Creating drop shadows


    The Drop Shadow command creates a three-dimensional shadow on a 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.

    Because this command appears in both the Filter and Effect menus, it's important to understand the difference between them before applying a filter or an effect. (See Comparing filters and effects.) The Drop Shadow effect is raster-based and uses the document's raster effects settings whenever you apply the effect to a vector graphic. (See Specifying raster effects settings.)

To apply a drop shadow to an object:

  1. Select an object or group (or target a layer in the Layers palette).
  2. To apply the command as a filter, choose Filter > Stylize > Drop Shadow; to apply the command as an effect, choose Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow.
  3. Choose a blending mode from the Mode menu. (See Summary of blending modes.)
  4. Drag the Opacity pop-up slider or enter the percentage of opacity you want for the shadow in the Opacity text box.
  5. 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 section of the Preferences dialog box) in the X or Y text box.
  6. Enter the distance from the edge of the shadow where you want any blurring to occur, or drag the pop-up slider. Illustrator creates a transparent raster object to simulate the blur.
  7. Select Color, and click the color preview to specify a color for the shadow. For more information, see Using the Color Picker.
  8. Select Darkness, and enter the percentage of black you want added 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.
  9. If you chose the Drop Shadow filter command, you can place each shadow directly behind the object to which the shadow is applied by selecting Create Separate Shadows. Otherwise, the shadows are all placed together behind the bottommost selected object.
  10. To preview the drop shadow in the document window, select Preview.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Tip iconIf you applied this command from the Effect menu, you can use the Appearance palette to modify or remove the effect from your object. (See Modifying and removing appearance attributes.)