Martini Hour 012, In Which Deke (with help from John and Russell) Whips Up Layers of Photoshop Goodn

You know, it occurs to me now that somewhere along the way I lost control of this show. Perhaps it was the 43:00 mark of this particular episode. But if losing control means having Deke, along with Adobe’s John Nack and Russell Brown, go into a free-for-all discussion of Photoshop layers, well then control is overrated. Bring on the (subltly layered) chaos.

Yes, the theme this week is layers. And since I couldn’t come up with a layered gin-based drink (do olives count as a layer?), I asked Deke to model this week’s logo after the classic layered dessert Jello 1-2-3. Listen as the knowledge of our Photoshop experts separate itself into the foamy, bubbly, and jellowy (strawberry-flavored) layers of goodness.

Interested? How can you resist? Here’s the regular-quality (192kbps) audio file. You can stream, or for best results, right-click and choose Download or Save.

Don’t want to miss a single episode of this singular treat for the ears and mind? Subscribe via iTunes. And don’t forget, this is a separate subscription from your regular dekePod podcast.

Got a question you’d like us to answer on the show? Write us on the site, or even better, call 1-888-dekepod. (That’s 1-888-335-3763.) Practice, be charming, and ask us something really intriguing. Or just ask a really sincere question with great earnestness.

Next entry:Photoshop and the Lost Undersea Channel

Previous entry:Something Just Totally Inspirational

  • Pillows

    Here’s a little something to add to the lounge http://bit.ly/MfZ8t

  • I love ‘em!

    The entire suite for $80—what a bargain!

  • All Our Base Are Belongs To Youse

    I’m loving the new fabfour format : you guys create a great dynamic.  :-)

    The conversation’s crisp yet informal, convivial while informative, cool 21st Century Creative High Geekness: ...‘transporting “wayfaring pilgrims”,’ to quote Leunig, “away from the bad mood of the world to the peaceful shores of [dekePod’s Martini Hour]; a small, mystical and beautiful place of sanity”.


    “Take me!” say we, say “Oui!”.

    :-D

    Also, I think I may rename my own “L’Adobe Le Bridge” to, simply, “Fish”. That’ll skin the cat! ...the beauty is the power. There is no downside. Not even in complexity :-D


    Thanks again, dekeTeam!  ...how I’ve missed y’all..


    Oh! btw - I’d love to see separate masks for each filter, blend mode, fx, etc, that gets added to one smart object layer.

    & lol@twittering while listening. I do not do that, honest…

    Cin cin!

  • Air Force One Photo Op

    As a scared-out-of-my-pants-on-Moday-morning inhabitant of lower Manhattan, I was wondering how much it would cost to have a self-appointed digital imaging expert (like our beloved Deke) to composite a picture of Air Force One against a NYC skyline? According to the USAF the cost of the flights over Manhattan and Washington DC will cost over $300,000.  I’m sure Deke could knock out a pretty convincing composite in 10 minutes.  He could save the Feds quite a bit of money assuming he charges under $30K a minute.


    Alan

  • Minor Whoops

    Just thought I’d let you know the link for the high quality file for episode 12 actually links to the 192kbps file. (its the same file for both 192 and 320)

    Great!!! series, btw.  Thanks for all the effort, it really is appreciated.

  • Rather major problem

    if you want the high bandwidth piece. But it’s fixed now. Thx for the heads up!

  • Bob Staake is the PS 3 artist in question.

    Great show as always! I love when John Nack revealed that Adobe’s developers use Coen Brother’s film titles used as PhotoShop Library code names. Now, that tickles both my digital imaging AND film nerd passions.

    Also the artist that John Nack mentioned who does the New Yorker covers in Photoshop 3 is Bob Staake. Here is a great youtube clip of him creating a cover in PS 3. It’s pretty amazing actually:

    http://tinyurl.com/4jlgq3

    Thanks for the great show. I hope that sometime you’ll have a Tiki-bar themed Martini Hour with Mai Tai’s or Zombies. The tie in could be blend modes, you use a blender for fruity drinks and blend modes blend pixels. It’s a stretch I know.

    But I would like to know if blend modes work differently (for printing anyway) between PhotoShop, Illustrator and InDesign. Each one has transparency options, so which is best to use for a final print job.

  • Component Code Names

    The component code names come from the Minnesota engineering team, specifically Tim Wright, who’s a huge Coen Bros. fan (The Coens are originally from MN).

    AFAIK - There is no hard limit on the number of layers you can have in a document. You’re only limited by the amount of RAM in your machine.

    The other big transformative layers change was between CS and CS2 when we introduced the ability to select more than one layer at a time and the ability to drag and drop all kinds of layer object types that weren’t supported previously. ImageReady CS was sort of a test bed for the idea before we did the work in Photoshop.

  • Layer Sets

    I remember PS 2.5
    http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2005/07/american_cinema.html

    http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2005/06/newsweek_intera.html

    And I remember as layers came along, and then layer sets, I always sort of hoped that the stack was an arithmetic expressions, and the folders were the parentheses. That would hide a bunch of your work and make it impossible to see your whole ‘tree’ at a glance, but at least you could group things so that (these three layers) multiplied by (this layer screened with that layer) screened with (this layer overlaid by that one)


  • Sadly, I, like every one else

    Received no call.

    But in all fairness, I was away from my desk that morning.

    Background info from a savvy pair of Jo(h)ns.

  • Hi colleen, Thank you for

    Hi colleen,

    Thank you for the post. Stunning design! The blend of colors and effects looks perfect to be a banner of a site. Have made one for my self and very excited to make it live.

    Keep it up guys, you make our lives more easier with your designs!

    -Angella Wilson


    Blogger at How Can I Get Pregnant


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