Build a Better Drop Shadow

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com Guide

The illusion of drop shadows becomes easier to visualize when you have several objects with drop shadows grouped together. By overlapping objects there is the suggestion that each object is at a different distance from the background. However, using the same drop shadow for all objects distorts the illusion of depth.

Although one object is obviously in front of another (thus farther away from the background) the shadows fail to take that extra depth into account. This conflict accentuates the fakeness of the drop shadow.

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• Add Interest and Dimension With Drop Shadows
• Base Fake Drop Shadows on Reality
• Avoid Loss of Illusion By Avoiding Uniform Drop Shadows
• Create Varied Depths With Size and Color
• Use Size, Color, and Direction to Preserve the Illusion of Depth
• Give Complex Arrangements Complex Shadows

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