Deke’s Techniques

Your weekly quick-fix of Deke, with ideas you may inspire or inform your own projects.

Halftone Pattern and Zig Zag in Adobe Illustrator

Deke finishes his Halloween cat eye project with some substantial help from Adobe Illustrator's dynamic effects and Appearance panel.

Creating a Halloween Cat’s Eye in Adobe Illustrator

Deke actually digs this year's Halloween project out of an old creaky hard drive, resulting in a cool vector based cat's eye in Adobe Illustrator.

Using the Dynamic Free Distort Filter in Adobe Illustrator

Deke finishes up his triangle-based city-stalking creature with some help from an old filter in Adobe Illustrator and some dynamic effects.

Painting with Gradients and Translucency in Adobe Illustrator

Deke colors his face made of triangles with custom gradients and varying opacity.

Creating Real Artwork with Basic Shapes in Adobe Illustrator

Deke takes one simple equilateral triangle and turns it into something resembling a face in Adobe Illustrator.

Precisely Sizing Stars in Adobe Illustrator

Deke uses his knowledge of geometry and guides to create a precisely sized and aligned star in Adobe Illustrator.

Creating a Beveled, Equilateral Triange

Deke uses his newfound understanding of how Illustrator interprets the radius of a polygon to make an equilateral triangle and an homage to the Mercedes logo.

Precisely Sizing Any Polygon in Adobe Illustrator

Deke shows you how to get precise measurements for your hexagon by using the circle that is secretly around it.

Turning a Blend into a Repeating Pattern in Illustrator

Deke creates a seamlessly repeating pattern in Adobe Illustrator from the color blended lantern tile he made last week.

Quickly Change the Number of Blend Steps in Illustrator

Deke teaches you the ins-and-outs of making object blends in Illustrator, including some useful mnemonic tips for getting to the Blend tool.

Adobe Illustrator Lantern Tile, Type 1, aka “the Onion”

Deke uses Adobe Illustrator to create three types of repeating lantern tiles, shining light on how to get things done with the Pen tool.

Two Ways to Colorize with Gradients in Photoshop

Deke uses two different methods to colorize a tryptic portrait with gradients in Photoshop