Help with shadows

M

mrs_jb

New member
I've been really working on my shadows and I just feel like I keep falling short of what I want... or I get the look I want and don't remember the settings... Grrrr.

Any tips or tricks to pass on? I've seen actions for shadows, but I'm really interested in learning to do it on my own.
 
I was the same as you, I really didn't want actions because I wanted to learn to do it on my own. But I found my scrapping, which is slow to start with, was getting slowed to a grinding halt because I would bog down when I tried to do the kind of shadow work I wanted. So when Traci Murphy's actions @ FPD went on sale for 50% off a couple weeks back, I decided enough is enough and I splurged on them. My thinking was that it would be a starting point, and I could customize them and learn from using them.

I'm so glad I did. Now I'm scrapping and enjoying it, not worrying about the shadows. I use her actions when I'm ready for them, and then I tweak until I get the look I want. I'm really pleased with the shadow work in my latest two layouts, particularly this one. I used Traci's actions as a starting point, then really tweaked and customized in areas to get the depth and look I wanted. Using this approach, I'm really starting to get a feel for it and a better understanding of how to get what I want to achieve, and I've taken so much pressure and stress out of the process for me. I know I'll reach a point where I'm doing them totally on my own, and I feel totally confident that I'll get to that point now.

EDIT: Oh, and when you get that look you want, SAVE IT as a layer style so you can use it as a starting point later! (assuming you're using PS, of course)
 
I have all of Traci's actions, I bought them all at once as a set (ouch!) and just used them and customized them. I have since Christmas, been working on my own shadows. They were though, a very good starting point, so in the beginning when I was still learning how to do everything else, this was one less thing to worry about.

Settings will be different depending on the element, and what you want it to look like, and Traci's do all of that. I love them, but I was ready to move forward to learn my own. They were a great starting point, and I'm thankful that I had them to learn with!
 
Joan and Jamie....
You guys are selling me on the actions a bit. But I have questions...
Doesn't it get confusing in your actions folder? LOL... I know that I have all the actions loaded that I currently use for scrapping and work and even those overwhlem me at times. Do you guys know something I don't? LOL

I guess I just worried about spending the money too... because it's not like you can just buy one actions because there are so many for different things.
 
Well, aren't you fancy, lol. You should be able to find some good tuts for your program. I think Vivian wrote a really good tutorial; I'll see if I can find it for you.

ETA: Here's one at the DSM website: Tutorial

here's the link to DidiScrapping Tutorials: here

I hope it's okay to link to these sites; if not, I'll remove the links. :)
 
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I'm a "now way in he** am I paying for an action I can do myself" kinda girl. Especially in CS2 or 3 where you have WAY more options available to you.

I used this tutorial by Misty Cato to learn how to do simple, realistic shadows, and I've never looked back. I use the gaussian blur, moving the shadows away from the object, adding a wave, playing with the opacity, etc etc. It might seem intimidating at first (the first few times I did it I kept that page open to walk myself through the steps) but I know the steps by heart now. Edit:transform->warp (at the top of the screen, near where the check mark is to accept) is my most used step for curling papers/photos.

I'm sure Traci's actions are great, but I've got plenty of other things I'd rather my scrappin money on :p
 
Check out this funny, little video about Action Basics. His talk about color coding would probably help a great deal.

As to shadows, I don't go by PS's default. I notice in a lot of LOs that looked realistic to me (Amy Martin and Tyting to name just 2), the shadows were like the opposite of what I had been doing. I believe the PS default degree is 120. There was talk at DST about realistic shadowing (the 1st thread I remember was one directed at Shannon Biegler...I so hope I spelled her last name correctly lol) and she mentioned that she uses the angle (global lighting that is) or -45. So basically...it's like the light source is coming from the bottom right whereas the default in PS (of 120) is coming from the top left.

A lot of people also change the color of the shadow...dark brown is what everyone says lol. Someone (forgot who, sorry!) even had shown the exact color they used (you know the code for the color).

Some people change the color to be a darker version of whatever paper is lying underneath.

Some people will create their own shadow layer by starting a new layer, ctrl + click the paper/element (marching ants appear around the selection) and filling it w/a dark brown. Moving that shadow layer so that part of it peeks through under the paper/element layer. Then changing the layer style to Multiply (or some other blending mode), change the opacity/fill of that shadow layer. Use the distort tool to pull or push certain parts of the shadow. Or use the liquify function to do that. And some will put a slight gaussain (ok, that's mispelled lol) blur on that.

