I am usually not too big on picking up graphic design magazines, because a lot of times they’re really not worth the price you pay. Another reason is that for some reason American magazine publishers don’t seem to put many out, that are very helpful. After seeing that one of my favorite design houses, Go Media was being featured in the latest issue of Advanced Photoshop Magazine I figured I would check it out.

I went over to the local Borders bookstore and after walking around the store for ten minutes (it’s a new store and it’s huge), I finally found the magazine rack. My first impression of the magazine was that it’s designed well and definitely gets the readers attention with the bright cover art. The other thing that caught my attention was the sticker price. Each issue of the magazine runs £6.00, but with the markup and the exchange rate it was $15.50 USD. I immediately thought “this magazine is going back on the rack for the next sucker”, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a free browse in store.

I was definitely impressed by the contents of the magazine and the quality of the articles, but the tutorials are probably some of the best that I’ve ever seen. Each of the tutorials is extremely in-depth and very detailed, so much so that you can understand why the magazine is titled “Advanced Photoshop“. After giving it a once over I noticed that it comes with a CD loaded with all of the necessary files for each tutorial, along with a few bonus items. AHA! This $15 price tag isn’t looking too bad after all, so I figured I’d pick it up. 

I haven’t tried any of the tutorials out yet, because I bought it on my lunch break. I have thumbed through the mag about five times though and read a few of the articles. If time permits, I’ll see if I can work out one of the less intense tutorials and let you all know how it goes. If you’re a Photoshop nut like me, you should definitely pick up the magazine or just give it a look at your local bookstore.

One other quick thing before I close out, you can download the tutorial files from the Advanced Photoshop website without purchasing the magazine, but unfortunately there isn’t a PDF or text file with the instructions for the tutorial. They are great resources to have on hand though…check ‘em out.

~ GrandmasterB