The Droplet Song (A Love Song to a Lost Feature in Photoshop)

dekePod Episode 012: Hello, friends. Please accept my sincere apologies for the 14-week gap between this dekePod and the last one. Life and work, and more life and work, and still more life and work got in the way. Happily, I managed to clear my plate and come up with something new and special for you. Think of it as a kind of St. Patrick’s Day resolution, in which I abandon my feisty ways and embrace my sensitive side. Even if it’s only for one episode. Here’s the official marketing description:

How best to encourage people to use an obscure but super-useful Photoshop feature? Rhyme, rhythm, and romance. Hence a music video that will make all your automation dreams come true. Give Deke five minutes of your time and he’ll set your world on fire.

Filmed in and around San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park (not to mention some random guy’s apartment), this soothing video will make you feel alive again. I even learned to play the guitar for you!

If you’re interested in downloading this video, try one of these links:

  • For a high-quality 155MB QuickTime movie, right-click here and choose Save Target or Download Link or the equivalent.
  • For an M4V file that you can play on an iPod, right-click here and choose one of those same commands.
  • Or you can subscribe to dekePod via RSS or iTunes.

You can also check out the dekePod page at my book publisher O’Reilly Media.

Members: Keep an eye out for a future article, in which I’ll post the lyrics and a downloadable MP3 version of the song. In the meantime, enjoy.


If you liked this video, you might also like these commercial products that cost actual money while at the same time expanding your creative and technical range: The book Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One and the video series Photoshop CS2 Actions and Automation. Gee wiz, friends, why not give them a try today?

Next entry:Martini Hour 007, In Which Colleen Reveals the dekeLounge’s Secret Location (to special guest Russel

Previous entry:Contest Deadline Fast Approaches

  • Drippleaction!

    Let me be the first to congratulate you on the song! Very smoothly done! I am gonna try it now! ... and nice dancing by all!!

    Steve

  • Droplets

    Deke, I knew that you`re a Photoshop genius. But hey, this video is really cool and I absolutley love your song!

    steven

  • Balm for my ears

    Loved that! I think that your backing singers (whose harmonies were wonderful…) may have spawned a new dance craze!

    The return of dekePOD has filled me with the same warm fuzzy feeling as one-too-many martini’s : -) Fantastic.

    Lee.

  • Haha, awesome! :) Although i

    Haha, awesome! :)

    Although i think that semi-maniac, semi-prisoner look/ style from your 101 photoshop tips song suits you more ;)

    Dont get us hooked on songs tho, we might want more (do we, really?) :P

    Keep up the good (and fun) work, you are no.1!

    Cheers to you, your team and everyone involved…

    Zilla.

  • I Did Not Know You Could Sing!

    And, I was right! The song was nice, but I would prefer a little less song and more tutorial. But, its your podcast, and I’ll continue to watch.

    David

  • :)) That’s really nice and

    :)) That’s really nice and funny! I like it!

    Andra

  • ROFL!

    You guys are way too cute. Best podcast evah! :-D

  • What does Deke & Paul Simon have in common?

    Q: What does Deke & Paul Simon have in common?

    A: Absolutely nothing!

    I’ll explain. I’ve never seen Paul Simon create a song about using Photoshop. Now I have heard Paul sing about film but this was probably before you were born (and many of us were smoking more and drinking less in those days).

    MarcBlakePhotography.com

  • Nice bright colors

    Your not still using Kodachrom are you?

  • Thanks…

    That bass will be swimming through my brain all night… lol


  • Head drop

    I loved the ‘head drop’ to the forearm repeated across those several cuts and locations.

  • That was no bass

    That’s a grouper.

    (My goodness, that’s funny.)

  • Like lavish porn…

    ...I watched it…succumbed to the primal urges it induced…and then deleted all traces of it…even while still basking in the afterglow…

    A new fetish is born, but I’ll never admit it.

  • I’m afraid to touch the action menu now…

    I may catch something.

    Is that oil?

    andrew shalat


    designer of the 14th century

  • I needed that.

    Thanks Deke. I needed the tutorial and the song.

  • Punny

    That’s Bass, not Bass… oh, never mind.. :-)

  • 14 weeks…

    ...of perfection. Thanks for the return performance, Deke.

  • Save it as a droplet

    Deke…! “I get’… the droplet tutorial…and I felt NO PRESSURE learning under your “Carefree Town Crier”… musical composition! “I’m just saying, Way to go”! Thanks

  • Twitter

    I always liked the word anoint.

  • You must be

    CRaZY!!!
    Sorry about that ;)

    Ps. I really enjoyed the video and it made me laugh :)

  • Totally

    gorgeous, the world needs more ab-somethings like you.

    A hitchhiker from Italy

  • Deke it to me babee

    Now that’s what I call training!

    `Deke rooles!

    - yeah, spelt ‘rooles’ ;)

  • droplet

    Deke, don’t give up your day job to sing and strum.

    It was so crazy but it gave me my laugh for the day.

  • Welcome back! I needed a

    Welcome back! I needed a good laugh

  • \“play\” the guitar

    Deke, I love that this never shows you playing the guitar, but merely holding it and dancing with it.  Funny Stuff!

  • Now we know why you work

    Now we know why you work with Photoshop LOL :)

    Great to have you back Deke :-)

  • Thanks Deke

    In these tough time, Deke and the droplets made my day a little brighter, loved the backup singers.

    Jim M

  • Shouldn’t someone mention \“Bass-o-matic\” at this point…?

    ;)

  • Thank Goodness DekePods are back!

    I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to hold out…!

    Thanks, Deke!  Life is worth living again…

  • Oh my god…

    Dude, I think you have some severy disfuntionalities but they come out to our all best. You enlightened my day with this song and I’m pretty sure that I will start to hum this song in the most anappropriate moment. :-)

    It was worth waiting the long time although I have nothing against a little higher frequency. But I think this one was a lot of work….

    Fantastic, you’re the man!

  • What a great song

    Deke, this is the first Photoshop tutorial that I had to watch at least 15 times. This song is absolutely great! I really love it! And I love the video as well!

  • Wait till you start singing it in public places

    and in the shower and while driving, etc…

    People start to look at you funny, as you softly sing “save it as a drop - let, take a file and drop - it”, etc.

    My sis inferred that I was going completely mad and should seek help. Then I played her the video and suddenly she understood (as she muttered “pwoar! he’s hawt” under her breath between giggles).

  • Better than anything on MTV or VH1

    I am giving up TV for you Deke!!!

    Not only wildly entertaining, but actually informative.

  • Recording Actions In Illustrator

    This video was awesome!  I totally use droplets because they rock!  But on a more serious topic… Have you ever encountered some actions not being recorded in illustrator?  For instance, when I try to record adding an effect to an object (more specifically the inner glow effect) illustrator doesn’t record it.  In fact in photoshop it records things like undos and redos, but in illustrator it doesn’t.  What gives?  I’m really curious about the effects not being recorded because in my process which I’m trying to automate, its crucial.

    Michael Griffin


    http://www.MWGriffin.com

  • Deke, you’re totally amazing!

    I have been an admirer for some time Deke, but I only now found this blog.  I must say, your dedication is unsurpassed and you are obviously the King.

    To think Lynda was considering using me to replace you…I could never fill the shoes.  I’m glad your condition cleared up and they were glad to keep you.  I know those infections are a bit embarrassing.


    Regards,

    Ken Walker


  • Amazing

    Very artistic approach

    thanks

  • Not only wildly

    Not only wildly entertaining, but informative, you guyz are too cute and funny.

    Regards


    James

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