Add a Cast Shadow?

To add a cast shadow, where an object on a layer (or text) seems to be casting a shadow like it’s being lit from a late-day sun, try this: After creating a Drop Shadow layer style (we looked at how to do this on page 126, in the Layers chapter), click OK in the Layer Style dialog, then go under the Layer menu, under Layer Style, and choose Create Layer. This removes the drop shadow from the current layer it’s on and puts it on its own separate layer, so you can edit it separately. In the Layers panel, click on that separate drop shadow layer, then press Command T (PC: Ctrl-T) to bring up Free Transform. Once the Free Transform bounding box is in place, press-and-hold the Command (PC: Ctrl) key and click-and-drag the top-center point to the right or left to where you want the shadow to cast. To move the cast shadow, just put your cursor inside that bounding box and drag it where you want it. When you’re done, press the Return (PC: Enter) key to lock in your transformation. To finish off the cast shadow above, I clicked on the Add a Layer Style icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (the second one from the left), chose Blending Options, and then lowered the Fill Opacity to around 30%.