Illustrator Drop Shadow

To add dynamism, and make your Illustrator artwork literally stand out, a simple method is to add a drop shadow. As we shall see, this is a very simple process. In the image presented here, for example, we first of all collaged several images together in Adobe Photoshop. These come into Photoshop as separate layers which we can move scale and rotate. We would then import the flattened image into Illustrator via the File menu. The Image Trace function is a great method of transforming pixel-based imagery into the more familiar vector style of Illustrator. This function then redefines the original bitmap information as vector artwork paths. We may then expand the image in order to select the background with the Direct Selection tool (the white arrow at the top of the tool box) and delete the vector shapes which comprise the background.

We then create a plain box using the Rectangle shape tool and add a gradient blend to its Fill colour. At the top left of the Control panel we can click on the drop-down arrow to view various options. The Gradient tool will use the Foreground colour initially, but if we double-click on the gradient slider a dialog appears in which we can adjust the colour stops. We can also add and subtract these stops, and adjust the quantity of each colour using the mid-tone stop. There are also Transparency stops to experiment with.

The three simple buttons shown here were created using Illustrator's Ellipse tool. We would create one button and add a coloured fill with a small white stroke.

We could then add a drop shadow to the various elements of the image, thus adding the effect of popping the artwork out of the page and towards the viewer. To do so we simply select those shapes and open the Effect drop-down menu at the top of Illustrator's interface. We then select the Stylize option and click on Drop Shadow, whereupon a dialog box appears. We should always tick the Preview box in order to see the effect's parameters as we create them. The default shadow colour will be black, but this can be changed by clicking on the colour box to open up the Colour Picker dialog. We may also experiment with the effect's Offset values. This is the distance that the shadow will project from its object. And for a more subtle effect we could reduce the shadow's Opacity value. When we are content with the result we click OK.

To create the other buttons simply select the button with the Selection tool, press the Alt button on the keyboard (Mac: Option button) and drag downwards. This is the Illustrator shortcut for copying an element.

If, later on, we wish to adjust the shadow settings go to the Appearance panel on the right, and note that Drop Shadow is highlighted here when we select the object. We double-click on the label to reopen the Drop Shadow dialog box. If we intend to print an image with effects like Drop Shadows, it's recommended that we first print a proof since any transparent items may appear different on paper.


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Tom Gillan has been training Adobe Illustrator to corporate clients in Sydney for seven years. You can learn more about Adobe Illustrator Courses at http://www.designworkshopsydney.com.au/adobe-illustrator-courses/ .