About Layers - November - December 2009 (US):
Layers magazine provides in-depth tutorials, cutting-edge techniques, secret tweaks, expert insights, and a wealth of information about the entire Adobe Creative Suite®, including InDesign®, Illustrator®, Photoshop®, Acrobat®, Lightroom®, After Effects®, Premiere Pro®, Dreamweaver®, and Flash®. Published six times a year, Layers provides the design ideas, 3D rendering tricks, digital video concepts, artist portfolio profiles, unbiased product reviews, and current industry news that make Layers an absolute must-read for today’s creative professional.

Content issue:
[ C O V E R S T O R Y ] 30 ] Plug in to the Creative Suite It’s a given these days that, to succeed, you need to work smarter and faster, which means that the software you depend on to make a living needs to be smarter and faster, as well. And that’s why we have plugins. I’m sure you know that there are a ton of plug-ins available for Photoshop, but did you know that Illustrator and InDesign have their own treasure trove of plug-ins? Take a look at this Layers resource guide to see what plug-ins are out there that could streamline your workflow.—Chris Main [ F E A T U R E ] 40 ] Be Interactive People like to click, drag, type, and follow the bouncing ball. These are just some of the reasons you should consider adding interactivity to your websites. But don’t just add it because you can; add it because it makes sense for your site. Lee talks about different types of interactivity and offers advice on how and when to use them.—Lee Brimelow [ T U T O R I A L S ] 44 ] Digital Photography: Create Compelling Photographs —Chris Orwig 50 ] Adobe Photoshop CS4: Automate Green-Screen Layouts —Dave Cross 56 ] Adobe Illustrator CS4: Meshing Around with Warning Signs —Corey Barker 62 ] Adobe InDesign CS4: Make the Most of a Two-Color Job —Jeff Witchel 68 ] Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro: Everybody Loves Shortcuts—Taz Tally 72 ] Adobe Dreamweaver CS4: Make Your Site Search-Engine Friendly —Janine Warner 78 ] Adobe Flash CS4 Professional: Countdown Timer—Lee Brimelow [ D E P A R T M E N T S ] 8 ] Letter from the Editor 12 ] Layers News 16 ] Designer Spotlight 18 ] The Digital Canvas 90 ] Tips & Tricks 92 ] Creative Suite Q&A 110 ] Design Contest [ C O L U M N S ] 20 ] Design Makeover: Cosmetic Surgery—Jake Widman 26 ] Artistic Expressions: Sweet Delights—Bert Monroy 60 ] The Art of Type: Table Manners—James Felici [ R E V I E W S ] 82 ] GridIron Flow—Jay Nelson 83 ] CoreMelt ImageFlow FX V2.2—Marcus Geduld 84 ] MAPublisher 8.1—David Creamer 84 ] Prezi—Cyndy Cashman 85 ] Canon PowerShot SX1 IS—Mike Mackenzie 86 ] Olympus E-620—Steve Baczewski 88 ] Digieffects FreeForm AE—Jason Scrivner 88 ] Swift 3D 6—Marcus Geduld 89 ] Adobe Director 11.5—Tami Fry-Pietsch 89 ] NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 for Mac—Erik Kuna [ O N T H E C O V E R ] Taking what he learned as an interior designer, Vince Fraser jumped into the digital world, creating vibrant and energetic illustrations. He has used that creative energy to capture clients such as Guess Jeans and Tiger Beer. Keep an eye out for Vince’s amazing art throughout this issue of Layers. [Vince Fraser]