Creating drop shadows quickly

Software: Canvas 5

Platform: Macintosh and Windows

Use the following procedure to create drop shadows quickly for text and other objects. The technique described here can be used when the shadow will be placed on a white background.

1. Create the text (or other object) that needs a drop shadow. Select the object and choose Duplicate in the Edit menu to make a copy. 2. Select the copy of the original objects and set the color for the shadow using the Fill Ink icon in the toolbox. 3. Choose Area > Render in the Image menu to convert the object to a raster image. In the Render dialog box, choose the type of image you want (RGB, Grayscale, Indexed, or CMYK). Enter the shadow resolution in the Res box. For screen graphics, use 72 ppi; use higher resolution for printed graphics. Turn on the Anti-Alias option and click OK. 4. The shadow image needs to be enlarged slightly, so it can be blurred. Select the Crop tool in the toolbox. Press Command (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and click the shadow image. Crop handles appear around the image. Drag the handles away from the image to add some blank space around the shadow. Press Enter (Mac) or Esc (Windows) to resize the image.
5. Double-click the shadow image to activate edit mode. In the Image menu, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. In the dialog box, set the blur Radius to about .5 to 1.5 for screen graphics; use higher settings for high-resolution graphics. Click OK.	The two shadows shown for step 5 were blurred with a Radius of 1.5 (top) and .75 (bottom).
6. Position the original object in front of the shadow, using Arrange > Bring to Front in the Object menu. Adjust the placement of the shadow.
	Other options Select the shadow object and choose the Freeform command in the Effects menu. You can drag a handle to skew the image for an extended shadow. You can also rotate the shadow. Many third-party filters can also be used to add effects such as a radial blur, which adds a sense of motion to a shadow.

About | News | Products | Purchase | Support | International | Prepress | Gallery | Register | Send E-Mail | Map | Home
	Copyright © 1997 Deneba Systems Incorporated All rights reserved worldwide Legal