3ds Max 2010 Lighting and Rendering with mental ray explores one of the most powerful toolsets for photorealistic 3D image visualization: the mental ray renderer in 3ds Max. Aaron F. Ross shows how to use mental ray’s combination of materials, lighting, and rendering to achieve a variety of effects, from glossy surfaces to reflections and transparency. He provides an in-depth review of photometrics and the tools used to adjust lighting in 3ds Max, including brightness, intensity, and color temperature along with a wide variety of lighting scenarios. Aaron also devotes time to getting the most out of mental ray’s powerful rendering engine and improving render efficiency. Exercise files are included with this course.

Alpha channels are collections of luminance data that control the transparency of images, and they influence just about everything in Photoshop. Coming to terms with alpha channels, also known as masks, is a surefire way to maximize results. Omni Award-winning Photoshop expert Deke McClelland leaves no pixel unturned as he explores Refine Edge, Color Range, the Channels palette, the Quick Mask mode, channel masking, blend modes, and more. After watching Photoshop CS3 Channel and Masks: The Essentials, even the most complex techniques will seem like child's play. Exercise files accompany the tutorials.

Rapidly prototype websites and application interfaces with Adobe® Fireworks® CS4 software. Create and optimize images for the web more quickly and accurately than ever before with an enhanced toolset. Fireworks CS4 enables you to export a clickable prototype as an interactive PDF file, so you can easily collect comments from reviewers and demo your designs. Generate high-fidelity PDF documents from your Fireworks design comps to improve communication with your clients. Apply lighting and shadow effects, styles, and blend modes, including seven new Adobe Photoshop® blend modes, to add depth and character to text and symbols.

Nuke 5 Essential Training was created and produced by Steve Wright. We are honored to host his material in the lynda.com Online Training Library®. Nuke 5 Essential Training is designed for digital artists already familiar with compositing visual effects using programs like Adobe After Effects or Shake. This course provides a solid foundation in operating Nuke, using the core functions of keying, motion tracking, and color correcting, as well as Nuke’s key strength, 3D compositing. Tour the Nuke user interface, its unique color management system, and overviews of HDR images, masking, keyframe animation, and 2D and 3D motion blur. Exercise files accompany the course.

From creating simple animation to integrating Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash files, After Effects CS3 Professional Essential Training explores the possibilities available using the motion graphics and animation features in After Effects. Adobe Certified Instructor Chad Perkins teaches the fundamentals of managing the timeline, working with 3D layers, creating projects for iPods and mobile devices, and more.

With Acrobat 9, Adobe continues to evolve the venerable PDF from a simple paperless document into a collaborative hub for many forms of digital communication. Many new and enhanced features in version 9 of Acrobat Standard, Acrobat Pro, and Acrobat Pro Extended. He demonstrates different ways to create and modify PDFs, including the enhanced OCR tool, and shows how to combine them with other files into a PDF Portfolio. Brian covers collaboration in detail, including the new Collaborate Live and Shared Review options. He also investigates redaction and other security features. Example files accompany the course.

In Final Cut Pro 6 Essential Effects, Apple Certified Trainer Larry Jordan examines the "other half" of Final Cut Pro: effects. Building on the foundation created in Final Cut Pro 6 Essential Editing, this training looks at how to use Final Cut to create a wide variety of professional-grade effects.

In Illustrator CS3 One-on-One: Advanced Techniques , author and industry expert Deke McClelland teaches users how to take advantage of the wide array of dynamic effects in Illustrator CS3.

In Pro Tools 7 LE Essential Training, instructor Joe Godfrey shows how to use this powerful program to create, edit, and mix digital sound professionally. The training covers everything from recording and editing dialog to designing sound using plug-ins, from working with MIDI to creating sound for pictures, and from multi-track editing to mixing. Joe teaches all the tools needed to create professional audio results for all kinds of projects using Pro Tools 7 LE. Exercise files accompany this training.

Photoshop CS3 Extended adds revolutionary support for 3D and video files. In Photoshop CS3 Extended for 3D and Video , Chad Perkins teaches users how to take advantage of Photoshop CS3 Extended's 3D capabilities.

