EDUCBA

EDUCBA

MENUMENU
  • Free Tutorials
  • Free Courses
  • Certification Courses
  • 280+ Courses All in One Bundle
  • Login

Drop Shadow in After Effects

By Preeti PrajapatiPreeti Prajapati

Home » Design » Design Tutorials » After Effects Tutorial » Drop Shadow in After Effects

Drop Shadow in After Effects

Introduction to Drop Shadow in After Effects

Drop Shadow is the basic part of Adobe After Effects software. You can use the drop shadow of any object during different types of animation, such as in Logo animation, Text animation, etc., for giving it a realistic look and connects it to the real world. Adobe After Effects software has developed and maintained by Adobe Systems. It was originally developed in January 1993 by David Herbstman, David Simons, Daniel Wilk, David M. Cotter, and Russell Belfe at the company of Science and Art; after that, it was hired by the Adobe in 1994. Adobe After Effect software is used for Visual effects, Motion Graphics, Compositing, and different types of Animation in our project.

Adding Drop Shadow to our Object

Drop shadow gives a realistic view of our object. Here you will learn the steps to add drop shadow in any project with me step by step. Let’s start our tutorial in a very interesting way.

Start Your Free Design Course

3D animation, modelling, simulation, game development & others

Step 1: First of all, we set composition settings in this step. For this setting, the dialog box of the composition setting will open when you click on a new composition option on the start screen of the software.

composition setting (drop shadow)

Step 2: Or click on the tab at the left section of the work area, i.e. Create a New Composition tab to create.

tab to create (Drop Shadow in After Effects)

Step 3: A dialog box of composition settings will be open. We will not change the width and height of the background layer; from here, you can change it according to you. We will change the color of this layer; click on the background color tab of this dialog box. I will choose a gray color from here because it suits my logo design. You can choose as you like; click on the OK tab button of this dialog box.

Dailog box (Drop Shadow in After Effects)

Step 4: You can change the color of the background at any time. For changing the color of the background, select the composition layer. Go to Composition Settings at the composition option of adobe after effect.

Popular Course in this category
Sale
After Effects Training (1 Courses, 3+ Projects)1 Online Courses | 3 Hands-on Projects | 20+ Hours | Verifiable Certificate of Completion | Lifetime Access
4.5 (4,292 ratings)
Course Price

View Course

Related Courses
Adobe Premiere Pro Tutorial (3 Courses, 7+ Projects)All in One Design Bundle (280+ Courses, 100+ projects)

compostion setting (Drop Shadow in After Effects)

Step 5: Or press Ctrl + K on the keyboard. A dialog box will be open.

composition setting in box

Step 6: Click on the background color tab and choose the color according to you. I will choose a light gray color here so that we can see a drop shadow effect clearly. Click Ok from the ok tab.

choose color drop

We can see the drop shadow effect on Logo, Text or any object.  Here I will show you the shadow effect by using text, and after that, you can easily give drop shadow to any object by following the same steps.

Step 7: Click on the Text tab tool, which is in the toolbar section.

toolbar section

Step 8: Click on the work area and type any text. I type ‘Shadow’ as my text.

text on working area

Step 9: Click on align tab at the right side of the work area and align the text at the center of the composition by using align options or press Ctrl + Alt + Home and then Ctrl + Home from the keyboard to center the text.

align tab

Step 10: Now for the Drop shadow. Select the text layer and go to the Effect option, which is at the top of the work area of adobe; after effect, a drop-down list will open, go to Perspective, again, a drop-down list will open. Click on the drop shadow option.

effects option (drop shadow)

Step 11: Or you can also give drop shadow from Effect & Preset option, which is present in the right section. Click on Effect & Presets option, type drop shadow in the search box and click on the drop shadow.

effects and preset drop shadow

Step 12: Here, you can see a drop-down shadow is activated with your text, and the parameter of this drop shadow is opened at the left section of the work area.

shadow activated

Step 13: Here, you can change the distance of the shadow from the original text by changing the data of the distance parameter of the drop shadow.

change distance

Step 14: By changing the direction of the shadow, you can change the angle of the shadow.

direction change

Step 15: Opacity means you can darken or lighten the shadow by changing its parameter.

use opacity

Step 16: Soften option is used for making our shadow blur or smooth according to our use.

soften option

Step 17: You can change the color of the shadow; for changing its color, double click on the Shadow color parameter box. A dialog box of the color panel will be open.

shadow color box

Step 18: Choose your desired color from here. We generally use black as a shadow color.

shadow color

Step 19: If you want the only shadow of the text for any purpose, tick mark On the checkbox of the Shadow only option.

shadow only option

Step 20: You can animate the drop shadow of the text; for animating it, click on the text layer and then click on the small arrow button and again click on the small arrow button of the effect layer click on the small arrow of the drop shadow layer.

animate drop shadow

Step 21: Here, you can see all parameters of the drop shadow.

properties of drop shadow

Step 22: I will show you an animation of the drop shadow by animating one of the properties of the drop shadow. Here I will choose Distance property; click on the lock icon of this property to generate the key.

animate drop shadow text

Step 23: Now, I will increase the distance of the shadow from the text by changing the data of direction.

change data direction

Step 24: Now I will set the keyframe play head at 2 sec, you can set according to you.

set keyframe

Step 25: Now, I will take the shadow back to its original position.

back the same position

Step 26: You can see the animation by playing it; press the spacebar key on the keyboard to play the animation.

play the animation

You can animate more property of the drop shadow according to you. You can also give a drop shadow to any logo or object as well. In this way, you can add a drop shadow to your text and make an effective animation with a drop shadow.

