Talk to me about SHADOWS

[MommaTrish]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?
If you aren't happy with them, why not?

[lorryfach]

I'm always happy with my shadowing until I learn something that I should have been doing but wasn't. lol
I can't use bought or downloaded styles, so no.
I'm always looking for ways to improve!
I remember being frustrated with shadows until I figured out how to manipulate them on separate layers. Since then, like I said, I'm pretty much happy until I realize how much I don't know!

[adrianka]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? Yes, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? Yes. I use them as a basis and then tweak them of necessary.
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? Definitely. Majda (pomi) is the one I watch the closest. :-)
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? About half a year? For the longest time I didn't play with the shadows much, but Majda got me intrigued in August 2012 during the SSD Games, so that was when I really started paying more attention to them.
If you aren't happy with them, why not? n/a

[tanyiadeskins]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? Yes. I do not think I am the best out there, but I am good with what I do finally.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? No, I have never tried them.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? I used to. Heather helped me a lot, she suggested an online class that she took that helped her and it did help me as well.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?
If you aren't happy with them, why not? For the longest time it didn't even occur to me to worry about them lol.When I started trying it was pretty quick but also because I let go of the need to feel like I had to prove anything and just started doing what I like.

[joelsgirl]

No, I don't love my shadows, but I'm also not willing to put the time & energy into making them amazing. Plus I use PSE, so there is a major limit to my ability to have amazing shadows.

I used to spend way too much time on them, and I love the way they looked, but the process was stealing the joy from my scrapbooking. So now I just use preset shadows and tweak them a little.

[catgoddess]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? I am, but I'm always open to learning new things.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? No. I made my own scripts for my shadow settings (I use PSP).

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? I did years ago when I first started scrapbooking. It was fun to experiment with different angles and styles.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? I didn't worry about them early on, either. I was busy learning other techniques. Once I got to experimenting with my shadows, it took about a year or so before I liked the end result. I printed some pages to see how they looked printed and then tweeked. Then printed and tweeked, etc. Until I found a shadow setting that looked good printed.

[glumirk]

Um, I downloaded Meeegan's shadow styles and that's all I use. Occasionally I'll do something different with them, but scrapbooking isn't all about the shadows for me, it's about the memories and the pretties. I love how quick the shadow styles are and do not enjoy messing with them individually. It's just one more thing I have to do to call a layout done, and I have enough trouble calling a layout done anyway. lol

[NeverendingJen]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? Yes and no- I'm content with how I do them right now, but I always wish I could magically do them better
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?both- I use some that I downloaded, some that I made on my own
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?yes
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? years? I really feel like in the last 18 months I am truly happy with my shadows, and I've been scrapping for 6 years

[origami]

Originally Posted by MommaTrish

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?

At this point, yes, I am. I could definitely improve, but I think I do a pretty good job.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?

I do. I have several sets I've purchased here and elsewhere. But they are just a starting point.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?

For sure!

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?

I think I got better at it after I purchased some style sets, because I got an idea of what the settings should be and I had a starting point.

[Jengerbread88]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? Yes, I'm generally happy with them since I really started making them a priority in my layouts. Then again, I tend to be happy with mine until I see layouts like Jenn (Catgoddess) creates, and I feel like I have SO much more to learn! (But I never let myself get too down about my own skills or compare to others too much)

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? I used to, but had a computer crash and they didn't get backed up. I learned enough on my own that I didn't feel the need to re-purchase them.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? Yes. As I mentioned, Jenn (catgoddess) never fails to floor me with her shadowing. There are other great shadowers, but she is the one who really sticks out to me.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? About 2 years of trying.

If you aren't happy with them, why not? I think I am, generally, so... n/a.

[d2vasquez]

I am ok with the shadows I have but I noticed that since I upgraded to a newer version of photoshop - the shadows don't look as nice as they did before.

[fifilur]

Originally Posted by joelsgirl

No, I don't love my shadows, but I'm also not willing to put the time & energy into making them amazing. Plus I use PSE, so there is a major limit to my ability to have amazing shadows.

I used to spend way too much time on them, and I love the way they looked, but the process was stealing the joy from my scrapbooking. So now I just use preset shadows and tweak them a little.

This is me as well.

[color of my heart]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? my shadows are appropriate for the pages. nothing too outrageous or fancy.
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? i use two purchased sets. one is jenn barrette's, one is by someone else (name is slipping my mind at the moment)
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? i sometimes wonder how people get certain effects. i know people will tweak their shadow layers, and i haven't quite gotten into doing that yet.
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? it took me a good year or two to figure out what looks best.
If you aren't happy with them, why not? i'm content for the moment.

[zakirahzakaria]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?
Nope.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?
I'm lazy. I bought some shadow styles and tweak them when necessary.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?
Yup. I'm mind-blown by AnalogPaper's shadows.

If you aren't happy with them, why not?
I've been scrapping since 2008 and my shadows have improved a lot, but still they don't look realistic to me. But I'm a lazy girl at heart.

[SinisterPink]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?

Yes, but it took a long while of fiddling and messing as I realised that they don't look right if actually rendered correctly, and hyperbole actually looks more realistic, it actually tricks your eyes.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?

Wasn't aware there were such a thing, I tend to use the abilities on Photoshop CS2

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?

Can't say I have...

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?

I would say a couple of months of faffing easily, and also lights as well....

If you aren't happy with them, why not?

N/A

[alinalove]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?
Most of the time I am okay with it, depending on the embellie I use.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?
Yes, I do use presets and often tweak from there. I also use painted in shadows.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?
I often adore shadowing of fellow scrappers but for me as a pse user it is not that easy to access the same technique.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?
It's a constant process. I am still not finished.

