dekePod

As you might imagine, I don't actually record each and every Deke's Techniques the same day it goes live. Frankly, I wish I had the next 27 in the can, but that isn't the case. At any given moment, I'm a just few ahead. Which is to say, this thing combines shear craziness with a small degree of relevance.

I only mention this because, today, I recorded some junk and stuff for next month. With any luck, you're going to love 'em. (Not to give too much away, but my summary of the next few weeks is superheros, cars, dancing girls, and spirals. Honestly, revisit this page in August and you'll be like, "Dude, you totally spilled the beans---and I didn't even know!")

Anyway, I'm distracting you from today's technique, which is magical and rad. Because today, I show you how to create an alien 3D temple, from utter and complete nothingness, using a depth map in Photoshop Extended. Here's the official description from lynda.com: Read more » 

I sit in my home in Boulder, CO and it is hot as hell. 101° F. With my laptop on my lap, making it even warmer. The heat is all around me. Like a stench that I can't escape. Like an insect that won't leave. Like a quasi-friend that eludes my skills. Which is all good. Because, you see, this is the day that Deke's Techniques amps up from casual to serious. Today, this very day, I begin in earnest to kick some seriously vector-based ass.

Join me as I poke a toe into the waters of what will come. Specifically, today, I show you how to stroke a border around an imported image in Adobe Illustrator. Which, technically speaking, is impossible. And still, I show you how.

Here is the official description from lynda.com: Read more » 

One of the great things about Deke's Techniques (for me anyway) is that it gives me the chance to explore, not just how vast and powerful programs like Photoshop and Illustrator work, but how they work together, and in real-world scenarios. For example, this week, I show you how to take a couple of cloud photographs (Photoshop) and cram them into some vector-based text objects (Illustrator), replete with strokes and drop shadows.

Here's the official description from lynda.com: Read more » 

This week, I share with you a totally goofy technique that I think is funny, but otherwise has very little in the way of practical value. I originally wanted to call it "Giving a guy a little head." But my beloved producer at lynda.com thought that sounded too salacious, so he changed the title to "Head-shrinking." But I still say my title was more accurate. After all, in this week's video I give guy a little head, quite literally (pull your mind out of the gutter!), in Photoshop.

Here's the official description from lynda.com: Read more » 

Hey Gang. Today I make up for my outrageous post from last week with a classic retouching technique. One in which I take a photograph of a lovely woman and make her skin look wonderfully, reasonably, and altogether realistically smooth.

Here's the official description from lynda.com: Read more »