Shadow Question

[SellersSign&Design]

Ok, let me see if I can explain this. I am trying to add a block shadow to some lettering that is going on a fire truck. In flexi, if I make all the text and then go to the shadow option, this is what I come up with:


Ignore the white highlight, I got rid of that. But if you look at the shadow on the "HARRISBURG", it applied the shadow from a perfectly horizontal perspective. This is technically correct, but all of the old fire trucks I have seen have the shadow simply dropped down the same amount on the left and bottom of each letter. The way I have it above seems to make it look "off". Is there any way to make flexi do the shadow like this?

 

[Gino]

Your light source is outta whack compared to the bottom two. Yours looks like about 12'clock while the other two look about 2:30 with the source being much further front.

Also, yours actually looks almost like two separate light sources for the two lines.
​

 

[idsignsil]

I am not familiar with Flexi at all, I have never used it, so this may be a waste. There are different types of shadow effects, Drop (like what Flexi is doing in your first pic), Shade (like the other two pics) and Perspective (kind of like shade, but with a bit of warp). Anyway, in Omega Composer, you can choose the type of shadow that you want to apply. Maybe Flexi has different shadow options???? Maybe someone familiar with Flexi can weigh in???

 

[fresh]

In Corel we just copy the text and make it black, then move it down and over a bit. Sometimes we also add a little black outline to the original lettering, too.

 

[Pat Whatley]

The only way I've ever found around that in Flexi is to create the lettering in a straight line, add the drop shadow, convert to outlines, then apply the arc through the distort tool. It's incorrect as far as where the real shadow would fall but optically it looks better.

 

[Mike Paul]

Click on the shadow and you can drag it around to any position you want...

 

[SellersSign&Design]

I went with the apply shadow and then distort option as reccomended. It isn't the perfect solution, because when you use the arc function under the distort menu it deforms the first and last letters slightly, as in the bottom of my H is now narrower than the top just slightly. But it still looks much better than having the shadow all screwed up. Thanks for the help!

 

[DizzyMarkus]

Look in design central -- there is a drop down in which you can choose from 3 or 4 styles of shadow :0) -- Below that are the light angles (up, down, left , right) Mess with Design Central -- its holds all the keys while working :0)

Markus

 

[John Butto]

Do not use flexi so I can not help you with that. But, that look you are trying to make is not going to work just by dragging down the top layer as A. shows. That style you are looking for as seen in the photos is the way signpainters did the drop. To get that look with a computer you need to 3d the letters as B.

 

[thewood]

Look in design central -- there is a drop down in which you can choose from 3 or 4 styles of shadow :0) -- Below that are the light angles (up, down, left , right) Mess with Design Central -- its holds all the keys while working :0)

Markus

Yes, select Shadow then Perspective in the Design Central dialog. From there you can select the amount of drop on both axes, etc.