In this weeks free episode, Deke gives you wings. Well, he gives a horse wings. In truth, he gives a horse wings that formerly belonged to a goose. No matter—the bottom line is that you end up with your very own mythological creature. This week in Dekes Techniques, youll learn how to use Photoshop to mask complex creatures and create silhouettes from real-world photographs. In Dekes example, here are the two photographs that eventually make up the composite image:

Well start by applying some contrast-controlling adjustment layers to begin the process, then use some old-school brushing techniques to turn the contributing creatures into crisp silhouettes. The result is this magical creature:

Although the end result is a silhouette, in truth its a mask. And masks can be infinitely useful, way beyond your species-mixing fantasies. If youd like to learn more about masks from Deke, check out Chapter 26 of Dekes Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Mastery course. Youll also learn how to use the pen tool to solve problematic masking challenges. You can take a more in-depth look at how to master the pen tool by checking out Chapter 27 of the same course.

Every week, theres a new technique from Deke. And lynda.com members can see the entire collection here, along with some exclusive members-only techniques.

See you next week!