How to understand and create shadows in Photoshop tutorial
One of the most important things in a believable composite, is shadows. They anchor objects and give them a sense of scale, distance and solidity.
There are 3 things you need to know about light to create a convincing shadow, as well as one other thing. Take this knowledge and apply it to the technique that I teach here and you will be able to create more convincing shadows. This is an essential skill to have if you want to combine images together in photoshop and create believable composites.
Instead of another “here are shadows” tutorial, this is a 2 parter. The first part explains how shadows work, so that you can make the right decisions without guessing when making your own.
Part 2 you will learn some cool tricks with things like Gradients on Quickmasks and Field blur to make your shadows look convincing with effortless ease.
I have previously created another tutorial. How to Make a cast shadow in Photoshop. This one contains written instructions and a slightly different method for creating shadows. I advise you to check out both of these tutorials to get a really strong grasp of shadows.
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I hope you enjoy this tutorial and the techniques you will learn:
- Light Direction
- Light Quality
- Light Quantity
- Light falloff
- Making Realistic Cast Shadows in Photoshop
Until next Tuesday!
Check out all the other tutorials here at PhotoshopCAFE
Colin
Check out these tuts for more learning
Compositing in Photoshop, Sky City Project
Compositing Secrets the Story Art Method
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