Creating Perspective Shadows in Illustrator

Perspective shadows are among the most popular artistic techniques ever. They almost magically add depth to any illustration. Although we use text in this example, the technique works with any object. Illustrator has a built-in drop shadow filter, but it’s rather limited compared with what you can do on your own with little trouble. To create drop shadows, follow these steps:

1. Create text or an object to which you want to apply a shadow.

2. Duplicate the text or object by copying it and choosing Edit➪Paste in Front.
This command places the copy directly in front of the previous object.

3. Keep the copy selected and click the Free Transform tool in the Toolbox.
A control box appears around the text.

4. Click the top center control handle, drag it beneath the bottom of the text, and don’t release the mouse button.

5. Still holding down the mouse button, press and hold the Ctrl key (Windows) or Ô (Mac) and drag to the left. Release your mouse. With the Selection tool, reposition the shadow so that it touches the bottom of the original word.
By holding the Ctrl key (Windows) or Ô (Mac) while you drag the center handles of the Free Transform box, you can skew the selection. That’s the secret of creating a perspective drop shadow.

Granted, the shadow as shown is rather sharp. You can soften it by using a gradient — provided that you’re putting the shadow on anything other than text. Unfortunately, gradients can’t fill text. If you use text for this technique, we have to stick an extra step in here: Convert your text to paths by choosing Type➪Create Outlines. Then, apply the gradient.

6. Set the Fill color to the default gradient (White, Black) by clicking this option in the Swatches palette.
Wait a minute — that doesn’t look quite right. You need to set the direction of the gradient.

7. To set the gradient’s direction, choose the Gradient tool, click at the bottom of the shadow, and then drag to where the shadow meets the text.
Finally, the shadow is all set!

Haunted by a Ghost(ing)
Many magazines use the ghosting technique to solve the age-old problem of keeping text legible when it overlaps a graphic. If the graphic image is complex or highly detailed, it can distract attention from the text and make the text hard to read. A ghost is a subtle fade that wafts over part of the image, keeping the text readable without losing the visual interest of the graphic. Ready to ghost part of a graphic? That’s the spirit! Here goes:

1. Open the graphic in Illustrator.

2. Using the Rectangle tool, drag a rectangle over the part of the image that you want to fade and then fill the rectangle with White.

3. Choose Window➪Transparency. Using the Opacity slider in the upperright corner of the Transparency palette, set the Opacity to 70%.
You may need to set a higher or lower opacity, depending on what you’re ghosting.