Indesign 2.0 part 1

InDesign's capacity to work side by side with Adobe's creative software offers something unique in the world of page layout; it provides excellent creative flexibility, control and freedom, and also has the potential to save you a lot of time.

In this tutorial we're going to put together a consumer-style magazine DPS - on the mighty temples of Angkor in Cambodia - where we're looking for a clean, contemporary feel, integrating a number of images to add detail, depth and texture. We'll be looking specifically at how to integrate Illustrator objects into the page design - both as editable paths and as placed items with Styles applied - all the while maintaining their transparency.

We'll also focus on how to use InDesign's support of the native Photoshop format, using soft-edged layer masks for cut-outs rather than relying on clipping paths, and on how to roundtrip at will, taking advantage of image edits through such features as Adjustment Layers.

Finally, we'll complete the layout using key InDesign strengths, such as typographic control, image colour sampling, re-linking, feathering, and Transparency controls.

This tutorial can be found in issue 77 of Computer Arts Magazine, December 2002. To order a copy, please contact backissues@futurenet.co.uk. For more expert tutorials on 3D, Web and Photoshop, plus interactive CD ROM, subscribe for 13 issues here.

Download the tutorial pdf here. You'll also need the accompanying work files below.

detail_images.zip
other.zip
texture_images.zip