Add (Perspective) Shadow Command

I have to admit it: I really like this effect (see Figure 1). I equate it with the way I felt when Drop Shadow become an automated effect or filter, rather than a 10-step procedure. And no, I'm not talking about Fireworks in that situation.

Figure 1. What you can do with the new shadow effects

The motivation for the Add Shadow command, according to sources at Macromedia, was in response to a popular enhancement request to add "perspective shadow-like" capability to Fireworks. Solid Shadow was also a popular enhancement request.

The Add Shadow command works only on vectors and text objects. It works by creating a custom Auto Shape object based on the outline of the path or text. Just like other Auto Shapes, the shadow has control points so you can manipulate it.

Applying the shadow couldn't be much easier:

1. Select your vector or text object.
2. Select Commands > Creative > Add Shadow (see Figure 2).

You're done!

Figure 2. Add Shadow menu

Well, almost done. One characteristic of this command is that the shadow is inserted at the very top of the layer stack. If your original object is low in the stacking order of the layer, the shadow actually gets placed above it. The only way the command works as expected is if your selected object is already at the top of the layer's stacking order.

It's easy enough to put the shadow in its rightful place by dragging it lower in the Layers panel. I do find this to be a bit of a nuisance and not very workflow-centric at the moment.

There are two yellow control handles for the shadow auto shape: Direction and Perspective (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Perspective shadow's direction and perspective controls

The Direction control alters shadow height and shadow angle. You can Shift-drag the Direction control point to constrain its movement on a 45 degree angle. Clicking the Direction control handle resets the shadow—identical to the original shape. Control/Command-clicking the Direction control point resets the X-axis only. This means the height stays the same but the shadow direction becomes centered.

The Perspective control alters the skew angle of the shadow. Think of it as a Skew tool. Dragging the Perspective control handle increases or decrease the convergence angle of the shadow.

Clicking the Perspective control point resets the width of the shadow only.

Another important element to this command is the ability to alter the shadow's fade from solid to transparent. This fade helps give the shadow some realism. The fade is created automatically using a Linear gradient, so you have complete control over the fade in terms of color, transition, length, and gradient category (see Figure 4). By using the Pointer tool to select the shadow, you will have access to the gradient control arm on the canvas and the gradient attributes in the Property inspector.

Figure 4. Adding a linear gradient to alter the shadow's fade from solid to transparent

Note: Adding a small amount of Gaussian Blur adds some realism to the shadow, too. I also find that adding a thin soft stroke to your text improves definition and separation.

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