Drop Shadow Settings??

[kristaky]

I have PSCS2 - what should my drop shadow settings be? It seems like my shadow is not in the right place. How many pixels are good for a shadow? Any other settings I should change on the drop shadow menu? Thanks :)

[Nevermore]

There was a thread here a very long time ago about drop shadows. I don't know how to find it but will try and if I do, I will post the link. It had some very good tips including how to hand draw drop shadows.

I rarely hand draw my shadows but nearly always change the colour of the shadow to a darker colour of the object I am shadowing. I don't have a rule of thumb re the pixel size but just play with the size until it looks okay. Adventuresome soul that I am, I nearly always use a 120 degree angle. And I check off anti alias.

Off to try to find that link! Found it. Keep reading it and you will find some discussion re drop shadows. Hope this helps.

http://www.scrapartist.com/scrapforums/showthread.php?t=43&highlight=drop+shadow

[kristaky]

That's great - thanks so much :)

[MirandaM]

I personally like to hand brush my shadows...
Sometimes I don't though.
I like to mess with the spread and distance...
and I never use black. I try to use a darker tone of whatever is under the shadow. Hard to explain LOL

[msntlm]

I love the look of hand-shadowing, but I never can seem to get it to work! LOL So I came up with a cheater method...

Say I want to put a drop shadow under a postage stamp.
I use the presets to get the drop shadow the height I want.
I make a duplicate of the stamp layer.
Go into styles and click the cancel/no style button, taking away the shadow.
I go back to the stamp with the shadow and lower the opacity until I get the correct shading I want (I can also tweek the coloring on this layer if the shadow seems unnatural).
Then I merge the two layers together.

Quick and easy, just how I like it. :)

Tammy Moore

[UnDecided]

i know lisa cohen was talking about using an outer glow versus drop shadows in a photoshop chat she held -- if regular drop shadows seem too harsh for you this might be a good thing to try (just change the color of the glow to a dark gray or whatever other color you want)