Shadowing Your Page

Since the day I started scrapbooking, drop shadows have interested me. I always incorporate drop shadows because I find them pleasing to the eye, but I have very little knowledge about the correct use of shadowing as it relates to light. Lately I’ve been reading more about drop shadowing and other types of shadowing. I’ve learned some great tips.

• A drop shadow indicates that the embellishment, paper, or other object is not flush with the background. You use it to help create depth on a page.
  
• A shadow indicates which direction the light is shining from and also helps indicate how near or far objects are from the light source.
  
• The distance of the embellishment from the background determines the width of the shadow. If an embellishment is close to the background it will have a narrow shadow. If the object is further from the page it will be wider.
  
  If an object is:
  
  
  
  • CLOSER TO THE BACKGROUND use a NARROWER SHADOW
  • FARTHER FROM THE BACKGROUND use a WIDER SHADOW
    
    
• Varying the lightness and darkness of the shadow helps indicate the nearness of the object viewer or person looking at the page. As an object gets further from the background and closer to the viewer the shadow lightens because more light can get behind the object so the lighter the shadow is. The further the object is from the viewer and the closer it is to the background, the darker the shadow will be. So, narrow, darker shadows suggest objects are close to the background. Wider, lighter shadows indicate that the object is closer to the viewer. Using varied shadows on one page creates the illusion of multiple layers.
  
  Remember:
  
  
  • OBJECTS CLOSER TO VIEWER use a lighter shadow
  • OBJECTS FURTHER FROM VIEWER use a darker shadow
  
  I can’t wait to implement all of these tips in my scrapbooking.  I will be sure to show off my pages as soon as I use these tips on my pages.  If you work on layering and using shadows to indicate the layers, I would love to see your “suite” layouts!
  
  Happy Scrapping!
  Sarah