Xaraxone vs Official Guide Book?

[knuteicebear]

I'm considering buying, the Official Guide Book.

Can anyone tell me why I might want to buy the OGB when Xaraxone has 10 years + of tutorials-for free?

I'm not trying to be antagonistic, just watching my budget! :-)

Cheers

Knute

[Karateed]

Well Knute,

I can only speak from personal experience but the reason I bought the book was because Gary gives you a very organized approach to learning the program. In the 10+ years of tutorials you speak of you could maybe get most of what Gary's done at a huge cost to time but he's put some excellent tutorials all in one place, organized and easy to accomplish and remember.

If you've ever done any of Gary's tutorials (they are some of the 10+ years ones) you'll understand the quality he produces. Having said that then the book is more than well worth the cost to your library.

It's well written, humorous and extremely informative.

Hope this helps.

[HayTay]

As one who has done many of Gary W. Priester's tutorials and has also purchased a copy of Gary David Bouton's book, I would wholeheartedly recommend the purchase of Xara Xtreme 5: The Official Guide while continuing to complete as many of the tutorials on The XaraXone as you can. I have learned much from both sources. My approach to books (and tutorials) is simple. If I purchase a book and learn at least one thing I didn't already know, or find a way to accomplish a task quicker and easier, the book has already paid for itself because I can apply that knowledge over and over. If you manage to get a paying job because of the knowledge you've gained from the book you'll find the $26.39 US (Cover Price: $39.99 US) was a small price to pay. I've got to admit, I learned more than a few nuggets of information that I've incorporated into the drawings/graphics I've made with Xara Xtreme from both, and many other, sources.

Even though I've read XXP5: TOG from cover to cover, I still reference various sections from time to time to reinforce and refresh my current knowledge or to see if I may be able to apply a certain technique in a different or unique way.

On the down side, if you really don't like the book, I'm sure you could find someone would be willing to purchase it from you.

Strange as it may seem, I've purchased at least a half-dozen books on Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and other graphics applications I DON'T EVEN OWN. <Insert crazy laughter track here> Attempting to complete tutorials for other graphics packages didn't necessarily teach me to recreate them in Xara Xtreme any easier, but, more importantly, I learned a lot of different ways to put the tools available in Xara Xtreme to more creative uses.

Let us know what you decide to do,
Harry

[Spinny]

I'll add my endorsement for the "Use 'em both" camp. GaryP's stuff is great, absolutely, and if you want a step-by-step on how to accomplish any one of a gazillion tasks the Xone is your one stop shop. But, if you also want a well-rounded treatment of all the features XX5 has to offer (with concept and background attached) so you can build a general-purpose skill set from which to grow...get GaryB's book. As a bonus, you can reference the book when you might not have convenient access to a computer for viewing Xone tutes. I can't be the only one who reads these books even when I'm not actually near a computer, can I?

[HayTay]

Spinny, you're definitely not the only one who loves books for their portability and readability anywhere there's enough light to see the pages. You can keep them pristine, mark them up, highlight the good sections, use sticky notes to mark pages, keep them for reference, sell or give them away, borrow or buy them used, along with a multitude of other book and non-bookish uses. I always have at least one book close at hand and usually read a minimum of one book a week!

I've tried electronic books and they're just not for me.

[Gare]

Hi Knuteicebear—

Gary Priester and I do not compete with one another; in fact, we've been friends for more than a decade and have worked together professionally a number of times.

Gary Priester has his way of telling a story, and I have mine. There is no "better" or "versus" in the equation whether to buy The Official Guide or not, based on the existence, popularity, price, or quality of Gary P's hard and diligent body of work on the Xara Xone.

It's just how a teacher's "voice" resonates with a particular reader. I don't think anyone can put a price tag on education, this is what we both Gary P. and I do, we offer different things, and what I bring to the party is a physical book. That in the material world costs money.

If you'd like to "try before you buy" and see how my author's voice communicates to you, McGraw-Hill and I have had a free chapter in PDF file format up since last year, and I've posted additional free content here a number of times...check it out.

Free Chapter, all tutorial files are free to download

I'll also be virtually updating the book by posting free chapters here when Xara 6 comes out soon.

My Best,

Gary

[ankhor]

I'll also be virtually updating the book by posting free chapters here when Xara 6 comes out soon.

My Best,

Gary

Ah two good news'es in one sentence.
xara 6 comes out soon (how soon? ),
and free extra chapters.
You made my day Gare.

[masque]

I would also like to add my support to the use them both camp. In fact use whatever learning resources you can find to broaden and diversify your sources of inspiration and challenges. You only learn anything by ‘doing’ and so just reading about doing it or looking at whatever other people have done is only part of the process.
Sometimes teaching yourself to do something can also be instructive if only for the mistakes you make while doing it. The fact that you are struggling towards a self taught end goal and going the long way round in the process can all be important parts of the learning process in my opinion. Also you can discover for yourself ways of doing that make more sense to you than following someone else’s method from a book or web tutorial.
Its often said here in answers to questions that there are many ways of doing things in Xtreme and all those solutions can’t be listed in a book with a finite number of pages.
Derek

[knuteicebear]

Well Knute,

I can only speak from personal experience but the reason I bought the book was because Gary gives you a very organized approach to learning the program. In the 10+ years of tutorials you speak of you could maybe get most of what Gary's done at a huge cost to time but he's put some excellent tutorials all in one place, organized and easy to accomplish and remember.

If you've ever done any of Gary's tutorials (they are some of the 10+ years ones) you'll understand the quality he produces. Having said that then the book is more than well worth the cost to your library.

It's well written, humorous and extremely informative.

Hope this helps.

It does help, Karateed, thanks !

So I get both, I can live with that! lol!!!

BTW-Squamish? I'm just down the road from you on Bowen Island-Hey neighbour! :-)

[knuteicebear]

Thanks for the useful words of wisdom Haytay, Spinny, Gare, Ankhor and masque!; it's much appreciated.

It's interesting that all the posts are positive, that speaks volumes about the book. I'll be ordering it soon.

Good points about different teachers and their approaches to learning. I should have thought of that from my experiences with Corel Painter. You can see the same techniques demo'ed by another instructor and come away with yet another approach that you might never have thought of for doing the same thing. Very useful

Cheers

Knute.