How to Give an Object a Shadow in Illustrator

To add editable soft- or hard-edged shadows to the graphics and type you create in Adobe Illustrator, use the program's pixel-based drop shadow live effect. Apply it to an individual object, group of objects or an entire layer, then adjust its settings as much and as often as you wish. You'll see the impact of some drop-shadow parameters the moment you preview or apply the effect, while others control the way your shadow interacts with other objects in your document.

Instructions

1. Choose the Selection tool from the Adobe Illustrator toolbox. Click on the object to which you want to add a drop shadow.

2. Select "Drop Shadow" from the Stylize fly-out menu of the Effect menu. Click on the "Preview" check box in the Drop Shadow dialog box so you can observe the effects of your settings as you fine-tune your effect.

3. Choose a shadow blending mode from the "Mode" drop-down menu. You won't see a difference in the appearance of the shadow when you change blending modes unless the artwork to which you're applying the shadow falls on top of another graphic element.

4. Enter a value from zero to 100 in the "Opacity" data field. At zero, your effect becomes completely transparent and therefore invisible. At any value up to 100, your shadow shows partial transparency; at 100, it becomes fully opaque.

5. Enter positive or negative numeric values for "X Offset" and "Y Offset." These parameters control the distance between your object and its shadow, and in which direction the effect casts the shadow. The X value controls horizontal positioning while the Y value controls the vertical axis. Positive values place the shadow to the object's right or below it. Negative values place it to the left or above it. Type in your offset values as digits or adjust the numbers by clicking on the up and down arrow controls attached to the two data fields.

6. Enter a "Blur" radius numerically or by adjusting the slider control attached to the data field. The higher the blur radius, the broader the distance between the edge of the shadow and the outer edge of its Gaussian blur. At lower blur radii, your shadow displays a firmer edge and more nearly resembles the shape of the object that casts it. At higher values, the shadow becomes a diffuse halo around the object. At a value of zero, the shadow displays a hard edge.

7. Click on the "Color" control to bring up the Color Picker dialog box. You can specify your shadow's color using HSB, RGB, CMYK or hex values, or click on the "Color Swatches" button to bring up spot or process color libraries from which to choose. Click on the "OK" button to return to the Drop Shadow dialog box when you've finished specifying your shadow color.

8. Enter a "Darkness" value from zero to 100 to specify a shadow created by blending black with the object's own stroke and fill colors instead of specifying a shadow color. If you apply a 100-percent darkness value to a shadow on an object that isn't black, Illustrator will formulate the shadow color from a mixture of process primary colors, though the shadow will look black on screen. Apply a 100-percent darkness value to a shadow on a black object and the resulting shadow is 100 percent black. At a darkness value of zero, Illustrator creates a drop shadow that's the same color as the object to which it is applied, including both stroke and fill colors.

9. Click on the "OK" button to confirm your settings, and apply your effect. Double-click on the effect in the "Appearance" panel to edit its parameters at any time.

Tips & Warnings

• If you apply your effect to an individual object or group of objects, only those objects take on the shadowed appearance. If you apply the effect to an entire layer, all the objects on that layer display a drop shadow unless you remove them from that layer. That's because Illustrator applies the effect to the layer itself, not just the objects on it.

• If you're familiar with Adobe Photoshop's layer blending modes, you'll recognize Illustrator's list of drop shadow blending modes and their properties.

• To change the appearance of a drop shadow on an object with a stroke and fill, select the object to which you've applied the effect. Open the Appearance panel and drag the "Drop Shadow" appearance item until it applies only to the object's outlining stroke.

• You can turn off a drop shadow effect by opening the Appearance panel and clicking off its visibility "eyeball." This deactivates the effect but doesn't remove it.

• If it's important that your Illustrator artwork remain fully vector based, remember that the drop shadow effect uses pixels to create the shadow itself.

References

• Adobe Systems: Using Adobe Illustrator CS5
• "The Adobe Illustrator CS5 Wow! Book"; Sharon Steuer; 2010
• "Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium All-in-One for Dummies"; Jennifer Smith, et al.; 2010
• "Illustrator CS5 for Windows and Macintosh Visual QuickStart Guide"; Elaine Weinmann, et al.; 2011