Shadowing Tutorial?

tmrd · #1 11-06-2009, 09:59 PM

Loads of my boxes have comments suck as "The shadowing looks retarded" or "there is no shadows for the characters." How do I make good shadows for characters on my boxes? And BTW, I dont mean drop shadow.

TwistRox · #2 11-07-2009, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmrd

Loads of my boxes have comments suck as "The shadowing looks retarded" or "there is no shadows for the characters." How do I make good shadows for characters on my boxes? And BTW, I dont mean drop shadow.

Just look up "shadow effect for paint.net" or something close in google.
Hope that helps.

tmrd · #3 11-07-2009, 06:31 PM

I've figured it out! In gimp, you make a drop shadow, flip it vertically and then change the perspective. Finally, lower the opacity.

Crotale · #4 11-11-2009, 08:50 AM

That's a simple way to do it for a quick effect, but to get the shadowing correct in a scene, you have to know the answers to these questions:

1. Where are your light sources located in relation to the overall image?

2. Is the lighting harsh, vivid or soft?

3. Is the lighting focused or diffused?

The answers to these questions will guide you in how you construct your shadowing. For example, your lighting is directly above the scene, focused and harsh. For this example, you will want to make the shadowing full and sharp as it nears the "connection" to your subject. In an opposite example, your lighting almost appears to generate from a zone and is softly diffused, your shadowing should be soft and diffused to match. You can do this by using Gaussian blurring and lowering the fill/opacity of the shadows. Most images contain lighting/shading somewhere in between the two extremes, so you will need to adjust accordingly.

In order to make the correct shaping for your shadows, look at your subject and think of how the lighting conditions will make the shape appear. In many cases, you can simply paint in an oval shape beneath the subject, use an erase tool to make it look more natural, and use the blur and opacity/fill adjustments for the lighting conditions.