Today my esteemed video publisher lynda.com releases the first of six free videos devoted to the task of creating an original five-by-three-foot pirate flag, just in time for Halloween. Although it’s designed as a preview for my upcoming Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Advanced course—from which it’s excerpted—this project actually involves as much work with Photoshop as Illustrator. Not to mention a Sharpie.

Here’s the official description:

In this exclusive preview of his upcoming Illustrator CS5 One-on-One: Advanced, Deke McClelland shares six phases in the creation of an authentic five-by-three-foot pirate flag. In today’s episode, Deke creates, scans, and edits the original sketches to create a base piece of artwork in Photoshop. Look for the full course to be released in its entirety later this year.

Topics include:

• Sketching an initial idea
• Creating a base ink drawing
• Printing and enhancing a drawing

Today’s video outlines the project. The five remaining videos will appear Monday through Friday of next week. (So keep an eye on this site all next week!) In the end—regardless or your expertise or talents—you’ll have a professionally rendered, large-format pirate flag ready for professional-quality output. Below you see one of the actual pirate flags that I received just this morning. It’s so large it takes up the entire entryway of my little townhouse. (That’s the entryway lamp in the background; I actually shot the image vertically.)

I’ll post project files next week.

Happy High-Seas Halloween, Mateys!