Mama's Chores Art Series #1 CD (Mac/Win)

Mama's Chores Art Series #1 CD is a five lesson video tutorial collection detailing the process involved in creating five artistic effects: pencil sketch, watercolor method 1, watercolor method 2, watercolor and ink method, and acrylic or oil portrait. More than three hours of detailed instruction is provided in 18 video clips of varying length. The tutorial images are provided so that the viewer can follow along while watching the instructor, Mama Shan. Mama Shan has an easy-to-watch, and easy-to-follow, teaching style that is non-threatening and comfortable...kind of the way your mama would show you if she were a Photoshop wiz. A video tour of the disc can be seen by selecting the Tour link at http://www.photoshopmama.net/legal_CDartseries1.html?reload. $33

Mama's Retouching Bundle (Mac/Win)

Mama's Retouching Bundle is jam-packed with powerful Photoshop add-ins and insightful video tutorials covering a wide variety of retouching effects that can be applied to professional and amateur glamour shots. The single DVD holds more than eight hours of step-by-step instruction led by Mama Shan, the undeclared queen of the Photoshop beauty salon, whose techniques for enhancing glamour portraits truly put her in a category by herself. We have not seen any package that approaches the depth and breath of procedures, methods, and tools for glamour retouching as this one does.

Mama Shan provides Photoshop Actions and tools for applying a complete range of image-based beauty treatments, including hair dying, face powder, rouge, lipstick, lip gloss, tanner, teeth whitener, eyelashes, Rosacea reduction, and dozens of effects that can radically improve the appearance of a digital female model image. The disc includes all of the images used in the tutorials so that the viewer can follow along with each demonstration. Photoshop Actions are loaded into the Photoshop application and can be applied as needed. The Actions are presented as a series of steps that are pre-programmed, and executed in order. They greatly simplify complex techniques and speed the application of repetitive operations. Mama Shan's Actions represent her expertise encapsulated for instant replay, and her tutorials are always available as a refresher course.

The bundle includes Mama's Studio Portrait Pack of Actions, Lenoir's Full Pack of Lash Brushes, Mama's Rosacea Reduction Kit, Mama's Combo Pack of Cross-Processing Actions, and Mama's Retouching Bundle DVD, and more. It is the single source for enhancing Photoshop to deliver a full range of functionality for retouching glamour shots. $269.

Contact: Photoshop Mama 1016 Spain Avenue Nashville, TN 37216-3627, http://www.photoshopmama.net, e-mail: mama@photoshopmama.net

The above review is written by Professor Michael Kleper of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Professor Kleper has written eight books on the subject of publishing technology, and has edited and published newsletters on the subject since 1979. He presents valuable, topical information in each issue of the Kleper Report on Digital Publishing.