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Photoshop CS3 Mask box art
Amazon.com

Photoshop Channels & Masks

Essentially a collection of luminance data that controls the transparency of an image, the modest alpha channel informs just about everything you do in Photoshop. and coming to terms with alpha channels (a.k.a. masks) is the most sure-fire way to boost the quality of your work in Photoshop. But masking isn’t easy. In fact, the elusive alpha channel has been described as the least understood feature in Photoshop’s enormous arsenal. Until now, that is. In Photoshop CS3 Channels and Masks, expert Deke McClelland blows the lid off the topic. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD

Don't Fear the Lab Mode

Submitted by deke on 5 August 2008 - 10:33pm.
My pastoral backyard

Episode 003: dekePod has been known to get a little crass at times. And, of course, I'm very proud of that. But this episode, I lift my mind from the gutter and send it merrily floating down a stream, a very real stream filled with imaginary colors that cuts through the backyard of a little world called Lab. Sound enchanting? Damn straight, it's enchanting! Here's the official marketing description: Read more » 

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Stealth 'Shop, The Virgin Histogram

Submitted by deke on 23 July 2008 - 3:22am.
Robot nuts & bolts

Episode 002: In this second regular episode of dekePod, I pass along a technique of such magnitude, it will blow your mind. Because inasmuch as I every so often allude to another anatomical detail, the brain is what this video is all about. Not the "shorty" brain, but the "tally" brain. All the way upstairs, with the rotating bar and the fine dining. Here's the official marketing description: Read more » 

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Welcome to dekeOnline

Submitted by deke on 22 July 2008 - 4:03am.

Hi, this is note from me, Deke. Forgive the potentially rough appearance of this newsletter (which is going out as an email to all registered users). But we didn't want to get all slick with our messaging.

I know you have lots of busy stuff going on today. (And from here, it looks like you're doing a great job juggling the, you know, the things that you juggle with the stuff in the air and the things. So kudos for that.) But I wanted to take just a moment of your time to thank you for joining dekeOnline. I am sincerely glad that you've opted into our madcap imaging + graphics + design tea party.

So, yoiks, quite to my surprise, the site has gone through the roof. Over the Bastille Day weekend (July 13th and 14th), Alexa.com claims we entered the ethereal realm of the Top 50,000 sites. (Where's Kasey Kaisim to read it?) Google Analytics shows us trouncing the typical site our size (me blue, them gray, below). And when I say "trounce," I mean it in a kind, Care Bear, loving way.

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Photoshop CS2 Mask box art
Amazon.com

Photoshop CS2 Channels and Masks

The elusive alpha channel remains one of the most misunderstood yet powerful tools in Photoshop. Alpha channels are collections of luminance data that control the transparency of an image, and they inform just about every aspect of Photoshop. Selections, layer boundaries, masks, the Quick Mask mode, layer masks, knockouts, and masking with the Channels palette all rely on alpha channels. In Photoshop CS2 Channels and Masks, award-winning author and Photoshop expert Deke McClelland teaches channels and masks comprehensively. Read more » 

List price: $149.95USD