Using Shadowlab

::The Shadowlab feature of Eye Candy 4000::

This is a short little tutorial showing you how to use the Shadowlab feature of Eye Candy 4000.
I wrote this tutorial in November 2003, hence the Christmas ornament, lol !! The link to the tutorial for the
ornament is at the bottom of this page. Ü

:: terms of use ::

:: You will need ::
PSP7 or 8

Eye Candy 4000 demo :: 6th one down on the page ::
In the Eye Candy 4000 demo, 3 of the 23 filters are fully functional: Glass, Marble and Shadowlab.
You will be able to preview, apply and save effects on your work using these three filters. The other
20 filters allow you to preview, but not apply or save, their effects. (the shadowlab feature, which is what
we will be using, is fully functional in the demo and does not time out.)

** Since I wrote this tutorial Eye Candy 4000 has been replaced by Eye Candy 5 Impact. You can download
a trial version here .... http://www.alienskin.com/ec5i/index.aspx. I hope to have time to write up a new tutorial
for that version soon. **

a tube of your choosing

I used a white background so it would be easy to see the shadow and make adjustments to your liking.
This tutorial is done with two layers. The first layer is a white background and the second is a tube.
Use any tube you like, the tutorial is just to show you how to use the Shadowlab feature.

Open a new image big enough to make room for the shadow and flood fill it with white.
Copy and paste your tube as a new layer or if you are using your Tool Tube, add a new layer first.

::The Shadowlab feature of Eye Candy 4000:: This is a short little tutorial showing you how to use the Shadowlab feature of Eye Candy 4000. I wrote this tutorial in November 2003, hence the Christmas ornament, lol !! The link to the tutorial for the ornament is at the bottom of this page. Ü :: terms of use :: :: You will need :: PSP7 or 8 Eye Candy 4000 demo :: 6th one down on the page :: In the Eye Candy 4000 demo, 3 of the 23 filters are fully functional: Glass, Marble and Shadowlab. You will be able to preview, apply and save effects on your work using these three filters. The other 20 filters allow you to preview, but not apply or save, their effects. (the shadowlab feature, which is what we will be using, is fully functional in the demo and does not time out.) Since I wrote this tutorial Eye Candy 4000 has been replaced by Eye Candy 5 Impact. You can download a trial version here .... http://www.alienskin.com/ec5i/index.aspx. I hope to have time to write up a new tutorial for that version soon. a tube of your choosing I used a white background so it would be easy to see the shadow and make adjustments to your liking. This tutorial is done with two layers. The first layer is a white background and the second is a tube. Use any tube you like, the tutorial is just to show you how to use the Shadowlab feature. Open a new image big enough to make room for the shadow and flood fill it with white. Copy and paste your tube as a new layer or if you are using your Tool Tube, add a new layer first.
1. First make sure you are on the second layer with the tube. then go to Effects/ Eye Candy 4000/ Shadowlab. You should set your controls to zero except the "Overall Opacity". Set that at 100% for now so you can see where your shadow is, we will lower the opacity after we move it into place.. (don't worry about the "Center Offset Direction".) 2. Click on the little gray arrow near the top middle right to bring up the bounding box, see the screen shot. Arrange the bounding box around the image. To do this, left click and hold in the center of the box and move it into place. You can also use it like a deformation box by grabbing the little boxes you see on the lines and move them so they surround your tube.
3. Grab the little box in the middle at the top of the bounding box. Pull it over and down to place the shadow where you like it. See next screen shot for that example.
4. Now you can see your shadow! Feel free to move it around until you get it where you like it.
5. Lower your opacity to where you like it and is suitable for your background color, lower opacity for lighter backgrounds and higher for darker ones. You can now adjust the blur if you like by moving the sliders for "Overall Blur" and "Perspective Blur". Select a color for your shadow by clicking the left "Color" box to pull up the color picker for you. The two smaller boxes, by default will show the colors that you have currently selected in PSP. Clicking one of those 2 boxes will select the main shadow color. Clicking the eyedropper allows you to pick from any color inside the preview window with a simple click. Then click OK to apply the effect. If the shadow needs more adjustment, just "undo" and go back into Shadowlab to make further adjustments. Sometime it takes some playing to get it just right! Ü
Here is the finished shadow. Ü
To make a shadow in front of your tube, go into Shadowlab and follow the steps up to step 2. Pull your top middle box straight down through your tube and below it. Adjust the opacity and blur.
And here is the finished effect! I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial. I think the shadows you can create with this filter are the best!!
The glass ornament used in this tutorial is from a wonderful tutorial by ::Wintermoons Kreative Expressionz::. You can find it here..... http://www.kreative-expressionz.com/glassornamentut.html
~ back to tutorial index ~ copyright © 2003 Ginny Hopping