluating photos; tagging images with ratings, keywords, people, and places; working with files and folders; and creating and organizing albums. Jan also shows how to find images with metadata and in the timeline, and how to apply instant photo fixes and Quick Edit image adjustments.

Almost every photo can benefit from some enhancement, from exposure adjustments to cropping. In this course, author Rich Harrington shows how to improve photos using iPhoto. The course describes how to crop and straighten photos; remove red eye; improve exposure, color, and contrast; and refine images by retouching blemishes, removing noise and adding special effects like vignettes.

Excel 2007: Business Statistics with Curtis Frye shows managers and executives how to assess their organizations data effectively by applying statistical analysis techniques. The course covers important statistical terms and definitions, and then dives into techniques using the tools in Excel: formulas and functions for calculating averages and standard deviations, charts and graphs for summarizing data, and the Analysis ToolPak add-in for even greater insights into data. Exercise files are included with the course.

Learning to shoot green screen removes tons of time and budget limitations; instead of scouting and shooting on location, you can digitally recreate the background of your scene. This course takes you through the steps of shooting both photography and video on green screen. Authors Rich Harrington and Abba Shapiro walk you through the process of preparing a live-action set, from hanging the backdrop to lighting the subject with strobes; positioning and posing your subject; and completing the scene with postproduction techniques in Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. Learn how to composite your footage against a new digital background plate, match the color and exposure, adjust focus, and perform keying for motion.

In this course, Jen Kramer shows how to use Joomla! to build a website from scratch-all without a single line of code. Discover how to create and organize content, add menus and sidebars, change the look of the site with templates, control who creates and edits content, and much more. The course also shows you how to evaluate the quality of extensions, plugins, and templates and how to download and install them. Finally, Jen emphasizes the importance of backing up your Joomla! site, and explains how to create and store those backups.

In this course, Jen Kramer shows how to use Joomla! to build a website from scratch-all without a single line of code. Discover how to create and organize content, add menus and sidebars, change the look of the site with templates, control who creates and edits content, and much more. The course also shows you how to evaluate the quality of extensions, plugins, and templates and how to download and install them. Finally, Jen emphasizes the importance of backing up your Joomla! site, and explains how to create and store those backups.

Web designers and coders will be introduced to techniques to improve their results in CSS Positioning Best Practices. Beginning with a brief review of CSS, instructor Bill Weinman demonstrates how to position elements on a page using CSS instead of tables. He then goes step by step through the process of using CSS positioning to lay out pages that have traditionally been laid out using HTML tables. Exercise files accompany the course.

CSS gives Web designers control over the appearance of their web sites by separating the visual presentation from the content. It lets them easily make minor changes to a site or perform a complete overhaul of the design. In CSS Web Site Design, instructor and leading industry expert Eric Meyer reviews the essentials of CSS, including selectors, the cascade, and inheritance. The training also covers how to build effective navigation, how to lay out pages, and how to work with typography, colors, backgrounds, and white space. Using a project-based approach, Eric walks through the process of creating a Web page, while teaching the essentials of CSS along the way. By the end of the training, viewers will have the tools to master professional site design. Exercise files accompany the training videos.

This installment of Photoshop for Designers explains how to create beautiful typographic effects and challenges designers to expand their creative mindset with type. Author Nigel French describes how to combine letters and imagery and how to illustrate ideas with type, often with just a few simple tweaks to the letterforms themselves. The final chapter contains a few creative projects, such as fashioning portraits and maps comprised entirely of type.

In Excel 2010 Power Shortcuts, Excel expert Dennis Taylor shares tips and shortcuts to vastly increase efficiency and get the full power out of Excel 2010. There are tips for working with the Ribbon and Quick Access toolbar, navigating workbooks and selecting cells, rapid data entry and editing, working with formulas, formatting data, working with charts, sorting data, and much more. Exercise files accompany the course.

In Excel 2010 Power Shortcuts, Excel expert Dennis Taylor shares tips and shortcuts to vastly increase efficiency and get the full power out of Excel 2010. There are tips for working with the Ribbon and Quick Access toolbar, navigating workbooks and selecting cells, rapid data entry and editing, working with formulas, formatting data, working with charts, sorting data, and much more. Exercise files accompany the course.

Discover an alternative to the traditional character rigging workflow with the Character Animation Toolkit (CAT) for 3ds Max, which offers preset character rigs as well as custom tools for creating a rig from scratch. Author Joel Bradley demonstrates animation layers; CAT muscles, which you can use to create a skin that deforms and stretches realistically as your character moves; and the forward/inverse kinematics workflow. The final chapter puts all these features into motion, as you apply the tools to a full character rig with secondary bones and perform a stress test animation.

This course is the third in a four-part series devoted to mastering the premiere graphics creation application, Adobe Illustrator, version CS6. Industry pro Deke McClelland takes a project-based learning approach to the key features in Illustrator, including Recolor Artwork, transparency, masks, blend modes, strokes and fills, and dynamic effects. The course also covers techniques for creating custom gradients, designing logos, generating photorealistic neon text, and wrapping type around objects. Plus, Deke shows how to call up the most essential features by organizing your workspace and employing time-saving keyboard shortcuts, how to manage the color settings, and how to adjust a few settings to make the program work even better.