Book
Review of: |
 CorelDRAW
9 for Windows Visual Quickstart Guide by Phyllis Davis is an absolute
treasure for a beginner with little previous experience. The language of
the CorelDRAW9 program was demoralizing without it. When I purchased the
book, I barely knew where to start. This book is a small one - only 322
pages, but it is all nuts and bolts. It is all in black and white with
no frills. It is clear and straightforward, with easy_to_follow visual
instructions that lets a beginner start drawing immediately.
The first few chapters are slow going as you learn a multitude of new tools and concepts. It was here that I had my first “Wow” reaction. It was my first real eye-opener toward the unlimited power and magnitude of the program that even I, as a novice, could control! As you progress through the book, each new section uses the techniques discussed earlier, and builds on what you have already learned to reinforce those recently learned techniques. This gives the reader a feeling of self-confidence. The author has one frustrating habit of referring you to more detail on a subject about 75 pages ahead of where you are. She sent me off on tangents that were over my head a couple of times. Now that I have learned to proceed one page at a time, I am making better progress. The first five chapters deal with the Basic Tools and how to function them. Chapter 6 deals with Nodes and Paths and includes two Special Projects implementing her examples. These Special projects are sparingly sprinkled throughout the book. Nodes and paths let you change a simple shape into a more complex one. Of course there are many different methods of controlling the nodes to get the results you are after. Controlling lines and curves with the available tools fills the next chapter. You learn to make ocean waves and flags fluttering in the breeze with precision. She does not acquaint the reader with Text and how to control it until the middle of the book. My preference would have been to introduce it with the other Tool and then go into it in depth later. Text is such an important part of any work you do that it needs a great deal of emphasis. The last 50 pages or so deal with the CorelDRAW and the Web. Anyone having an interest in Web design would benefit greatly using it. I haven’t covered it yet except to see that the subject is fully covered. Having attended one of Sandra Medlock’s beginners classes and two of her intermediate classes, and then waiting a month for the next class to learn more was frustrating. I wanted to know it all yesterday. I learn more in Sandra’s two hour SIG than I can learn on my own in a week, but the book would be a great addition to the SIG Group. Over all I consider the book a real bargain. In Chapter 1, Phyllis Davis states both minimum hardware requirements and the desirable ones. My opinion is that any reasonable speed processor with 128 MB RAM is all that is needed unless you get into professional work. “Amazon” and “Borders” both had the book for $15.19. There were three excellent reviews at Amazon — all favorable. The reviews stated that: “The Intermediate CorelDRAW user will find the book a handy reference guide for learning the new CorelDRAW 9 features and for discovering how to combine techniques together to create amazing effects.”
Before returning to San Antonio ten years ago, my husband, Doug, and I sailed the Caribbean for 15 years on a 42 foot ketch. I graduated from Senior Comp's Introduction to Computers and Windows in March of 1999. I have assisted many of the Instructors in all three classes, learning as I went along. I am a good image for Senior Comp because other old goats can relate to me. |