Shadow creation is an image editing service that most of the product photos need to build a trustworthy impression over the audiences. You will get to know a couple of shadow creation types such as drop shadow, mirror shadow, natural shadow, and reflection shadow while working.

Drop shadow is an artificial shadow that experts create under the subject to make it look real. As the name suggests, the reflection shadow’s a shadow but like a reflection of a mirror. Experts use this shadow effect for jewelry products.

Natural shadow is just the natural shadow a subject has. Most of the time, when we remove the background from a subject using the clipping path technique, we remove the natural shadow with it as well. A natural shadow creation service expert brings the natural shadow back by selecting it with the Selection tool or the pen tool.

You can create a shadow in Illustrator and also in photoshop cc. Adobe Photoshop can create any type of shadow, but it’s not the same for Adobe illustrators. Illustrators can create drop shadows more efficiently than other ones. Though it totally depends on the expert who is working.

Today we will learn to create drop shadow in Illustrator because Illustrator is best for vector art, and only drop shadow is suitable for vector arts.

Drop Shadow in Illustrator

In Adobe Illustrator, it is very easy and straightforward to create premium and elegant designs. Drop shadow can add an interesting look and feel to your image.

Not only that, without drop shadow, your subject will look floating and will lose authenticity to its audiences. So let’s go and learn how to create drop shadow in Illustrator easily.

We will create a drop shadow for text today and apply a drop shadow using Illustrator’s live effects, which helps you add a shadow without any destruction and improve it while you go on the project.

Step 1:

We have to use a selection tool to select the subject you want to create a drop shadow effect. Activate the selection tool by pressing V.

As this is a selection tool, we activate this photoshop tool because we need to select the subject to add a drop shadow.

Step 2:

After the selection is over now, we will choose the drop shadow option. Got to Effect→Stylize→ and click one of the drop shadows to select it. Play with the parameters and set the drop shadow according to your requirements.

Step 3:

From that popup window, check the preview box, which will let us see the preview of our changes.

Step 4:

Now click on the Mode and select Blend Mode. If the shadow we will create falls upon any object, we will select the Multiply option because this option helps to blend the items’ color.

N.B: If the shadow falls on a solid surface, then keep the settings as they are.

Step 5:

Sometimes, we may require different opacity than the default one from the software. You can change the opacity according to your needs from above. Play with the percentage and find the sweet spots.

Step 6:

It’s time to set the exact point where our shadow will appear. To get it right, we have to set the X and Y offsets accurately. With the X positive and negative numbers changing, our shadow will move right and left side of our image.

On the other hand, the Y positive and negative numbers changing allows our drop shadow to move up and down.

Step 7:

After setting our drop shadow effect exactly where we want in this step, we will blur our shadow effect.

Here you need to know that the less value you give, the sharp your shadow becomes, which means that the shadow will get fuzzy edges with increasing the blur’s value. Give a suitable value for your image so that your shadow does not get sharp.

Step 8:

Generally, the color of shadow, as we all know, is black, but sometimes the surface you use comes out reflective, and then black shadow won’t do the trick for you.

So before we create a drop shadow in Illustrator, we must notice that and make our mind of which color we will use in our shadow. Click on the color swatch, select a color from the window, and determine the amount you want to use.

Step 9:

This step is more of an alternative to the previous one. If you are not sure which color or how much color you want to pick for your shadow, then all you need to do is activate the radio button labeled Darkness.

Your drop shadow will get an automatic color with the right amount of black in it.

The Bottom Line

Light and shadow make a photo complete. Without light, the image will look dark, and without shadow, the image will look fake.

No photographers would like any of those situations with their images.

So everyone should learn how to add shadow into their image. Before you illustrate a drop shadow on your image, read this article carefully, and follow every step. If you can follow the steps, I am sure you will create a drop shadow effect in no time.

This photoshop tutorial is done using the latest Adobe Illustrator, and I would suggest everyone use the latest version of the software.

If you are still finding difficulties doing the drop shadow in Illustrator, you can go for a professional shadow creation agency like ours. We have a highly skilled expert hand who can Illustrator drop shadow effect with the fastest delivery time.