My brother mentioned to me awhile back that he planned to create a series of instructional tools for using Photoshop, I thought it was a great idea. Photoshop, like so many other Adobe products, seems to speak a language all its own. When Joe created the finished product, he gave it to me to review. So here we are!

The Introduction begins with a menu that allows you to hop around from topic to topic. I started with the Introduction. Joe introduces himself, talks about the product, and thanks you for purchasing "So You Wanna Learn Photoshop." I call this the "airline approach"-I think every company should thank you after you purchase something from them. The only thing that's missing is a picture of Joe...since he's addressing me, I would have liked a picture of him or something. Instead, we stare at the image of the Eyeballistic logo. Neat logo, but I couldn't help but feel that Hal was talking to me. That eye...I think it's mad at me...

Basically, Joe takes you step by step through everything you see on a Photoshop screen. The mouse moves where Joe directs it, acting as a sort of on-screen actor. Most of the concepts are straightforward, but they are all presented with the expertise of a tech writer. I should know, I was a tech writer. Tech writing can be a soul-grinding job, but it requires impeccable accuracy and consistency in approach. Joe pulls it off with ease.

To Joe's credit, his voice is measured, with no stuttering or mistakes. The audio isn't fantastic (it sounds like there's a fan in the background sometimes), but he's audible and understandable. He enunciates clearly and slowly. If you miss something, you can pause, forward, or rewind the narrative with a bar at the bottom of the screen.

Since I don't have the latest version of Photoshop, some of the instructions didn't apply to me. Other parts I knew already (I know all about clicking, shortcuts, resizing windows, etc.). There are over 80 tutorials in total. I skipped to two topics I really wanted to learn about: the heal tool and color replacement. Both of the tutorials answered my questions and made me really want to get Photoshop 7.

Overall, this is an excellent series for folks who are more visual and need to get up to speed quickly on Photoshop without time to read those massive 400+ page tomes. A must have for any budding Photoshop artist.