If you aren't happy with them, why not?
Most of the time I am okay but sometimes the embellie makes a good shadow unaccessible, especially certain flowers, that look flat even though they are not in reality. hope this is understandable :-D

[AnalogPaper]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?

Yes, but I'm always looking to build my skill sets and the way I shadow is always evolving . . . In fact, the way I shadow now has changed since I became a Sugarbabe 4 mos ago! (due in large part to the insights gained from the last shadowing thread Trish started lol)

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?

No, but when I was first learning, I bought them all and they were super helpful.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?

YES! I love using paper layouts as a reference.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?

Hmm not sure how to answer that . . . Well, I started posting to galleries in January, but I bought my first scrap kit a year before lol

[AnalogPaper]

Originally Posted by alinalove

If you aren't happy with them, why not?
Most of the time I am okay but sometimes the embellie makes a good shadow unaccessible, especially certain flowers, that look flat even though they are not in reality. hope this is understandable :-D

Yes! I'm putting together a shadow troubleshooting tutorial for next month that will talk about using inner glows, inner shadows, and levels. In the meantime, try clipping a levels adjustment to the flower layer and move the middle slider to the right. Shadows in and around the flower petals will become more contrasty and helps with realism when paired with drop shadow . . .

[Sherri Tierney]

I am mostly happy with my shadows. I tweak a lot. I tend to go for more subtle shadows as opposed to the look that things are jumping out of the page at me. This plays into my paper scrapping days where I didn't use very many bulky items.

[nun69]

I have a couple of shadow styles that I use all the time and then I tweak to my liking Sheri (SeattelSheri) is one of my favorite shadoweres

[heathergw]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? yes

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? yes

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? yes for awhile I did, but now I'm back to just being happy with the fx styles I have and not spending hours fiddling with them anymore

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? about as long as it took me to buy them LOL...

If you aren't happy with them, why not?

[rach3975]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? I guess so. No one's going to point to me as an example of amazing shadows, but they're fine and I'm happy with my balance between quality and time investment. Like Kellie said, I know how to make my shadows better, but I'm not willing to invest that much time on shadowing on every LO.

Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? No. I've purchased and DLed a few over the years, but I don't like them as much as the actions I've written for myself.

Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? When I'm in the mood to work on my shadows I start with LOs to decide what it is that I need to change--are my shadows less dimensional, lighter, etc. than scrappers whose shadows I like? But then I tend to look for tutorials to help me focus on the aspect of shadowing that I want to improve.

If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? It goes in spurts for me. I'll decide I need to improve them, search out some tutorials and play with settings, and then write new actions for myself. It's a fairly quick process, happening over a week or so. Then a couple of years later I'll get the urge to work on them again and repeat the process. The shadows I use now have evolved over 9 years of digiscrapping and will continue to change in the future.

If you aren't happy with them, why not? I don't tweak enough to have amazing shadows. Shadow styles have trends like everything else, and the scrappers whose shadows I love are now making things higher off the page than they were when I came up with my current settings. One of these days I'll redo my actions to make my shadows pop more (be more dimensional) and to incorporate the glow settings Krystal shared rather than the 2-step process I use to make an small opposite side shadow and a larger main shadow.

[SeattleSheri]

Originally Posted by nun69

I have a couple of shadow styles that I use all the time and then I tweak to my liking Sheri (SeattelSheri) is one of my favorite shadoweres

Aw, thank you!!! You totally made my day! That is such a sweet compliment, I'm so flattered!


Are you happy with your shadowing abilities? Yes, for the most part. I don't spend a tremendous amount time shadowing, so it's a tradeoff. I usually detatch and warp a few elements on each page, but I primarily use shadow styles.
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded? No, I've developed my own PS styles.
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows? I don't specifically seek it out, but I do notice shadows when I look at pages. I also try to see how items IRL cast a shadow so I can better achieve a natural look.
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way? Less than a year after I started digital scrapping.
If you aren't happy with them, why not? n/a

[ricslady]

Are you happy with your shadowing abilities?
Not really.
Do you use shadow sets that you bought or downloaded?
No but I use Craft Artist Pro so I'm not sure there would be any.
Do you ever look to other layouts for ways to improve your shadows?
I have in the past.
If you are happy with your shadows, how long would you say it took you to get that way?
N/A
If you aren't happy with them, why not?
I blame impatience. I think if I spent more time on shadowing I'd be happy.

[monia13]

I must say I'm a shadow novice. I don't know much about them. I use PSE and usually select what came with the software. Sometimes I will change the position of the shadow or reduce distance. I really do not much about shadows....

[monia13]

I could definitely use some pointers and tips when it comes to shadows. Are there any ready ones that I could purchase? I don't think I want to create my own.... I would rather spend my time on scrapping the memories.

[AnalogPaper]

Originally Posted by monia13

I could definitely use some pointers and tips when it comes to shadows. Are there any ready ones that I could purchase? I don't think I want to create my own.... I would rather spend my time on scrapping the memories.

Jenn Barrette has some in the shop!

[sprauncey1]

Originally Posted by joelsgirl

No, I don't love my shadows, but I'm also not willing to put the time & energy into making them amazing. Plus I use PSE, so there is a major limit to my ability to have amazing shadows.

I used to spend way too much time on them, and I love the way they looked, but the process was stealing the joy from my scrapbooking. So now I just use preset shadows and tweak them a little.

This is me too! I can do them but I spend so much time on them I don't want to start another page. So "good enough" is what I do. And I do have CS5, but still they still take time to tweak and tweak and tweak. Presets are just so easy and done!