How to add drop shadow effect in Photoshop and Fireworks

How to add drop shadow in Macromedia Fireworks:

Drop-shadow is a graphic filter found in the property window on the filter panel.

To give a drop shadow to any graphic element:

1. Select the graphic and then select the (+) button located under Filters

2.In the options go to Shadow and Glow> Drop Shadow and the shadow will appear.

3. The default value for distance in shadow properties is 7 pix and softness is 4.

A. For a soft shadow effect give a distance of 2 pix and softness of 5.

B. For a crisp shadow effect give a distance of 3 pix and softness of 4.

 

How to add drop shadow effect in Photoshop:

This text has no dropshadow. It has little contrast from the background, and appears flat.

1. In the Layers window, hold down Ctrl, and click on the layer you want the shadow applied to. This will load the layer transparency.

This shadow is soft, yet it ads a lot of contrast to the text, due to it's large surface area. This shadow can be created in any version of Adobe Photoshop.

To create this drop shadow:

2. Create a new layer , and drag it under the layer you want the dropshadow on. Double click on the new layer, and name it Small Shadow .

Press D on the keyboard, to ensure the selected foreground color is black. Fill the selection Alt+Backspace , and then deselect Ctrl+D .

3. Now, Gaussian Blur the Small Shadow layer 3-6 pixels, to create an ambient shadow around the edges.

Click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur...
3-6 pixels

4. Drag the Small Shadow layer onto the new layer icon , to create a duplicate of it. Double click on the new layer ( Small Shadow copy ) and rename it Large Shadow .

Gaussian Blur the Large Shadow layer by about 20 pixels.

Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur... 20 pixels

Next, select the Move Tool ( V ), and drag or nudge the shadow down and to the right.

Finally, change the opacity of the Large Shadow layer to 80%.

Once you have the desired effect, feel free to merge the two shadow layers ( Ctrl+E ).