How to Create a Shadow in Photoshop

One way to make any image you create in Photoshop appear more convincing is to add shadows. Shadows will provide a feeling of depth to the image. The following steps will show you two methods how to achieve this effect. The first method is for a basic drop shadow. The second is for creating the illusion that a figure is standing in a scene and casting a shadow on a floor or a wall.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Photoshop

1. 
   Image 1

   Open a new document in Photoshop, using whatever size settings you want. Go to the Layers palette, and click on Layer Styles down at the bottom. Select Blending Options.

2. 
   Image 2

   In the dialog box that pops up, select the Drop Shadow option, change the angle so that in the preview it is dropping where you want, and then change the distance to 20 or so.

3. 
   Image 3

   The result is a simple drop shadow. For very basic objects where you just want a simple outline shadow, the Blend Styles tools work fine. If this works for you, you can stop here. But for realistic shadows, you need a different approach. Close the document.

4. 
   Image 4

   Go to File and open an image that contains a figure you would like to create a shadow for. This can be done with any image, but for the purpose of illustration, we will use a figure against a white background. Use the Polygonal selection tool to make a selection of the figure.

5. 
   Image 5

   Go to Edit, and click copy. Go to the Layers palette, and create a new layer. Then go to Edit, and click Paste.

6. 
   Image 6

   Go to the Tools panel, and select the Magic Wand tool. In the layer you just pasted the figure into, click on the area of the image outside the figure. Now go to Selection, and select Inverse.

7. 
   Image 7

   Go back to the Layers palette, and create a new layer. Go to the Tools panel, and select the Fill tool. Fill the selection with black.

8. 
   Image 8

   Now go to the Layers palette, and move the “shadow layer” below the one with the figure on it, but still above the background layer.

9. 
   Image 9

   Next, go to Edit and then Transform, and select Distort. Use the handles to pull the shadow down into position.

10. 
    Image 10

    Now go to Filters, then Blur, and apply Gaussian blur of about 3. Finally, change the layer opacity to about 60%.