Let's start our shadow work by creating a basic shadow for some strawberries. Our unretouched image, Figure 2-9, is a good example; most shadows I am asked to create are this type of simple basic shadow. Having said that though, one must pay special attention to the shape, size , and density of the shadow, as such a simple shadow on a stark background will look really out of place if it isn't correct. Using some basic techniques, we can give these strawberries a realistic shadow, as revealed in Figure 2-10.
To start, we'll need to isolate the image of the strawberries. If the image is being removed from a background and put on a white or tinted background, I usually crop the image with the pen tool. As you can see in Figure 2-11, I usually add a small amount of softness to the pen tool selection (Select Feather), depending on what the rest of the image looks like. In this case, Ive added a Feather Radius of 0.2.
A good rule of thumb for determining the correct softness is to have a look at the original image, zoom in to a large degree, and see how the pixels of the image feather off into the background. Although this is not all that measurable in terms of an exact measurement, it will give you a visual cue as to the amount of softness you should add. Adding softness is a very visual thing, and to use the exact amount each time may not work for all images. You'll have to experiment. It is not unusual for me to make more than a couple of attempts before I figure out exactly where I want the softness setting to be.
Note that adding softness to the image may add a small "halo" around the edges of the image, particularly around the darkest areas. When a dark shadow is added, there may be an edge between the shadow and the cup, as you can see in Figure 2-12. You may have to edit this later.
Put the isolated image onto a new "Shadow" layer, as shown in Figure 2-13 (layer new layer)
For the new layer name , I try to use something descriptive that anyone can understand. This will be the only shadow layer in this file, so a simple "Shadow" for the name seems fair, but if I were going to create many shadows for various objects, more descriptive names for each shadow layer would be more appropriate. Layer color can be important; if there are many shadow layers , to color each one the same color may make sense so that the shadows can be easily identified. If one were to have many layers of the same thing, like the shadows, then I would probably group them together in a layer set.
For shadows, I always chose Multiply in the mode dropdown box, because one never really knows where the image may end up. Occasionally, a client inserts a new background, and having the shadow on a multiplied layer will allow anyone to "slip-in" a new background if desired without any fuss with the shadow. This way, whatever background the shadow goes on, the shadow color will be added to that background, as opposed to knocking out any existing color. Set the layer opacity to 100%. If you set the opacity to anything less than 100%, it won't matter what your brush is set toyou'll never be able to brush in the full brush setting with anything less than 100% layer opacity.
Next , you will want to create a new layer below the shadow layer, set its properties to normal, and fill it with white. Adding this layer will show the true look of the work you are creating. If you have no layer under the multiplied shadow layer and simply leave it as is on an alpha channel, the shadow will not show up properly until the image is flattened, and thus you may not arrive at the look you're after.
Once the object is isolated, the next step is to properly set your paintbrush. You'll want to set up your paintbrush tool to match the perspective of the object for which you are creating the shadow. For instance, if the object is a straight-on side view, like the donut in Figure 2-14, you'll want the brush to be very slim and narrow.
If the object is seen in a bird's eye view, as in Figure 2-15, the brush should be wider.
If the object is shot from the top, you'll want the brush to be round, as in Figure 2-16.
Once I choose the brush for the proper perspective, it is very rare that I will change my brush rotation to anything other than perfectly horizontal. I rarely ever rotate my brush when I brush in a shadow. I have found that if you turn the brush at all, the shadow does not work out.
Once the brush is set, you can begin clicking on the areas of the image where you want to create the shadow. I usually start in areas where parts of the object in the image are farthest away from the objects closet to the ground or other objects, and work my way in from there.
Here's a tip I stumbled across regarding brushing in a shadow: I usually keep halving the brush size as I get closer to the object, closer to completing my shadow. I like to call this my halving effect . By constantly halving my brush size, it seems to gradate the shadow in the proper manner to provide a smooth transition into the rest of the shadow and create the correct size of darker shadow needed for realism .
For example, when I brush a car shadow, I'll start off with a large brush for the underside of the car. As I get closer to the wheels, my brushes seem to be halved with each mouse click until I have reached the tightest spot under the tire of the car.
When your shadow is done, you may want to go in and use the eraser to delete small portions of the shadow wherever the shadow gets close to the image Figure 2-17, since brushing may have caused some overspray.
Remember that as the object gets closer to another object, its fall-off , or vignetting , shortens and the shadow becomes smaller, thinner, and darker, as you can see in Figure 2-18.
Once the shadow has been created, I will then go to the black channel ( assuming it is a black-only shadow I'm creating, and I'm working in CMYK) and add a small amount of noise to the shadow in the black channel only, as shown in Figure 2-19. Typically, I just add a 1 or 2% for noise, depending on the size of the imagejust enough that you start to notice the noise, but not so much that the darkest areas of the shadow start to break up. I never go above 8%. Add too much noise, and the image starts to become a colorful array of noise (on a colored image) or too coarse (on a black and white image), as shown in Figure 2-20.
I add noise to just about anything brushed in because the brush is artificially very smooth when applied. If you look at any image at a very large magnification, you will see a small amount of grain in it. You are trying to replicate this look by adding noise to a newly brushed area. Noise also helps to reduce any banding that may occur when brushing an area in. Banding has the look of bands of color, particularly on vignetted or transition areas, like those of brushed areas. Adding noise also tends to break up the faint edges of a brushed area, which helps to diffuse it into a background.
Putting the shadow on a multiplied transparent layer and not on a white or colored background ensures that adding noise doesn't put a 1% dot all over the shadow background, only where there is color that you have brushed in. As you can see in Figure 2-21, the alpha or transparent areas of that layer will contain no dot from adding noise. Creating the shadow on an alpha or clear channel means you won't have to go back in and delete the 1% dot that the noise filter puts in.
If I had created this shadow on a layer that was filled with white prior to brushing in my shadow, adding noise to the shadow would have put a 1% black dot in the background of the shadow, as in Figure 2-22. I could remove this with a mild curve adjustment, but putting the shadow on an alpha channel in the first place eliminates the need for any further corrections.
As I mentioned earlier, I like to use black-only shadows when I can, because there is no likelihood of colored banding occurring. Color banding can occur when one of the colors breaks up or pokes out from the other color channels and is more prevalent than another color, causing a rainbow effect, as in Figure 2-23. It isn't always obvious on your monitor either, because it only takes a couple of percent in one color to throw the color off neutral or cause banding. Color banding can also occur if the press happens to gain in one color more than another. Press gain in one or more colors can really cause a problem and throw a perfectly neutral-looking four-color shadow off neutral. This is why I typically stay with a black-only shadow, as I have no control over what happens on a press, and a black-only shadow will stay neutral.
You may need to use a four-color shadow when you have natural objects like a human face, for example, where a black-only shadow may look odd, very muddy, or dirty. To create a shadow on a face (or any object made up primarily of cyan, yellow, and magenta ), start by taking a reading, as shown in Figure 2-24, of the darkest color in the area you wish to add a shadow to, and use that color as your shadow color.
After choosing this color, brush on a new multiplied layer, again with a very low opacity brush, and build it up until you get the desired look. (I may add a small amount of noise if I feel what I have brushed in looks too smooth and doesn't match the rest of the look of the image.) You can see the before and after images in Figure 2-25 and Figure 2-26, respectively.