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Ask anyone at Adobe what distinguishes Photoshop from every other image-editing program, app, or digital blip on the planet, and they'll tell you "masking and compositing." Apparently you agree, because my video course Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Fundamentals is tearing up the planet over at lynda.com. It's N-to-the-1-to-the-L-D-C, as the dope kids say. As if I'd know.

Naturally, I'm gratified. (Thanks very much, btw!) Plus, it emboldens me to report: Today I and my beloved video publisher release another installment in the series, Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Advanced Blending. The image below might make it look exacting and academic. Which it is. But it's also expansive and practical. Because it tells the ultimate post-processing story: How to paint without permanence, create without consequences, and, in the end, mask without masking. In short, how to assemble photorealistic artwork through the pure power of artistic thought. It really is that good.

This is a short course, just 4 hours, and yet it manages to comprise 9 chapters. Here they are: Read more » 

I open my window and I hear the birds roar. And do you know why? Because just this morning, my 153-movie, 14-hour and 53-minute "Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Advanced" video course went live at lynda.com. If that sounds like a lot of hours, perish the thought. It's down slightly more than a full work day (8 hours and 19 minutes) from my introductory course, "Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Fundamentals." And it goes down easy as this very Tuesday morning. (Click here for a full chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the contents.)

Here's a previously unreleased screen capture from the course that demonstrates how to integrate Photoshop images into your Illustrator workflow. What it lacks in beauty it makes up for in prehistoric bird action and sweet training goodness. Not to mention, a page curl. (Now we're talkin'!)

Members of the lynda.com Online Training Library can get started instantly by clicking on this link. Not a member? Get yourself a free week by clicking here. Not interested? Just sit there. Those are your options. Read more » 

Lately, my site has gone as feral as the animal pictured below. Which is somewhat intriguing. I mean, a site gone wild is a sight to behold. But my plan is to change that.

Today, I'm writing to announce two things: First, I finally finished my all-new Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Advanced course for lynda.com. And second, while that course won't go live until late November (about the time the U.S. members of this site celebrate how the Pilgrims ostensibly broke bread with the Indians before their progeny thought, no wait, let's kill them), I have a special 6-day preview planned for you in just a couple of days. Read more »