About Custom Shadowing

After your scrapbook page is prim and polished, you should consider adding a little custom shadowing to give your digital creations that extra special touch of reality. This entire section is dedicated to applying a custom shadow to each of the shadow-enabled lessons of this class.

My Recommendation

• Wait to apply any custom shadows until your scrapbook page is completely finished. This is when you'll know if an object needs a custom shadow and how to best apply it.
• Use custom shadows sparingly. I little goes a long way.

Not all 12 lessons are represented in this section of class. These lessons are NOT included, and here's why:

• Lesson 1. Full background papers do not need a shadow style or a custom shadow.
• Lesson 2. Doodles should never be shadowed.
• Lesson 3. Stamped overlays should never be shadowed.
• Lesson 4. The glitter anchor will have a tiny shadow applied, but it should never be given a custom shadow.
• Lesson 7. Custom shadows do not apply to pattern files.
• Lesson 10. The fastener you are creating in this class should never need a custom shadow.
• Lesson 12, Part 1: Journaling should never be shadowed.

Action (PSE) and Create Layer (PS)

• In the Photoshop Elements lessons, I'll be using a custom shadow action. You can download it below or in the Downloads section of this class.

• The Adobe Photoshop lessons do not use an action to create a custom shadow. Instead, I'll show you my preferred way to custom shadow using Create Layer. But, if you prefer to use an action, watch the Elements videos for guidance.