Illustrator book to learn xara

[ss-kalm]

Starter 83 - If you are looking to get familiar with Xara's tools, I agree with Derek. Go to Xaraxone and work through some of the tutorials. OR just browse and look at what has been produced and how.
If you want to learn how to draw, that is a different animal altogether, and I cannot tell you how to learn that. There are lots of talented artists on this site, who will be only too glad to give advise. Shame that I'm not one of them - (Artist that is not advisor - I'm always willing to give advise - some of it better than others).

[Odat]

I'll third checking out the xone and all of the tutorials that Gary has published as a great way to get a sense of the tools and just the things you can do and how to accomplish certain looks.

Maybe we should all beg Gary to use his accumulated wisdom to write a book about Xara?

[amoore]

Maybe we should all beg Gary to use his accumulated wisdom to write a book about Xara?

That's been requested many times. Sadly, it's not financially feasible.

Happily, the chapters of a fabulous and very worthwhile Xara book are already available as tutorials and workbooks on the XaraXone. Probably a much better format in the long run.

(And much easier on Gary...)

[Odat]

Yeah, I had a feeling that had been done before.

With the built in movies and the staggering number of tutorials and other information that Gary has made available, Xara wins hands down as THE easiest to learn software I've come across (not counting software that I wrote myself, naturally .

[haakoo]

Hi,

Maybe,just maybe anybody who wants,chips in and donates a small amount to get it published,if Gary wants to make it.
And maybe Xara/Magix could make a donation of 50%.
This way new customers would step in easyer into the XaraWorld and benefit from the great XaraBible.

Hans

[masque]

Would such a book be anything substantially more than the XaraXone tutorials which are on a disk given with every copy of Xtreme anyway as well as online.

[EJ]

Starter83,
I must agree with what the others have said, but not all is lost. I know what you are feeling and others have the same problem with different programs. In your case the closest I can think of is the drawing program Inkscape, much of the layout and design and feel of which was based on Xara. With Inkscape there are lots of people who want to learn the program, or catch up with areas they don't know, or simply keep up with newly developing areas (of which there are many).

The problem was solved here by one of the members writing and continually updating an online manual. This is available as a book published last year. It is called "Inkscape: Guide to a Vector Drawing Program". http://www.informit.com/store/produc...sbn=0131357948

However, it is also freely available as an online updated document at http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/index.html. It is in English.
While it is not Xara, many parts are very very applicable.

.....Ultimately though you'll have to come back to the expert Xara users.

cheers, Erik

PS. Inkscape has just released version 0.46.

[Soquili]

Finding a publisher interested in a book about Xara Xtreme is probably the hardest part of getting a book published.

[amoore]

If you want to learn how to draw, that is a different animal altogether, and I cannot tell you how to learn that.

Actually, doing the tutorials will help. That and just taking the time to do it.

Some years back, Gary pushed me on this issue since drawing is not high on my list of skills. I think it took me about two weeks to produce a fairly creditable image of a VCR cassette. (Closest object to the computer when I started.:shrug

Unfortunately for my drawing skills, I have no time to devote to them.( My needs are predominantly about modifying and assembling.) Even so, doing the tutorials helped a lot. One of these days I'll be able to get back to all that. (I did actually cadge a few minutes to start doing a tut last week...)

Allison