Photoshop Elements >
Shadows & Highlights >
3 - Shadow
Make a Shadow
21) Make sure the Ball layer is active.
22) Press Ctrl + j to copy the Ball layer.
23) Rename Layer 1 as Shadow.
24) Make sure the Shadow layer is active.
25) Go to Image > Transform > Free Transform.
Do the following.
a) Click and hold on the handle on the top of the ball.
b) Drag the ball down until it's a flat oval.
c) Click and hold on the handle on the right side of the ball.
d) Drag the ball shape to the right.
e) Click the green check mark.
Move the Shadow Layer
Down the Layers Stack
The Shadow layer is above the Ball layer.
Move the Shadow layer down.
Do the following.
26) Click and hold on the Shadow layer, and drag it below the
Ball layer in the layers stack.
Move the Shadow
Around the Screen
The shadow is probably sticking out of both sides of the ball.
27) Select the Move tool.
28) Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to position the shadow.
You now have a ball and a too-dark, too-sharp, shadow.
Brighten & Soften the Shadow
We'll use the Gaussian Blur filter to brighten the shadow, and
to soften the edges of the shadow.
29) Make sure the Shadow layer is active.
30) Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
31) Enter 50px in the Radius box, and click OK.
The shadow is now brighter and fuzzier.
Try making it even brighter and fuzzier.
Press Ctrl + f.
This command reapplies the last filter used.
If the shadow is too bright and too fuzzy, click the blue undo
arrow at the top of your screen.
Here, the Gaussian Blur filter, at a radius of 50 px, was
applied twice.
Use a Gradient
Shadows often fade away the further they are from the subject.
We'll use a gradient to fade the ball shadow.
32) Make sure the Background layer is active.
33) Create
a Levels adjustment layer.
Click OK (Pre-8.0 only).
We won't make any adjustments with the Levels adjustment layer.
We'll put a gradient in the white box in the layer, the mask
thumbnail.
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Ball
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Shadow
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Levels 1
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Background
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34) Make sure the Shadow layer is active.
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Ball
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Shadow
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Levels 1
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Background
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35) Press Ctrl + g to group the Shadow layer with the Levels
1 layer.
Look for the tiny arrow in the Shadow layer,
By grouping the layers, the gradient will affect the Shadow layer
and not the Ball layer.
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Ball
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↓ Shadow
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Levels 1
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Background
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36) Select the Gradient tool.
37) In the options bar, do the following.
a) Open the Gradient Picker window by clicking the tiny black
arrow.
b) Click the third gradient, called Black,White.
c) Close the Gradient Picker window by clicking the x.
d) Select the first icon, Linear Gradient.
e) Mode is Normal.
f) Opacity is 100%.
g) Reverse is not selected.
h) Dither is selected.
h) Transparency is selected.
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Gradient Picker Box
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Black, White gradient
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1st Icon
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Linear Gradient
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Mode
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Normal
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Opacity
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100%
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Reverse
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Not Selected
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Dither
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Selected
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Transparency
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Selected
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38) Make sure the Levels 1 layer is active.
As you experiment with dragging out the gradient, Photoshop
Elements may change the active layer to the Ball layer.
Switch it back to Levels 1.
39) Click and hold, on the right side of the
canvas.
40) Drag a line to the left, about halfway
across, keeping the line level.
41) Release the mouse button.
The shadow, if the gradient line was drawn correctly, will
fade, left-to-right.
Click undo, and experiment with dragging out different
gradient "lines."
Start and and end at different points.
Again, make sure Levels 1 is the active layer, not the Ball
layer.
Shadow Without Gradient
Shadow With Gradient
No Subject Shadow Needed
In this abstract scene, there's no need to darken the shadow
side of the ball.
If the ball was a medium gray, the shadow side would have to
be burned in to create a subject shadow on the ball itself.
The ball is starting to look like a ball, and less like a
circle
When we add a highlight, it will look even more three
dimensional.
