What is the trick to GREAT Shadowing???
 

can you girls tell me the trick to great shadowing..here are a few LO's and I want mine to look like this....so tell me the trick on how to do this???? PLEASE :)

I really LOVE how everything on this LO look like it would in real life....all of te element look soooo 3D...
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com.../atthepark.jpg

and here are some more examples!!!
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com.../516/lo410.jpg
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...grandma600.jpg
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...aughterweb.jpg
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...n-CS62-100.jpg
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...ll-is-life.jpg

Yes, please and thanks :)

I am not sure I would call mine "great" but I have gotten a lot of positive feedback on them.

I am going to be bringing my shadow styles over in Oct (also working on another set for lighter kits) I use them on all my LOs -

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...tumnBeauty.jpg

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...nefineday1.jpg

This is what I was going to share was my "secret" to my shadows! I love your Get Real Styles!!!! So excited you are creating another one!!!! WAHOOOO!!!!! October can't get here fast enough! :)

Patience! LOL!

If you won't, I will :) Jenn's styles are fantastic...never heard anything but great things about them.

one thing I think is important when doing shadows is to use the warp brush becuase some stuff will not have a shadow that is like flat and to make shadows show up better on black use the burn mode. and I gave found sometimes when tge color is lighter on the papers/elements it works better to use brown or a color a little darker then the b/g. These of coursre are just the tips Ive picked up from reading tutorials. Im by no means a shadow expert. I figure as long as my stuff does not look like its floating inches above the paper and is not totally flat on the paper with so shadowing Im doing ok.

I make a lot of my own shadows. No styles. I've got my favorite ones saves as actions I use.

yeah, Jenn's are pretty awesome and I also like Kristin Rice's

I've got Jenn's and Kristin's and I STILL can't get them loaded into PSE to show up. Frustrates me! Does anyone have a good tutorial on how to load them??

Misty has a tutorial here - http://mistycatodesigns.blogspot.com...es-in-pse.html

I don't necessarily think anyone would call me an expert (I am also one who loves Jenn's shadow work), but I have my own layer styles that I have created on my own. My technique is a mainly based on this tutorial by Peppermint: http://frickonastick.com/2010/03/sha...les-the-basics
I have tweaked it a bit, but this is basically it. I also often use a small shadow on the opposite edge of my stuff. That's a trick a learned in another tutorial (it might have been Meg's).

Rebbeca, which version do you have because Misty I think are for only edition 4 and under?

Jenn - Thanks!!

Elizabeth - 7... I've all but given up... I'll have to see if this does work or I can figure it out. Oh, why do they have to move things around from version to version?? ;)

I have Jenn's too and can't get them installed properly. I use PSE7 too. :( I would really LOVE to use them.

Rebecca, Kat -

Best tutorial I can find is by Linda Stattgast of Scrapper's Guide here - hope that helps!

I have PSE 8 and was getting frustrated with it too. I posted this a couple of weeks ago and a couple of girls helped me out with links to instructions. I finally got them loaded and have been using them! :)

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...ad.php?t=45962

Hope that helps!

I seriously love the shadows on my page that you posted :) I used the free styles that Megan Turnidge had on her blog. Don't know if she still has them posted or not. And for the ribbon (and a lot of other elements) I use the warp tool - all shadows end up being on their own layer before I can warp though. I learned that from Misty's blog. I love blogs - and the tips and tutorials :)

eta - I always add a slight shadow to the opposite edge of my main shadow too. HTH! :)

I always refer back to Texas Chicks for loading into PSE. She has all versions listed & it always works!

But I don't think you can do the shadows in their own layer when using PSE, right?

I don't believe so :( I have PS CS5 - never had a version of PSE so I don't know the secrets to great shadowing for that program.

PLEASE tell me they are compatible with PSE6???

When I used PSE I duplicated my element, created a new layer over duplicate, filled it with my shadow color (black is the standard color shadows use in styles), clipped black into element duplicate, merged, did filter - guassian blur (usually somewhere between 2-5), moved that below original element, used the lasso tool, went around the areas I wanted pulled away in the shadow (like parts of branches or ends of strings/ribbons) then selected the arrow tool, image - transform - distort then moved the small box thingys around the edges around until I'd get an effect I like. Lastly, set that shadow layer to Linear Burn (or overlay whichever you prefer) then lower your opacity. (I'd do somewhere between 60-40)

Okay - now that I'm thinking straight - I think the opposite edge shadow idea came from Megan Turnidge, not Meg Mullens. Sorry Megan!! And, here's the link to Megan's awesome shadow tutorial: http://www.designsbymeganturnidge.com/blog/?p=349
It's another one that requires using separate layers for the shadow, so I guess that doesn't work in PSE. :(

See my post above your's.
:)

you gus are the best and I am totally saving this thread and I think Erin should do a tutorial for SSD :) :wub:

So I was reading Megan's blog more (thanks Lydia for posting the link!) and found this post she did about shadowing in PSE http://www.designsbymeganturnidge.com/blog/?p=51

oh goodness gracious! lol aren't you super sweet! :o

cause I'm super lazy and don't have the energy to write a fab tutorial - I will send you to Misty's old blog that has a fab tutorial about realistic shadowing :)

http://mistycatodesigns.blogspot.com...p-shadows.html

And I'm excited to see Jenn's shadow styles! I can't wait until October!

this is fabulous. :thumbup: i'm going to play with this, THANK you!

For the inherently lazy PSE user, WendyZine over at StudioScrapbookGraphics has an action that will create a separate layer for a shadow in PSE, versions maybe 3? and up, both acrylic and several shadows. Then you can play with the separate layer to your heart's content.

