Fireworks MX: Zero to Hero

Joyce J Evans and Charles E. Brown

Review by David Powers (you'll leave this site).

Friends of Ed (publisher of this book) went out of business. This book has been purchased from APress. I've heard the files at Friends of Ed are giving some problems so you can download them from here until APress has them available.

A sample chapter is available. It's a large file so don't click to open the PDF in your browser. Window users, right+click and choose Save Target As. Sample Chapter (11mg). This is the text chapter.

This book is now shipping. A couple sample images can be found here.

This book is expected to be available in October of 2002.

Section One: Fireworks MX Primer. This section will get you familiar with the major tools and functionality of Fireworks MX, by example, and simple-to-understand explanation, and in fewer than 200 pages.

Section Two: Projects. Here you’re introduced to case studies and examples that will give you practical, hands-on experience and provide exposure to the more complex tools in Fireworks MX - learning by experience. As well as practicing your new found skills, this is also the place where you’ll learn many tips and tricks of the trade.

Section Three: Real-World. In this section we look at Fireworks MX as it’s used in the real world of professional design – not just as a standalone application, but as part of the formation of the designers creative toolbox.

You will learn a ton of hands on techniques which include, masking, blend modes, image repair, tonal corrections, color cast removal, shapes, all kinds of text effects, custom buttons, nav bar, symbols. You'll use all the Fireworks tools such as the Pen tool and Bezier curves, Reshape area tool, Path Scrubber tool, new bitmap tools and plenty more. You'll learn how to make edges with and without plugins. Learn how to shade your shapes using vector tools instead of bitmaps. There are a ton of projects and a 16-page color insert.