Many moons ago, I asked you guys to post suggestions for my weekly Deke’s Techniques. Many of you commented, for which I thank you. For example, motorheadzzz asked me not to neglect Illustrator. He then requested “some stylized graphics like swirls and swooshes . . . basically how to recreate popular effects, not so much because of their style, but just to show how they were created.”

Happily, motorheadzzz posted his request six months ago. (I say “happily,” because we were all six months younger then.) And I, being the ever-timely fellow that I am, am just today answering that question. Please, mhz, let me know if this wasn’t quite the answer you had in mind and I will get back sometime in the year 2525.

Here’s the official description from lynda.com:

This week, Deke draws you into a swirling vortex of spirals, by showing you how to create custom curlicues in Adobe Illustrator. Although you can find swirly patterns everywhere these days—from business cards to painted fingernails—the spiral is actually a classic enough form to have an Illustrator tool expressly named for it. By using a source image of carefully crafted embellishments as a guide, Deke shows you how to employ the spiral tool, and then customize your shape with a host of other Illustrator features. This week’s free movie will show you how Deke made the black portions of this curly creation:

As you’ve probably noticed, Deke likes to share his weekly techniques in under ten minutes. Ten minutes in Deke-time is usually around 11:30, but even with that grace period, this technique spins by very quickly. You may find that you’d like to have a little better grasp on paths, joins, and transformations in order to get your swirls in shape. If you’re a member of the lynda.com Online Training Library, check out a couple of useful chapters from Deke’s Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Fundamentals course; Chapter 4 will guide you through basic line art drawing, and Chapter 7 will show you transformations and edits at a more relaxed pace.

Meanwhile, lynda.com members will be treated to two exclusive videos this week as well. In the first one, Deke creates the swirls by using Illustrator CS5’s wonderful new Variable Width tool. In the second movie, Deke will show you how he created another variation on ornamental objects.

Those of you who regularly track Deke’s Techniques will note that this is just the second time that I’ve posted two follow-up DTs videos in the lynda.com library. (The other time was when I took my first foray into the world of 3D in Photoshop Extended. Oh, boy, those were the good old days!) Which is to say, if you like Illustrator, you’ll love these movies.