Photoshop by Design is a remarkably clear and concise book. It demonstrates a number of solid techniques designed to get novice users familiar with the program. With its approachable design and tone, this comparatively short book features 24 short and simple-to-grasp tutorials spread out over three chapters. The lessons are easy to follow, and clear graphical elements and screen shots complement the text. Each tutorial focuses on a different aspect of using paths, gradients, filters, and so on. As a whole, the tutorials are geared at designing characters and using Photoshop in a very "illustrative" manner. Many of the sample illustrations are reminiscent of images in a children"s book. But the book contains no technical information for using Photoshop (such as how to create Web design or photorealistic effects). Nor does it explain how to create images for a variety of media. But the tutorials show you techniques that can be widely applied for production purposes, and if you are a beginning Photoshop user interested in character illustration, the book will work well for you. --Mike Caputo