In this week’s free Deke’s Techniques episode, Deke finishes his line art self portrait begun two weeks ago by adding another watercolor was to the mix. This time, he adds this watercolor wash from our friends at Dreamstime. (Click on the image to learn more and get deals!)

...to the serve as the backdrop to the floral art area (as you can see up at the top of the post).

Full disclosure, I find this project to be of immeasurable instructional value; I think wrangling lines and understanding clipping masks are excellent skills to develop in Photoshop. But I’m not sold on the aesthetic sensibility of this particular artwork. With nothing to lose in terms of design excellence, I had freedom to experiment.

The outlines of line art aren’t the only thing that can be manipulated by clipping masks using this technique. Say, for instance, you didn’t think this project could get any more jarring and you were free to add a text message without jeopardizing anything. By changing that text to outlines and playing with the strokes, layer positions, and blend modes, I was able to create this:

Along the way, I had to stretch the canvas and some of the watercolor layers, and Deke’s mask-duplication trick came in handy as I made him this DT-inspired birthday card.

Deke’s Techniques, celebrating the birth of its namesake in full color chaos!