[REQ] Long shadows

[Juan]

Hi all,

Would it be possible to add an extra option in the Shadow Outside/Inside of the Layer Style a Long Shadow checkbox? (for example)
This is specially useful for logo creations and taking it further for architectural floor plans shadowing.
Right now there is only one option available for PS and it´s via script, not even built in ion the application and doing this kind of long shadows manually can become an impossible task if the drawing is complex.
Here is the actual script: http://lab.rayps.com/lsg/

Cheers,
Juan

[bkh]

If the effect is just as shown on the quoted web page, then you can use PL's 3d body effect to create such shadows. (Use "Parallel" and angles 350°, 10° and 0°, respectively, and set "Light" to 0%, "Intensity" controls the shadow length).

Cheers

Burkhard.

[Herbert123]

Hi all,

Would it be possible to add an extra option in the Shadow Outside/Inside of the Layer Style a Long Shadow checkbox? (for example)
This is specially useful for logo creations and taking it further for architectural floor plans shadowing.
Right now there is only one option available for PS and it´s via script, not even built in ion the application and doing this kind of long shadows manually can become an impossible task if the drawing is complex.
Here is the actual script: http://lab.rayps.com/lsg/

Cheers,
Juan

Another option is to use the "Morph marked vector layers". The reason why someone wrote that script for Photoshop is simply because, unlike Illustrator, Photoshop lacks a step and repeat and/or morph option.

Although PhotoLine also lacks a duplicate/array option (which I would love to have, btw - preferably some kind of clone adjustment layer), those long shadows can be done with vector objects, with some caveats.

long_shadows.png

The main caveat is that the morph vector layer function can generate up to 512 steps - which means that at higher resolutions you may see a stepping effect. This can be mitigated by morphing over additional copies for as many steps as you would need, though.

Second, you must convert the main vector object(s) to one single vector layer by merging them before morphing.

And text objects must be obviously be converted to vector layers for this to work.

Advantages are that the effect is live - so can be adjusted. And it is possible to morph to a lower level of opacity, different colours, and control the end position of the long shadow precisely.

Check out the attached example.

[Herbert123]

This also works for architectural long shadowing, but obviously you should trace the main outer groundplan lines and create one closed object to morph, rather than attempting to morph thousands of line elements hundreds of times - this will grind any application to a halt.

[photoken]

Wow! I really like Burkhard's use of the 3D Body tool for this!

After using the 3D Body tool to get close to the final effect, you'll need to use the Layer Tool in both Standard and Extended modes to position and size the object as well as slightly distorting the perspective to keep the original object true. You can see the adjustments in this screenshot of the editing window:

long shadow 01.png

The big advantage is that the original object type is not altered, so it can be modified after the fact -- such as changing the text content and colours, etc.:

long shadow 02.png

long shadow 03.png

Thanks, bkh!

[Herbert123]

The 3d body, however, deforms the text. In your examples the verticals are no longer straight, and the last thing I would want is that the technique affects the original graphic.

[photoken]

The 3d body, however, deforms the text. In your examples the verticals are no longer straight, and the last thing I would want is that the technique affects the original graphic.

Yes, you're absolutely right. That's why I emphasized that one needs to use the various options of the Layer Tool to correct and "true up" the original object.