Shading

[Allen_Edwards]

I recently discovered the power of ilustrator and am wondering how to creating shadows. For those fimilar with photoshop you could use the burn tool to create shadows i was wondering if there was a similar tool in Illustrator?

[TORCH511]

Sorry, no burn feature. You would have to draw a path that encloses the area you want burned in, you could then use a gradient, or a gradient mesh and play with the blending mode and opacity to create the same look. You can also add a blur effect to smooth it out if need be.

Photoshop is still king when editing images like this. It is very common, especially when final output is raster to export from Illustrator to Photoshop and touch up the image using such tools, as it can be easier and less time consuming that working in strictly illustrator.

Photoshop and Illustrator are both powerful tools in their own right, but even more powerful when used together.

[Allen_Edwards]

I have tried to export to Photoshop and do it in that manner, however i do find that since Illustrator uses vectors i can not retain the smooth line when exported to Photoshop. So if i take an image from illustrator to photoshop to flash the lines are very jagged where as i go from illustrator to flash the lines are smooth. Is there a way to export from photoshop with the smoothness of illustrator

[GuyB]

Hi Allen,

I'm sure that you already know that there is a drop shadow effect in Illustrator (Effects/Stylize/Drop shadow) but I guess that it's does'nt cover your needs ?

[TORCH511]

Yes and no.

A raster image with enough resolution will appear smooth, however the higher the resolution, the larger the file size and that can be an issue for various web outputs. It is nice that you like the scalability of vector images, however the effect you are trying to achieve is a photo effect, something vectors are not well suited for. Can, it be done... yes, though not easily or quickly like it can be in photoshop.

So you have to make a compromise, scalability and small file size, or photo-realistic detail.

If the intent is for flash animation, then I would probably sway towards scalability and keep the image in a vector format, however without seeing what it is you are trying to do, I can only guess.

[Allen_Edwards]

That makes sense i will attempt to do so and see what my results are thank you much.

And for the drop shadow comment I find i dont have enough control on where and how i want it.

[The Repro Kid]

I recently discovered the power of ilustrator and am wondering how to creating shadows. For those fimilar with photoshop you could use the burn tool to create shadows i was wondering if there was a similar tool in Illustrator?
Burn tool to make shadows? Man, you are old school. :D

[Allen_Edwards]

Burn tool to make shadows? Man, you are old school. :D


Ya but sometimes you have to bring in the old skool, plus i dont know another way of doing it...:D

[The Repro Kid]

The burn tool can be really cool for shading, and it can make shadows as well. In PS most people these days create a separate layer and paint on shading and shadows with the regular brush using a color or a shade of black, and then set the layer to Multiply and adjust the slider value. Photoshop also has a dedicated Drop Shadow Effect. Illustrator now has the same Drop shadow effect. But it also has multi[ply so you can make a cube out of one color and them place colors or shades of gray over areas of the cube and multiply at different values to shade the sides of the Cube.

I could go on, but maybe this is enough starting info for you to experiment.

[Allen_Edwards]

I find it to be far more time consuming then just a burn turn but it does give me a more realistic look that i was going for so thank you for that advise

[The Repro Kid]

I forgot, you can also make nice shadow shapes with the Blend Tool.