To add a drop shadow or an inner shadow
To edit a drop shadow or an inner shadow
To copy or clone a drop shadow or an inner shadow
You can add drop shadows and inner shadows to most objects or groups of objects, including text and bitmaps.
You can add drop shadows and inner shadows interactively or by using presets. After you add a shadow, you can edit it. For example, you can adjust attributes such as color, opacity, offset, and feathering. You can edit shadows interactively by using the vector control or by using controls on the property bar.
A drop shadow applied to an object. The feathered effect softens the edges of the drop shadow on the right.
An inner shadow applied to an object
After you create a shadow, you can copy it or clone it to a selected object. When you copy a shadow, the original and copy have no connection and can be edited independently. With cloning, the master object’s shadow attributes are automatically applied to its clone.
By separating a shadow from its object, you gain more control over the shadow itself. For example, you can edit the shadow as you would edit a transparency. For information about editing a transparency, see Object transparency. In addition, you can separate a shadow from its object so that you can apply both an inner shadow and a drop shadow to an object.
As with transparencies, you can apply a merge mode to a shadow to control how the color of the shadow blends with the color of the object underneath. For more information about merge modes, see Merge modes.
You can remove drop shadows and inner shadows.
Drop shadows and extrusions created in CorelDRAW are ideal for printed outputs, but are not appropriate for output to devices such as vinyl cutters and plotters. Cuttable shadows are needed for such projects. To add a cuttable shadow to an object, you must use a block shadow. For more information about block shadows, see Add block shadows.
You can also use extrusions to create shadows.
To add a drop shadow or an inner shadow |
1 . | In the toolbox, click the Shadow tool . |
2 . | Perform a task from the following table. |
On the property bar, click the Drop shadow tool . Drag from the center of the object to position the drop shadow.
A flat drop shadow (left), and a perspective drop shadow (right) |
|
On the property bar, click the Inner shadow tool . Drag from the center of the object until the inner shadow is the size you want. The closer to the edge you drag the end handle, the narrower the inner shadow becomes.
|
Shadows cannot be added to linked groups, such as blended objects, contoured objects, beveled objects, extruded objects, objects created with the Artistic media tool , or other shadows.
You can also add a shadow by choosing a preset from the Preset list box on the property bar.
To edit a drop shadow or an inner shadow |
1 . | In the toolbox, click the Shadow tool . |
2 . | Click an object with a shadow. |
3 . | Use any of the following controls on the property bar to specify the shadow attributes: |
• | Shadow color — to choose the shadow color |
• | Merge mode — to choose how the color of the shadow blends with the color of the underlying object. The default merge mode Multiply produces natural-looking shadows. |
• | Shadow opacity — to adjust the transparency of the shadow |
• | Shadow feathering — to sharpen or soften the edges of the shadow |
• | Feathering direction — to soften the shadow’s edges towards the inside of the shadow, the outside of the shadow, or in both directions. Shadows look more realistic when they use Gaussian Blur feathering, which is the default option. The Inside and Average options are not available for inner shadows. |
• | Feather edge — to choose a feathering type. This control is not available for Gaussian Blur feathering. |
• | Inner shadow width — to set the width of an inner shadow that is not offset |
• | Shadow offset — to change the distance between shadow and the object edge. With drop shadows, changing the offset makes the object appear closer or further away from the background. |
Perspective drop shadows with different angle, stretch and fade values |
|||||||
Click the Add preset button , and type a name for the shadow preset.
|
|||||||
Choose a custom preset from the Preset list box, and click the Delete preset .
|
To copy or clone a drop shadow or an inner shadow |
1 . | Select the object to which you want to copy or clone a shadow. |
2 . | Perform a task from the following table. |
Click Object Copy Effect Shadow From, and click the drop shadow of an object.
|
|
Click Object Copy Effect Shadow From, and click the inner shadow of an object.
|
|
Click Object Clone Effect Shadow From, and click the drop shadow of an object.
|
|
Click Object Clone Effect Shadow From, and click the inner shadow of an object.
|
You can also use the Attributes eyedropper tool to copy a drop shadow or an inner shadow. For more information, see To copy effects from one object to another.
You can also copy a shadow from one object to another by using the Copy shadow properties button on the property bar.
To separate a drop shadow or inner shadow from an object |
1 . | Using the Pick tool , select an object’s drop shadow or inner shadow. |
2 . | Do one of the following: |
• | Click Object Break Drop Shadow Apart. |
• | Click Object Break Inner Shadow Apart. |
3 . | Click a blank space in the drawing window to deselect the object and the shadow, and then drag the shadow. |
Separating an inner shadow from an object
To remove a drop shadow or an inner shadow |
1 . | Select an object’s shadow. |
2 . | Click Object Clear Shadow. |
You can also remove a shadow from an object by selecting the shadow and clicking Clear Shadow on the property bar.
The features documented in the Help are available in the full version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2020. Some features may not be available in this version of the product.