Help with creating Shadows

RR
Posted By
Richard_RKAA
Jul 5, 2007
Views
312
Replies
7
Status
Closed
Our firm uses photoshop to generate Colored Elevations of our Cad Drawings, but I’m trying to figure out if there is an easier way to generate shadow lines for different planes where the starting point of the shadow stays constant, but the end is adjustedable based on pixels or distance. Not sure how else to explain this.

Similar to creating a shadow in rendering programs, but I need as a 2D application for quick renderings.
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C
chrisjbirchall
Jul 5, 2007
After creating a Drop Shadow, right click and select "Make Layer". this will put the drop shadow on a layer of its own which you can manipluate using "transform".
RR
Richard_RKAA
Jul 5, 2007
when i create the shadow i want it is on a sperate layer. but now I want to adjust the shadow from the original location to a new one that is at a 45 degree angle. Almost like having it copy it self 100 times at a 45, thus giving the illusion of it being a straight line. or giving it a path of projection, so the object you are trying to shadow, doesnt make a shadowed copy of itself, but projecting the path of a shadow. does that makes sense?
C
chrisjbirchall
Jul 5, 2007
Yes. Did you experiment with "transform". Right-click within the bounding box and you’ll be presented with various options including "perspective", "skew" and "distort". They are all explained in the Help Files.
B
Bernie
Jul 5, 2007
Maybe if you post a link to an image showing what you want?

<http://www.pixentral.com>
RR
Richard_RKAA
Jul 5, 2007
< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ctThC8X0qc3X3t99U zvL46RLd7A0>

the attached image is basically what i am looking for. the shadows in this image was created manually, which takes a little time. I want to be able to create these much quicker and a little more accurately.
B
Bernie
Jul 6, 2007
Do you mean the shadows cast by the columns in front of the building onto the building?

You’d need a 3D software to automate that

FYI: in pixentrl, at the bottom of the image, you have an HTML and a foru line of code. use the HTML line for your image to appear. Like this:

< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ctThC8X0qc3X3t99U zvL46RLd7A0>
BD
Brett Dalton
Jul 8, 2007
Given your starting with a CAD Dwg you might want to look at Illustrator which can handle some of this with ease, Photoshop prob isn’t the best tool in this case.

There is no way to automate even in illustrator but by duplicating objects and using 3d extrude + transperency it would be relativly quick to produce accurate/consistant shadows. It depends on the origional format you can get into the program in the first place assuming you can produce a vector drawing of the elevation that illustrator can import.

Photoshop CS3 EXTENDED does have a 3d model import and lighting can be adjusted. I don’t know about perspective vs elevations or shadowing capabilities as I havn’t had a play yet. I might be worth getting the demo and seeing if it meets your needs.

hope it helps
BRETT

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