Conclusion

In this way, you can easily animate your model for any purpose with a drop shadow. After having command on drop shadow, you will become more and more able to give your project an effective and interesting view for the viewer. With Drop shadow in your project, you can give a real shadow effect to your object.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Drop Shadow in After Effects. Here we discuss step by step detail in Drop Shadow in After Effects. You can also go through our other related articles to learn more –

  1. 3D Text in After Effects
  2. Transparent Background in After Effects
  3. After Effects Tools
  4. Text in After Effects

After Effects Training (1 Courses, 3+ Projects)

1 Online Courses

3 Hands-on Projects

20+ Hours

Verifiable Certificate of Completion

Lifetime Access

Learn More

1 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Primary Sidebar
After Effects Tutorial
  • Effects
    • Crop in After Effects
    • Color Grading in After Effects
    • Text Effects in After Effects
    • After Effects Templates
    • After Effects Bounce Expression
    • After Effect Font
    • After Effects Duplicate Composition
    • After Effects Expressions List
    • After Effects Green Screen
    • After Effects Loop Composition
    • Drop Shadow in After Effects
    • Background in After Effects
    • Blur in After Effects
    • After Effects Freeze Frame
    • After Effects Move Anchor Point
    • After effects?Quicktime
    • Text in After Effects
    • Motion Blur in After Effects
    • Mask in After Effects
    • Color Correction in After Effects
    • Blending Modes in After Effects
    • Track Matte in After Effects
    • Transparent Background in After Effects
    • Slow Motion in After Effects
    • Animation in After Effects
    • Text Animation in After Effects
    • Logo Animation in After Effects
    • 2D After Effects Animation
    • 3D Effects in After Effects
    • 3D Text in After Effects
    • After Effects 3D Objects
    • Shape Layers in After Effects
    • Export in After Effects
    • Morphing in After Effects
    • Twitch in After Effects
    • Snowfall in After Effects
    • Rain in After Effects
    • Masking Layers in After Effects
    • Group Layers in After Effects
    • Glitch Effect in After Effects
    • Ripple Effect in After Effects
    • Composition in After Effects
    • After Effects Transitions
    • Typography in After Effects
    • Slider Control After Effects
    • Motion Graphics in After Effects
    • Wiggle in After Effects
    • After Effects Portable
    • Wiggle Expression in After Effects
    • Keylight in After Effects
    • Rotoscoping in After Effects
    • After Effects Render
    • After Effects Expressions
    • After Effects Presets
    • Duik After Effects
    • After Effects Split Clip
    • Trapcode in After Effects
    • Plexus After Effects
    • Logo Reveal After Effects
    • Mocha in After Effects
    • Twixtor in After Effects
    • Lens Flare in After Effects
    • After Effects Particles
    • After Effects Timeline
    • After Effects Tracking
    • Camera Tracking in After Effects
    • After Effects Repeater
    • After Effects Cartoon
    • After Effects Loop Expression
    • After Effects?Optical Flares
    • Glow in After Effects
    • After Effects GIF
    • After Effects Motion Tracking
    • After Effect Kinetic Typography
    • Cut Clips in After Effects
    • Lower third after effect
  • Basic
    • What is After Effects
    • After Effects Versions
    • After Effects Software
    • After Effects Shortcuts
    • Adobe After Effects Plugins
    • How to Use After Effects
  • After Effects Tools
    • After Effects Tools
    • After Effect Hologram
    • Pen Tool in After Effects
    • Puppet Tool in After Effects
    • KeyFrames in After Effects
    • Adding Keyframes in After Effects

Related Courses

After Effects Training Course

Adobe Premiere Pro Training Course

Design Training Course

Footer
About Us
  • Blog
  • Who is EDUCBA?
  • Sign Up
  • Live Classes
  • Corporate Training
  • Certificate from Top Institutions
  • Contact Us
  • Verifiable Certificate
  • Reviews
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  •  
Apps
  • iPhone & iPad
  • Android
Resources
  • Free Courses
  • Photoshop Tutorial
  • 3ds Max Tutorial
  • All Tutorials
Certification Courses
  • All Courses
  • Design Course - All in One Bundle
  • Photoshop Course
  • Maya Course
  • Unreal Engine Course
  • Unity Course
  • DaVinci Resolve Course
  • Pro Tools Course

© 2022 - EDUCBA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE CERTIFICATION NAMES ARE THE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

EDUCBA
Free Design Course

3D animation, modelling, simulation, game development & others

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

EDUCBA
Free Design Course

3D animation, modelling, simulation, game development & others

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Let’s Get Started

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Loading . . .
Quiz
Question:

Answer:

Quiz Result
Total QuestionsCorrect AnswersWrong AnswersPercentage

Explore 1000+ varieties of Mock tests View more

EDUCBA Login

Forgot Password?

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Special Offer - After Effects Training (1 Courses, 3+ Projects) Learn More