Review:

You may recall from my review of the first Computones book that each book in this series comes with a CD-ROM loaded with an array of digital screen tones that you can use with Adobe Photoshop 5.0 through CS, Adobe Photoshop Elements 1 and 2, and Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 and 8. The latter portion of the book is a manual for installing the tones on your computer, which strikes me as a blatant waste of paper, because most of us already bought the first book. But, I suppose it also helps the books to stand alone. You can pick them up based on the toning project at hand without needing any other books.

The CD includes only a few of the tones from Volume 1's set, but most of them are completely new. There are many patterns suitable for toning clothing, and there is also a plethora of flowery tones for shoujo moments. I used many of the floral tones in my graphic novel, Crow Princess.

The translation and presentation in this book is much smoother than in the first. There are far fewer mixed up pictures and text, and I found the techniques described were more advanced, especially the etching tips.

You cannot pass this set up! The tones are a fabulous addition to any comicker's arsenal. If you are serious about black and white comicking, this is a must-have tool kit and a beautiful compliment to the the first book. Don't enter another RSOM contest without it!