Create shadow with photoshop cs4 with 3d features

[dostoyevski]

hi, i'm trying to create a shadow on a shoe. For this I use adobe photoshop cs4, with 3d features. I create a plane on the floor and a point of light, and the shadow is created. But the problem is that said plane (the one on the floor) has to have a color to create the shadow. If I put it completely white, the shadow is not created. And the question is can I somehow create the shadow with the totally white floor plane.

This is my image:

 

[IamSam]

And the question is can I somehow create the shadow with the totally white floor plane.

Yes.

You don't need to use 3D to create shadows. Is the shoe image on it's own layer? Does it have it's own BG or is it just the shoe image with the BG removed?

 

[dostoyevski]

i tryed with a paralel shadow but it's not much realistic. In the part of the tip it is not projected on the floor but is attached to the shoe. See the arrow in the image. This is the result:

 

[IamSam]

Shoe with BG removed.

Shoe with white BG layer added below shoe layer.

Make a selection of the shoe.


On a new layer below the shoe layer and above the BG layer, fill the selection with black. (Note: Just showing shadow layer with shoe layer off for demo)
(Additional note: You can also turn this layer into a smart object at this point, making the step of adding a Gaussian Blur editable!)

Deselect. Enter free transform ( Cmd/Cntrl + t)
Transform the shadow to where you like it.

Add Gaussian blur.
Lower opacity.
Can add a gradient via a layer mask if wanted.

 

[dostoyevski]

I have got this. But yours is more blurred, and the borders are less defined, I like it better. how can i get that?

 

[IamSam]

But yours is more blurred, and the borders are less defined, I like it better. how can i get that?

By using the Gaussian blur I mention above!! It's in FILTER > BLUR > GAUSSIAN BLUR

Add Gaussian blur.
Lower opacity.
Can add a gradient via a layer mask if wanted.

 

[dostoyevski]

i think my mistake was not creating a smart object. With the smart object the result is this:

 

[IamSam]

i think my mistake was not creating a smart object.

No. The effect would have worked without creating a smart object. The smart object only gives you the ability to edit the amount of blur because it uses a smart filter. You only convert the shadow layer to a SO.............the shoe selection that you fill with black.



Either way, glad it worked out for you!

 

[dostoyevski]

Thanks!

 

[IamSam]

You're very welcome!

 

[JeffK]

@IamSam - great instruction...just discovered another way to create drop shadows!

 

[IamSam]

@JeffK - Thanks!

 

[dostoyevski]

Hello again. Still having the problem from yesterday, the shadow has very sharp edges even though I applied the Gaussian filter. When I apply it, the only option I have to apply it is the radius. There is no other option. I don't know what I did yesterday that I applied that blur that your image has. The applications I have tried with are adobe photochop elements 2022, and adobe photoshop cs4. And with neither of them I get that blur.

 

[IamSam]

OK..........forget about the smart object for now. Use Ps CS4.

Just add a Gaussian Blur to the shadow layer!!!




Reduce opacity of the shadow layer after you have transformed it.

 

[dostoyevski]

ok, thanks again. I have applied the Gaussian blur as you indicate and it does not look like that. But if I add a layer mask and then remove it, it works fine for me, both in photoshop elements and in cs4. I don't know why but it's the only way to make it work.

 

[dostoyevski]

How would you add a shadow to this shoe? It is because now it is not in profile but in half profile.

 

[IamSam]

Same technique will work. Have you not tried it?

 

[dostoyevski]

With that technique it has a small flaw. The heel area and the instep area are both touching the ground, so the shadow should be the same and it is not. As seen in the photo, the heel area has a much more pronounced shadow than that of the instep.

 

[IamSam]

With that technique it has a small flaw.

There's not really a flaw in the technique, it's more in the execution.

It's in how the shadow layer is manipulated in free transform. You have to work with it until it looks right.
There is a selection of different transform functions to work with by right clicking while in the free transform mode.


You have to experiment and don't forget that you can employ layer masking if needed.
Note: I did this rapidly to demonstrate.........take your time and match the shadow to the shoe's existing lighting.

 

[JeffK]

Took a shot at it myself since I just learned this particular way of casting shadows by reading this thread. Done by "compressing" the shadow area by pulling the handles and then adding a gaussian blur set to a high value. Different than Sam's above but then it's all about where you perceive where the light is coming from...