{"id":61409,"date":"2026-08-25T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/?p=61409"},"modified":"2026-08-25T14:48:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:48:49","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-263","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/2026\/08\/tutorial-tuesday-photoshop-elements-263\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greatest Hits:<\/strong> Complex Shadows \u2013 Jan\u2019s Method<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Today I want to revisit this tutorial from 2019 because the tutorial I’m working on for you right now will lean HEAVILY on complex custom shadows. Rather than reinvent the wheel, listing all the steps in great detail, I felt it would be worthwhile to post this review so you can start thinking about the process. That way the new tut will flow much nicer. \ud83d\ude09 Onward!<\/p>\n

Shadows are what turns a 2-dimensional image into what looks 3-dimensional. They definitely make or break a layout. If you\u2019ve played around with the recap tutorial from a couple of weeks ago, you\u2019re probably ready to spread your wings and get into complex shadows. I\u2019m not going to get into the actual 5 step-process, since that\u2019s already been covered. Here I\u2019ll show you how to use that\u00a0Smudge tool<\/strong>\u00a0to make your shadows even more realistic where your elements are sitting on top of other elements. For my layout, I used some of the template\u2019s drop shadows, as you can see below. But for most of the layout I\u2019ve customized my own shadows, starting with the ivy leaves shown here.<\/p>\n

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The trick to using the\u00a0Smudge tool<\/strong>\u00a0effectively without messing up (much) is to make use of the\u00a0[<\/strong>\u00a0(smaller) and\u00a0]<\/strong>\u00a0(larger) keys to grow or shrink your cursor, and to use the\u00a0crosshairs<\/strong>\u00a0inside the cursor as your reference point. Where you only want to move a very small area of your shadow, make your cursor small then position the crosshairs at the edge of the area you want to move. Using very slight movements, push or pull, depending on where you want to move the shadow \u2013 push close, pull away. Then when you\u2019ve got what looks right to your eye, add your\u00a0Gaussian Blur filter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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If you choose to change the\u00a0Blend Mode<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Linear Burn<\/strong>\u00a0(or\u00a0Multiply<\/strong>,\u00a0Color Burn<\/strong>\u00a0or whatever), make sure you do that before<\/strong><\/em> you decrease your\u00a0Opacity<\/strong>. If you do it in reverse, next time you go to nudge an element with the\u00a0Arrow keys<\/strong>, all that will happen is the software will scroll through the\u00a0Blend Modes<\/strong>, not move your object!! (How do I know?? Lots of practice at\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>Z<\/strong>!!)<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s see what happens to this burlap flower. It\u2019s overlapping the flair, some paper and a leaf.<\/p>\n

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I decided the burlap was quite stiff, so there wouldn\u2019t be a lot of lift at the ends of the petals. It\u2019s literally laying on top of the edge of the flair, so there isn\u2019t much shadow cast there. But where it overlaps the leaf, I gave the petals just a hint of a curve.<\/p>\n

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The final shadow isn\u2019t too obvious. I always look at the entire element when I\u2019m adjusting the\u00a0Opacity<\/strong>\u00a0so I don\u2019t lose it, but also to ensure it looks natural.<\/p>\n

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This little flower adds some new opportunities. The shadow should run under the gold flower, which is above it in the stack.<\/p>\n

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But the shadow should also be a bit closer to the petal itself where it overlays the bigger flower beneath it. Where the petals could be curved away from the paper, the shadow can be farther away.<\/p>\n

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Did you know that\u00a0Elements<\/strong>\u00a0will remember the settings you used for your\u00a0Gaussian Blur filter<\/strong>? It\u2019s a great step-saver when you\u2019re shadowing a lot of similar things, like flowers and leaves, to use the keyboard shortcut\u00a0CTRL\/CMD>F<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 automatically blurring your shadow to the same amount as the previous one.<\/p>\n

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This is a tricky one. I put two flowers one on top of the other and rotated the top one to make the flower fuller. So there will also be two shadow layers. The shadow on the upper layer will be more visible, and will need a bit more pushing and pulling that the ones we\u2019ve already looked at.<\/p>\n

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The white arrows show where I\u2019ve used the\u00a0Smudge tool<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0PUSH<\/strong>\u00a0the shadow away from the centre while the red arrows show where I\u2019ve\u00a0PULLED<\/strong>\u00a0the shadow toward the centre.<\/p>\n

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In this screenshot you can see the end result of the blur-blend-fade process for the topmost flower. And the shadow layer for the bottom is there too.<\/p>\n

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The burlap underneath could make demands, but nothing we can\u2019t handle!<\/p>\n