Mordy Golding has been a production artist for print and the web for many years, and is an Adobe Certified Expert and Adobe Certified Print Specialist. At Adobe, he was the product manager for Illustrator 10 and Illustrator CS. A popular presenter at Macworld, PhotoshopWorld and other worldwide events, Mordy is also the author of several books, including SAMS Teach Yourself Adobe Creative Suite All in One, The Web Designer's Guide to Color, and Real World Adobe Illustrator. In 2003, Mordy was named a Champion of Graphic Design by Graphics IQ. Currently he serves as the founder of DesignResponsibly.com, teaching designers and printers how to successfully adopt today's new technology.

In Flash CS3 Professional Essential Training, instructor Rich Shupe delves into the key aspects of working with Flash CS3 to create professional animations, design interactive websites, and incorporate audio and video into self-contained presentations.

Anyone who shoots, scans, or stores digital photographs is practicing some form of digital asset management. However, many people don't yet know how to manage their files (and their time) efficiently. In these tutorials, Peter Krogh, author of The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, presents his proven RAW workflows in depth. Peter teaches the steps for end-to-end management of RAW files, including editing, file conversion, adding metadata, client feedback, backup, archiving, and more. This video training incorporates two different workflows -- one for managing images shot in variable lighting conditions, and another for managing images shot in controlled studio lighting.

Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows Essential Training highlights the important features of this comprehensive image organization and photo enhancement application. Photographer Jan Kabili shows how to use Photoshop Elements to organize and edit photos, build photos into projects like slideshows and photo books, and share photos with family and friends. Jan explains how to train Photoshop Elements 8 to recognize and tag faces, use the Smart Brush for targeted adjustments, and share photos using Adobe’s online service, photoshop.com. She also dives deep into the application’s editing tools, which rival those of the full product, Photoshop, in their ability to take snapshots and turn them into great photos. Exercise files accompany the course.

Corel Painter 11: Mastering Brushes takes a deep look into the variety of mark-making tools found within Corel Painter, a software application that allows you to create painterly images that look like they were made with natural (non-computerized) painting media. Through a comprehensive demonstration of different brushes, Corel Painter guru John Derry shows how to adjust multiple variants to achieve desired results. Just like an artist who holds a paintbrush or piece of chalk at a particular angle to create a specific mark, John demonstrates with both live action and within the application how to modify brush variants for maximum expressive impact. From bristle media to ink media, watercolor to utility media, he explains how to get the most out of this drawing and painting application. Exercise files accompany this course.

Application developers who want to create cross-platform, data-centric applications need the power of Flex 3. In Flex 3 Essential Training, Adobe Certified Instructor David Gassner starts with the basics of understanding Flex, its projects, and its related programming languages. He explores the intricacies of the development platform and the Flex Builder 3 integrated development environment, then gives in-depth, hands-on tutorials on creating, designing, customizing, and publishing dynamic web and desktop applications in Flex 3. Exercise files accompany the course.

In After Effects 7 Animation Techniques, Jeff Foster shares methods and best practices for creating fantastic animation. From setting up a camera and getting the right angles, to imitating the movement of the human skeleton and animating text layers, Foster explains everything you need to know to create and edit animations for the most realistic effects. Exercise files accompany the training videos, allowing you to follow along and learn at your own pace.[/center]

Final Cut Express is a non-linear video editing application created by Apple Inc. It is the consumer version of Final Cut Pro and is designed for advanced editing of digital video as well as high-definition video, which is used by many amateur and professional videographers. Final Cut Express's interface is identical to that of Final Cut Pro, but lacks some film-specific features, including Cinema Tools, multi-cam editing, batch capture, and a timecode view. The program can perform 32 undo operations, while Final Cut Pro can do 99

Geared toward video editors who are new to Sony Vegas or to this latest version, Vegas 6 Essential Training teaches the fundamentals of how to work with Sony’s award-winning video editing application. Instructor Thomas Sherer identifies the main elements of the interface and explains how to work with different media files, then moves on to more advanced topics, including essential editing techniques, applying effects and correcting color, and working with high definition video and surround sound audio. Exercise files accompany this tutorial.

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