First, let me set the scene: It’s past midnight and I’m outdoors, basking in the moonlight. (No need for Colleen’s Pixel Sunscreen. Just me, a Montecristo, two candles . . . and this infernal laptop.) I just finished recording my last few minutes of Illustrator CS4 One-on-One: Mastery—devoted to Illustrator’s capricious Actions palette—which completes my CS4 video content. (Hoorah, babikans!) It’s my last night in Ojai, CA, amidst the opulently planted grounds of the Blue Iguana, and I am feeling like a million and five bucks. American.
But that’s not why I write. I write because I am witnessing something special. From my midnight patio, I watch—yes, this is happening in real time—I watch as the 4 million-year-old carcass of dekePod rises from its frozen grave. (I told you it would!) And as it puts one cold, shuddering foot in front of the other, I marvel—again, in real time—as it appears to transform itself into something totally new, something very much alive.
It is lithe. It is lean. You may now address it as “Photoshop Top 40.”
Produced in concert with the wonderful people at lynda.com.
This video introduction explains all. Only it ends with the words “Next week, Photoshop Feature Number 40.” I actually mean this week. As in, right now! Click here to see “Feature #40: Reset and Purge”!
Sorry about that
The video will be available in just a few hours.
(I’m working very late California time. The videos, although private at the moment, will go public when my people rise from their slumber.)
Oh my, yes
It’ll be available in every definition there is.
Need to unprivate the video
Ah I think you might find that you have got this video set to private in your Youtube settings (I.E: Send to family, friends, while the pesky non-believers can not). Unfortuently although you can embed private videos into a webpage, that doesn’t mean that people who you haven’t got divine aproval via Youtube can watch it.
I have fallen astray by this one before.
The only way around it is to set the video to public so that everyone on Youtube can see it. Then the embeded video will work.
HD?
will it be available in HD?
Awsome
I’ll Wait for the Whole Weeks ... Wish you the Success and thank you sir.
Black Seals ... White Reveals…!
Good Stuff but Missing Dekepod Already
Deke,
I’m really happy that you’re continuing to do free video training, but I miss your crazy shenanigans from Dekepod. Dekepod was hilarious! Don’t let The Man stifle your artistic expression with this new line of video training Deke! Tell them to let you be you! Jerks! 8)
For what it’s worth, I’d love to see you do something like Dekepod again. This toned-down-normal-speed-vulgar-less-stuff just won’t do man! I’ll watch these anyway, but only cuz you da man.
~ Joe
Publicity
So uh…. did you get into trouble for calling someone a jerk?
I liked your old videos a lot, they were a great laugh as well as edumacational - but I’m totally looking forward to this series.
Also I’ve been announcing the awesomeness of Deke.com on my various travels in the intertubes so I hope you get some more viewers. I’m also trying to enthuse people to the joy of Lab mode where-ever I can too.
I showed some people who aren’t even into photoshop the robot one and they thought it was great. Learning everything should be so much fun.
Looking forward to the ‘countdown’ and hopefully so will some new viewers! If anyone actually reads my crappity blogs and doesn’t think I’m just being paid by you. Not that I am asking to be. I’m just totally thankful my photos suck less now. Speaking of sucking, I’d better stop sucking up and get back to work!
Just Learned a Bunch of Illustrator
Just learned a bunch of Illustrator thanks to Deke’s Lynda.com CS4 coverage.
Will I use my new found powers for good or evil?
...depends on what you call this, I guess
http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2009/07/pussycat_theate.html
:D
zombie Dekepod
I can understand why its a little more serious than your dekepod (working for the man now:)).
Am looking forward to the top 40, but I loved the humour and mad editing of dekepod.
That being said, still looking forward to it!
Will dekeonline members be able to download the top 40as podcasts or will they be youtube only?
dekeys
After loading you dekeys from the one-on-one book and accompanying dvd, I lost de shortcuts for the blendmodes. Is that normal? It’s no big deal but I wonder if something went wrong.
Eddy
No, that’s not normal
All blend mode shortcuts involve Shift+Alt on the PC or Shift-Option on the Mac.
Assuming one of the selection tools is active.
dekeKeys does nothing to displace those shortcuts.
I have to go with the other comments here…
Much as I’m looking forward to viewing the Top 40 (of which I’ve seen this one and one other so far), they really aren’t… well, they just aren’t DekePod as we knew it. They’re like mini-Lynda lessons.
Not that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with that. I mean, back when I was a member of Lynda (and in the future, when I’m a member again by which time if Adobe sticks to the schedule CS5 should be out {headdesk}) I watched Lynda videos until my brain turned into slushy jelly. I watched Deke’s Lynda videos until I was so overdosed on Photoshop that I couldn’t even remember what a layer was because I’d crammed so much other information in there. Then I’d re-learn layers and that would force all of the information about channels out my other ear. Then I’d re-learn channels and forget what an action is. After that I’d just make sure that I shoved a cork into the ear that I wasn’t listening to the current lesson with.
But for all their vast reserves of meaty PS information, you’re never going to hear those 6 magic little words “Sh*t, I’ve got to finish this” (with or without the asterisk substitute) in a Lynda video.
Lynda videos, even Deke ones, are like a nice nutritious salad.
But sometimes you just want a big, huge unhealthy hamburger with a large plate of chips, or french fries if you prefer. That’s what the old DekePod was. Necessary junk food for the soul, but junk food which still contained your average daily allowance of vitamins P and S.
Or to use a completely different analogy, so off the wall that it was straight out the window and embedded into the aluminium siding of the house next door.
So while I’ll be there for the whole 40 and doubtless beyond (if Deke lives that long; does he EVER sleep?), I still have to say… “The Man” is a jerk for taking away our Dekepods!