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Need help with shadows

pbrooks

pbrooks

I need a realtor!
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
1,165
I've read OLB's tutorial on tweaking shadows, but I am still not getting the effect I want.

How do you make the corners appear to be lifting off the page? I've tried using the smudge tool with my shadow on a separate layer with no success.
 
Hey Pam :) I add a drop shadow, then right click to 'create a layer' which puts the shadow on a separate layer from my photo. Then, Ctrl+T or Cmd+T to 'transform' the shadow, then right click or Ctrl+click and select warp from the pop up menu. From there try pulling the corners of the shadow around gently until you get the effect you're after :)
 
That's pretty much what I do too Pam... except I didn't know about a Ctrl+click and getting warp from the pop up menu... so thanks for that tip Juliette! :) I've always wished there was a hotkey for warp, that is going to be very useful!

I do the shadow and create a new layer part and then I just go to Edit, Transform, Warp. I also sometimes will do a Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur (6-8 pixels) on the shadow layer too, just to soften the edges a bit more.
 
Pam, Sometimes I just use my smudge tool to smudge the shadow in the center of the paper, so it looks like both corners are lifting.
 
I made an action to put the shadow on a separate layer and call up the warp tool. Anything that's more than one step in my world gets an action, and the action gets a keyboard shortcut. :P
 
One thing about shadows, you gotta PRACTICE ! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! I know many scrappers who gives up because it takes time pulling the corners, warping it ….. and they expect it to be perfect after the first try.. It took me awhile to get the effect that I want and till today I am still experimenting with shadows.. Just have fun with it!!
 
Lorry...you are brilliant! Why have I not thought of making actions for some of this stuff? I forget completely about actions making my life easier. Thank you so much!
 
TLP blog has a warping shadow tutorial that I swear by it. Click HERE.

Now I've learned to tweak it a bit to get the desired effect I want. I've yet to use the Smudge Tool. Cos that warping is good enough.

Yes, flipping the corners to make it look curled is very difficult and tricky. Sometimes I have to refer to the pre-set shadows in the stores to make sure I got the angles and/or blurring effect correct.

HTH :)
 
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I warp, I smudge, sometimes I add in an extra gaussian blur. I am all about the shadows.
 
I find that smudge works best in tiny increments. Don't pull the shadow out to its final position in one go.
 
HeatherB said:
I find that smudge works best in tiny increments. Don't pull the shadow out to its final position in one go.
Click to expand...

YES! I remember the first time I used the smudge tool... my shadow looked ridiculously funky. I really like the warp tool, but I also pull from the inside, not just the outside transform handles.
 
sometimes smudge works better if you use a really big brush and then only very barely pull out....really just dot it the direction you want it to go.
 
I agree with AmyG, great advice and I am going to try all of your suggestions. Last night I followed Juliette's advice and was able to see a very slight curl I think I tried many times but I have not given up. I am determined to master this technique.

Juliette, I looked at your layouts with your awesome shadows and that is helping a lot.
 
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