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Done!<\/p>\n

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Again, the shadowing is subtle but effective.<\/p>\n

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Now for the burlap rosette. It\u2019s a softer-looking element than the multi-petaled burlap flower. See if you can figure out what I\u2019m going to do to customize this one.<\/p>\n

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Did you figure it out? Are you starting to see how different objects will cast a different shadow?<\/p>\n

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There will be more depth to the shadow at the lower edge where there\u2019s a gap created by the little aqua flower.<\/p>\n

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On to the gold flower. It\u2019s overlaying several other objects.<\/p>\n

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Take a close look at where the shadow touches the leaf on the far left. See how I\u2019ve brought the shadow in really close where it\u2019s touching the leaf, but let it stay farther away where there\u2019s a gap between the flower and the paper underneath?<\/p>\n

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Ta-da!<\/p>\n

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This one was an easy one. I pushed in close to the centre of the word strip to make it look glued down there but loose at the ends. Be sure to change the size of your\u00a0Smudger<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0BIG<\/strong>\u00a0when you\u2019re curving paper like this so you get a smooth arc. I created a little mock-up of what the\u00a0Smudge tool<\/strong>\u2018s cursor looks like. (Of course, it won\u2019t be red when you\u2019re working, it\u2019ll be black.) Remember, the\u00a0[<\/strong>\u00a0key makes your tool\u00a0smaller<\/strong>, the\u00a0]<\/strong>\u00a0makes it\u00a0bigger<\/strong>. That crosshair is SO useful!<\/p>\n

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Blurred, blended and faded. Take note, the blur isn\u2019t quite as soft here as it is with the flowers because the edges are sharper, so the shadow should be sharper. This one is\u00a02.5 pixels<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Ah yes, stickers! The shadow will be very tight, but there\u2019s still room for some tweaking.<\/p>\n

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I pushed it a little closer where it\u2019s crossing the edge of the thicker paper.<\/p>\n

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Now there\u2019s a hint of distance where the sticker comes off the thicker paper. Subtle\u2026 When you see my finished layout in the\u00a0Gallery\u00a0<\/strong>you\u2019ll see that I\u2019ve also used the\u00a0Burn tool<\/strong>\u00a0to give the illusion of the edge of the thicker paper showing through onto the sticker itself.<\/p>\n

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This one is a single layer of the aqua daisy. It\u2019s got some challenges!<\/p>\n

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The white arrows show where I\u2019ve\u00a0PUSHED<\/strong>\u00a0the shadow away from the centre, the red arrows where I\u2019ve\u00a0PULLED<\/strong>\u00a0it toward the centre.<\/p>\n

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But wait! Where the ripples in the bottlecap touch the petal, the shadow has to be thinner. I\u00a0[[[[<\/strong>\u00a0my cursor down to tiny to make this look more natural. Look too at the leaf.<\/p>\n

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Blur, blend, fade.<\/p>\n

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This is another challenge where the burlap petals touch the twine.<\/p>\n

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Again, I think the burlap has been stiffened a bit, so not a lot of curving petals.<\/p>\n

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I hope these examples are giving you some insight into how shadows are cast.<\/p>\n

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Did you think I\u2019d leave out the bottlecap? Heck no!!<\/p>\n

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Where the crimps touch the object below, the shadow is thin, where the crimps curve away from the object below, the shadow bellies out a bit.<\/p>\n

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I love how this looks!<\/p>\n

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Last but not least, this knot needs attention. It\u2019s a heavyweight, so the shadow won\u2019t be too far away in most places, depending on what it\u2019s touching.<\/p>\n

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White arrows \u2013\u00a0PUSHED<\/strong>\u00a0away, red arrows \u2013\u00a0PULLED<\/strong>\u00a0in.<\/p>\n

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And there you have it!<\/p>\n

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Do you think you\u2019ll be ready to start creating your own custom shadows now? I hope so!!<\/p>\n

(Credits are in the\u00a0Gallery<\/strong>\u2026 too many different kits to list them all here!)<\/p>\n

Hey! At the end of the week it’ll be the TENTH anniversary of my very first tutorial here. I can’t believe it!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greatest Hits: Complex Shadows \u2013 Jan\u2019s Method Today I want to revisit this tutorial from 2019 because the tutorial I’m working on for you right now will lean HEAVILY on complex custom shadows. Rather than reinvent the wheel, listing all the steps in great detail, I felt it would be worthwhile to post this review […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[229,102,284,92,62],"tags":[373],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-01 16:24:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"private","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61409"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61410,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61409\/revisions\/61410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gingerscraps.net\/gsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}