Elements: Adding Shadows

Hello Creatives! Welcome to part two of a series of DUO Element tutorials. These are read-along, follow-along on the blog and I’m popping the exact same tutorial up on our YouTube. When we tuned in last time, we learned how to add lots of layers to our Elements Workspace to create a wonderful digital page or layout (Elements: Building Layers). Now let’s learn how to add shadows to some of our elements to let them stand out.

Number one most important, make sure you select the element you want to shadow.

Double check your element is highlighted (in blue) in the Layers Palette, then:

Click on the Styles icon

When you click on the Styles Icon, the Layers Palette switches to the Styles Palette.

There are several styles types to play with, feel free to try them all out! But. For today’s lesson:

Click on the teeny tiny drop down arrow on the top menu
Click on Drop Shadows

You can choose any of the Drop Shadows listed. I picked:

Click on Soft Edge
note: if you hover over each Drop Shadow, the style name will display

See all the tiny pink arrows? That’s where your new drop shadow is!

Next, manuever back to the Layers Palette and choose your next element to shadow. I choose the “October” word art.

With the new element selected:

Click on the Styles icon again
Click on the Hard Edge shadow style
(or any of the styles you love)

I want to shadow a third element on my page. I also want to shadow this element with the exact same style as my Fairy element. I can repeat the steps above, or:

Right click on the fx symbol on the Fairy element
Click on Copy Layer Style in the drop down menu

To add this exact same Layer Style to any other layer, whether element or paper:

Click on the element layer you want to shadow (I’m on jmadd-autumnaura-scatter2.png)
Right click while hovering over that element name in your Layers Palette
Choose Paste Layer Style from the drop down menu

And that’s it! You’ve succesfully shadowed several elements on your page to help them stand out from the crowd. Well done!

A huge shout-out to Jen Maddocks Designs for letting me play with her fantabulous Autumn Aura! I adore this entire collection and I had so much fun making my page.

Prefer videos? We got you! Check out Elements: Adding Shadows on our YouTube!

About the Author: Toiny

My name is Toiny (pronounced Twa-knee) and I am the Studio site owner and a Designer at heart. I especially love creating word arts and tools to help others create. I learned photoshop from my Father-in-Law while printing alien t-shirts for the tourists in Roswell, NM. Once I touched photoshop, I never let it go. It's a creative addiction! I currently live with four-out-of-six kids, my husband & two ornery cats in the Black Forest, Germany. Or as they say in German: Der Schwarzwald. I design under the name: Schwarzwald Design at the Studio.

Elements: Adding Shadows