Some will put the shadow on as normal and then right-click ==> Create as New Layer (forgot the exact phrase, PS not open at the moment). So the shadow is then on it's separate layer and then they will tweak that.
 
Here's another really good tutorial. I need to bookmark that one Karen linked as well, it looks really good.

The cost was prohibitive for me too, but when they went on sale 50% off it was the push I needed. Maybe ask Traci if she's planning anymore sales soon.

I was just like you for the longest time, Col. There was no way in hell I was paying for something I can do myself. But, really, you could say that about a lot of the things we buy for scrapping when it comes right down to it, and I realized it was another tool to get my scrapping to where I want it to be. I was getting hung up at the shadows, and it was stopping my scrapping from progressing. I know myself, and I know once I have a feel for it I'll rock the shadows on my own, but for me buying Traci's was money well spent and my scrapping is rolling right along now.
 
Oh I'm not knocking anyone who uses them, not at all. If they work for you and help you do what you want, I'm all for it.

I've tried designing, I don't have the patience, lol! So I just make my own shadows and call it a day ;)
 
mrs_jb said:
Col... do you use that same method for elements as well as papers and photos?
Click to expand...

I use it for everything. I just play around with the settings. Check out my gallery if you like. Every lo in there I use the same general process for shadow work. I usually go through and create a new layer for everything I need at once, and then go back and fill each one. Nice and repetitive, lol.
 
See I was thinking you could create an action, just with stops to make your own adjustments. I don't have a lot of experience with making my own actions, but I'm thinking I'll give it a shot since I really like this method.
 
Joan said:
Here's another really good tutorial. I need to bookmark that one Karen linked as well, it looks really good.

The cost was prohibitive for me too, but when they went on sale 50% off it was the push I needed. Maybe ask Traci if she's planning anymore sales soon.

I was just like you for the longest time, Col. There was no way in hell I was paying for something I can do myself. But, really, you could say that about a lot of the things we buy for scrapping when it comes right down to it, and I realized it was another tool to get my scrapping to where I want it to be. I was getting hung up at the shadows, and it was stopping my scrapping from progressing. I know myself, and I know once I have a feel for it I'll rock the shadows on my own, but for me buying Traci's was money well spent and my scrapping is rolling right along now.
Click to expand...

Ditto, that's how I felt, except mine WEREN'T on sale (it was painful). I do my own NOW, but they helped me kind of understand it wasn't as simple as throwing on a Photoshop default drop shadow and calling it a day LOL.

I am super lazy so it took me awhile to get brave enough to try my own, I'm a very slow scrapper as it is.
 
I'm semi-obsessed with shadows and spend way too much time on them. I've got a way to go though.

I started with Traci Murphy's too. I just bought a couple of sets and then tweaked them for the other stuff for which I didn't have her actions. I agree they are a good starting point and initially I thought they were great. But now I see what other scrappers do with shadows and the actions don't cut it for me anymore. So I'm trying to do my own but it probably triples the time it takes for me to do a page :blink: . But having some of Traci's did help me understand better about having diff shadows for different types of elements.
 
mrs_jb said:
See I was thinking you could create an action, just with stops to make your own adjustments. I don't have a lot of experience with making my own actions, but I'm thinking I'll give it a shot since I really like this method.
Click to expand...

Actions are actually really easy to do, if you google it, you should be able to find a good little tutorial. I made one a few weeks ago, I'll see if I can find the steps I used.
 
I can't seem to find the tut I saw earlier.

Basically you just go to the actions tab, select new action. NAme it, then go through each step you want to record. When you're done, hit the stop button. Whala! Action! Super easy I promise. :)
 
LOL...I've got in to do a simple action, but I'm trying to figure out how to get it to do the stops at the right places to make the adjustments. I have an email in to a friend who is an action wizard, so I'm hoping she can help me get it like I want it.
 
I used Traci's actions, but lately I've been addicted to Sara Amarie's shadow presets that are included with her Basically Neutral Elements. They are awesome and I love using them. I think you can save your own shadows as presets too - which I've heard is easier than do an action. However, I've never tried to make my own of either, so I can't give firsthand advice on that one.
 
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