I used to scrap with Photo Impact, and there was a built-in shadow setting that did the small opposite corner shadow. I was lost without it when I first switched to PS! I've written actions for myself that do it, but Megan's is the only tutorial I've ever seen that does something similar.

I've seen your styles before, Jenn, but they look wonderful on those LOs! I may have to look into them.

Yes, I love Jenn's shadows! I also use styles by Krystal Hartley and Meghan Turnidge...

That first page you posted is mine, I'm very flattered! :) I get a lot of comments on my shadow work lately and that all started since I began to use Peppermint's technique, which she describes on her blog: http://frickonastick.com/2010/03/sha...es-the-basics/
I love my pages so much since I started using it, I just want to redo all my older ones! It does take some time to customize all shadows in the way she describes, especially if you keep in mind which elements are thicker or lay higher than the rest and thus need bigger shadows. But I'm so pleased with the result that I don't mind the extra time it takes!

Here are 2 more of my pages in which I love the shadowing:
https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...77/poseren.jpg

https://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com...E-LEERJAAR.jpg

Hi Kim,

First of all, I love your shadowing!
I've never posted to the forum (and I don't know if and how I can send you a PM), but I just wanted to let you know that I saw an error in your journaling (a typo, is that the right word in english?) in your 'poseren' layout. You wrote 'dagdagelijkse' instead of 'dagelijkse'. It would be a shame if you go and get it printed with the error. Just wanted to let you know!

hey Nancy, thank you for the compliment! We do use the word 'dagdagelijkse' over here, it's even in the dictionary :)

Oeps, sorry! Over here it's just 'dagelijkse'.

This was the site I was gonna refer you too Rebecca!! I also use Hummie,s World too!!!

You can use Megan's shadow styles in PSE, you just can't personalize them with the warp tool. I use them all the time! And her method of putting shadows on strings and ribbons by creating your own drop shadows without an action really works.

To install the layer styles I used this tutorial from Hummies World.

Although I've been thinking I need to use the chunky shadow more after looking at all of these gorgeous layouts! I always feel like they are too big, but I think bigger is better in some cases.

Well, I read the Peppermint tutorial and tried to do that way once. And failed. :p And it's not like I can't do it in PSP, I can, but I guess I'm just afraid to do it and have my shadows turned into super 'darker-floating' ones b/c I can't set them right, kwim?

I used to use styles all the time when I used PSE4. I'm using CS4 now and I use Jenn's all the time. I wish I still had PSE loaded so I could try them out for you. I think I went into Program Files/Adobe/PSE(whatever version you use)/and then Styles. I loaded them there, and then they showed up in my program in the pallet under styles.

Jenn's rock! Can't wait for more!

Rebecca I can't get mine to load properly either. They are loaded but the only way I can actually see them is if I have all the effects on "show all" turned on. And then they are in there. But I have to look for them. It's a huge pain in the butt! wondering if yours is the same way.

If I can remember correctly for elements you must load them in 2 different places for them to show up right. You have to add them in the presets folder under program files & then again in program data file.

with Jenn's she includes a .xml file and you have to put that in the correct folder in order for her shadows to be put in a sub folder.


Also Rebecca, if you really aren't seeing them in "show all" you probably have to have the mediadatabase file rebuilt... let me find instructions... the instructions I usually find say to delete it but I just rename it or move it to the desktop... and then when you open PSE it will rebuild that file and the shadows will show up... then when you know it's been rebuilt correctly then you can delete the old one.

Okay... I just finished installing Megan's drop shadows, in PSE5, on Vista.

The file needs to go into 2 places (I'm not sure about the .xml file I've never had to mess with that)
(Make sure the file & the Effect file is named the same. )

Here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 5.0\Presets\Styles

& here:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\layer styles

If they still won't show up after you have them in both spots you need to rebuild the mediadatabase.
Go here:
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0
Rename the file named: MediaDatabase.DB3 to MediaDatabaseOLD.DB3 (it will stay there & you can reload it if you need to. Don’t worry – Photoshop will rebuild it the next time you open the program.

Restart. It should show up.

What Heather said...you have to place the .xml file in the C:--> Program Data--> Adobe--> Photoshop Elements--> "your version"--> Locale--> en_US--> Photo Creation Metadata--> layer styles

Then back button back to en_US and rename your file "MediaDatabase.db3" to MediaDatabase-old.db3 and restart PSE. This will rebuild your palette and when you go back in you should see them in the drop down menu then!! You can then go back and delete the file named MediaDatabase-old.db3 since yoiu will see the new file named "MediaDatabase.db3".

Hope that helps!!!! :thumbup:

They changed the "route" with 6 in case anyone is using that...I posted those directions and it should be the same for 7 & 8 too!!!

Thanks Elizabeth... I got distracted with the kids and couldn't come back right away with the instructions.

I totally adore Jenn's styles, that's all I use.

AHA!!!! I got it!!! I played around with this (in PSE) and it worked!!! I also have Jenn's layer styles and love them as well but I really like how I can make one little leaf tip pull off the edge of the page using this method as well - thanks for the great explanation!!

Kim! Your shadows are awesome. I've also been trying to use Peppermint's great tutorial mixed with the angle, distance and size that I picked up from Flergs, but I feel like I'm still messing it up somehow.

So, Kim--in general, what % opacity are your two shadow layers? Recently, I've been doing 50-40% for the first and 30-20% for the second.

Also: how do these print out? I've heard they can be light when printed...