I have a question...

what angle do you normally do your shadows from...or do you do a custom shadow on every element?

Just curious. I tend to mix & match custom shadows and regular old drop shadows, but I can't seem to find an angle that I'm consistently happy with!

I use PSP so my shadow setting will probably be a bit different then PS or PSE. Mine I think are between 65% and 85% opacity (sometimes after making the shadow I also adjust the opacity in the layers pallette). It is Offset 7 horizontal and 7 vertical and between 10 and 45 on the blur. I also use the warp brush to warp the shadow for things like flowers/leaves and strings and depending on what it is on I switch colors for the shadow. Sometimes I use brown, sometimes black, sometimes grey and sometimes another color. I just play with it til it looks good to me. Shadows however are my weak point on a layout so I know its probably not the best method and settings but they work for me.

I use tips from Denise Beatty (neeceebee) and Flergs. I shadow my elements at -43. I have been told by many people that shadowing at different angles on the same LO is a HUGE no-no, so I do everything on my LO at this angle. As for the size, distance, and opacity, it depends. For papers, photos, and nearly all elements, I do size 30, distance 18,and opacity 75. For elements that I want to "float" some, such as string, I play with the size and distance until they look right to me, usually around 30 or 35 for each. For alphas, I use 15/10/65. And for items that need just a slight shadow, such as staples, stitches, and splats, I use 8/5/65. Also, I change the color of the shadow to a dark brown. I go into the colors and type in the number, 322512. LOVE these tips. My shadows have never looked better!

I use Flergs shadows which are -43. I use the smallest one on just about everything. I use PS so I can change things up on my shadows alot. Like on stitches I adjust, size, distance, and spread until they look realistic to me. Ocassionally I have an element that I want a shadow on the the sides. So I duplicate the layer and shadow the copy at 122. That gives me a good shadow all the way around. Most people shadow at either -43 or 120ish.

I've been using 120 - I have some Flergs shadow styles, and I think that's the angle they are set to. I will try -43 and see how that looks!

Thanks so much for the tips, ladies!

I do mine at 120, I like my shadow on the bottom, that seems most realistic to me, but my shadow work is no where near expert. I need to go check out Flergs shadows though, I can always use some help!

I do mine at 35 but customize the rest of the settings for most everything

I also use 120 - I like my shadows on the bottom too. Amanda Heimann gave her team members her shadows so we could all have consistency when making badge album pages or whatever, and they are my go to shadow now. 15/8/75, and I change the angle to 120.

Like the other girls, I will do a custom shadow or play with the settings depending on what the item is (string, puffy element, acrylic, etc), but I always use the same shadow angle.

All of mine are usually -45, the opacity and size depends on the element, and how I want it to look.

I use 120 for the most part. I sometimes create an additional, more subtle shadow from -45. I am married to Linear Burn rather than Multiply for blending, and I generally start off with a medium greyish brown and adjust if needed. I almost always reduce the opacity, and, of course, alter the distance and size for realism or effect.

eta:
Don't be afraid to mix standard and subtle shadow directions. If you are attempting to replicate a physical, tangible scrapbook page, you often will have light sources from more than one angle...from above, in front, behind, etc. Just this morning I was watching my cat...she had 2 very obvious, opposite cast shadows because of different lighting in the room.

eta again:
I will tell you that one of my pet peeves is clashing your shadow with your element. If you are using acrylic or anything with an obvious reflective point, then you should either rotate it to match your shadows OR adjust your shadows to match the element.

I change the angle of the shadows on a page to best match the page design. I like to cast my shadows in the direction of the white space (OCDness??)

Also - After printing a bunch of LOs, I realized that doing one shadow on an element doesn't always result in a realistic element (like Krystal said). So on significant elements on a layout, I'll sometimes do multiple shadows for an item. I do a manual customized primary shadow, then a very small, simple basic shadow on the opposite side. In real life, you can see definition around all edges of an element (paper, ribbon, button, etc), and this two-shadow method helps re-create that.

Lastly - I created my own actions for my "simple" shadow and my "deep" shadow. They're basically the same, but the deep shadow has more blur. I always adjust the opacity of each shadow manually.

Great thread! I might try what Melissa said and play around with changing the color of my shadows to brown...

krystalhartley said:

eta again:
I will tell you that one of my pet peeves is clashing your shadow with your element. If you are using acrylic or anything with an obvious reflective point, then you should either rotate it to match your shadows OR adjust your shadows to match the element.

Click to expand...

This is my pet peeve also. I place all the elements on my layout as I would like them, and then I look at their source of light and use the appropriate angle for the shadowing. Unless I really hate the shadowing angle, and then I'll rotate (or flip) the element to match.

g8rbeckie said:

Also - After printing a bunch of LOs, I realized that doing one shadow on an element doesn't always result in a realistic element (like Krystal said). So on significant elements on a layout, I'll sometimes do multiple shadows for an item. I do a manual customized primary shadow, then a very small, simple basic shadow on the opposite side. In real life, you can see definition around all edges of an element (paper, ribbon, button, etc), and this two-shadow method helps re-create that.

Click to expand...

Megan Turnidge has styles on her blog that will do this, and she gives instructions on how to do it too. But when you use them, you'll have to make all your primary shadows first and make sure you like where they are before using her "slight definition" style on the opposite side. It's a little work, but totally worth it! I love them.

kettkel said:

Megan Turnidge has styles on her blog that will do this, and she gives instructions on how to do it too. But when you use them, you'll have to make all your primary shadows first and make sure you like where they are before using her "slight definition" style on the opposite side. It's a little work, but totally worth it! I love them.

Click to expand...

I use Megan's shadow actions - they make things go so much quicker!

I use Megan's too! I can't scrap w/out them! hehehe. lol

kettkel said:

This is my pet peeve also. I place all the elements on my layout as I would like them, and then I look at their source of light and use the appropriate angle for the shadowing. Unless I really hate the shadowing angle, and then I'll rotate (or flip) the element to match.

Click to expand...

I know I am totally guilty of this. a couple of my designers use a different angle and I used to rotate the element, but I don't as much now.

I'm not a super observant person apparently, because (I'm embarrassed to say this)... unless I know the angle the designer uses, I'm not always sure of the source of light. Am I dumb? Does the source of light make the "shiny" parts on the opposite angle?

(please ignore the fact that I am a math major and should probably know all of this)