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Adding drop shadows


    The Drop Shadow command creates a three-dimensional shadow on any selected object. You can offset the drop shadow any distance from the object along the x or y axis, as well as vary the opacity, blending mode, blur, color, and darkness of the drop shadow.

    You can apply the Drop Shadow command as a filter or as an effect (see Using effects.)

To create a drop shadow:

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To apply the command as a filter, use a selection tool and select the object. Then choose Filter > Stylize > Drop Shadow.
    • To apply the command as an effect, select an object or group in the artwork, or target an item in the Layers palette. (For more information on targeting, see Changing the appearance of artwork using the Layers palette.) Then choose Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow.
  2. Choose a blending mode from the Mode menu. For more information, see About blending modes.
  3. Enter the amount of opacity you want for the shadow.
  4. Enter the distance you want the drop shadow to be offset from the object on the x axis or the y axis (in the unit of measure set in the General Preferences dialog box).
  5. Enter the distance from the edge of the shadow where you want any blurring to occur. To blur the shadow, a transparent raster object is created.
  6. Do one of the following:
    • Select Color, and click the color preview to specify a color for the shadow. For more information, see Using the Color Picker.
    • Select Darkness, and enter the percentage darkness (percentage of black added) you want for the drop shadow. In a CMYK document, a value of 100% used with a selected object that contains a fill or stroke color other than black creates a multicolored black shadow. A value of 100% used with a selected object that contains only a black fill or stroke creates a 100% black shadow. A value of 0% creates a drop shadow the color of the selected object.
  7. To place each shadow directly behind the object to which the shadow is applied, select Create Separate Shadows (this option is only available when you choose Drop Shadow from the Filter menu). Leaving this option unselected places all of the shadows together behind the bottom-most selected object.
  8. Click OK.