How to Add Shadow in Illustrator

You can easily add the Shadow effect to text, and any other object in Adobe Illustrator. As a designer, I often add drop shadow to the objects. The process of adding shadow is very easy, you just need to do a few simple steps.

Learn to add Shadow in Illustrator – Video Tutorial

You can also watch below video tutorial to learn how to add shadow in Adobe Illustrator.

Drop shadow is added to the text or any object to make it more visible. Especially when you have any image as a background and then you want to add the text on top of it. So adding the shadow can make it more clear and easy to read.

You can also learn:

• How to Remove a Drop Shadow in Adobe Illustrator

If you are new or don’t have any idea to add shadow in Adobe Illustrator, then you are in right place. In this tutorial, you will learn a very easy and quick way to add shadow to any object in Adobe Illustrator.

So let’s start.

How to Add Shadow in Illustrator 2022

To add shadow in Illustrator, select the object and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. From the Drop Shadow panel, adjust the shadow and click OK to apply the changes to the selected object.

Following are the detailed steps to add shadow to any object in Adobe Illustrator.

How to Add Drop Shadow in Illustrator 2022

Step 1: Select the object using the Selection Tool to which you want to add shadow.

Step 2: Go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow.

Step 3: As you click on the Drop Shadow option, the Drop Shadow panel will appear.

Mode

You can also keep up with the default shadow settings, but if you don’t like the shadow appearance, you can also change it. From the panel, you can adjust the settings for the shadow of the selected object. You can change the Mode from the list. There are different modes available.

Opacity

After selecting the desired mode, you can change the Opacity of the shadow. Because, some times you might want a lighter shadow with low opacity, so you can easily decrease it or increase it according to choice.

X Offset

Then comes X offset after you set the Opacity of the shadow. The x offset helps to set the distance of the shadow horizontally. You can move the shadow from left to right, depending on the shadow you are creating for the selected object.

Y Offset

After that, you can set the Y offset for the object. Y offset is used to change the shadow position vertically. You can easily adjust the shadow vertically at any px.

Blur

You can also Blur the shadow from the Drop Shadow panel. The blur value helps to make the shadow sharp or blurry easily by increasing or decreasing the blur value.

Color

Then comes the most interesting part, you can also change the shadow color. You can select any color, from the color option available, depending on the image color mode you are using.

Darkness

If you don’t want to change the shadow color, then you can change the darkness of the shadow.

Note: Make sure to check the Preview, so that you can see the changes applied to the shadow.

Step 4: Click OK when you have set the shadow settings for the selected object.

Here is the object with the shadow.

Changing some settings can also make the shadow in different styles and colors. You can set any settings that you like and get the amazing shadow effect for the objects in Adobe Illustrator.

You have learned to Add shadow in Adobe Illustrator.

In this tutorial, you have learned an easy and quick way to add shadow in Adobe Illustrator, You can easily add shadow to any object in Illustrator, and using different settings can help you to get amazing shadows.

Have Any Questions?

If you have any questions related to adding shadow in Adobe Illustrator, you can ask in the comment section below. We have also answered some most frequently asked questions below.

Inner Shadow Illustrator

To add inner shadow to any object in Illustrator, select the object and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Set the settings and click OK. The inner shadow will be added to the object.

How to Add Shadow to Text in Illustrator

To add shadow to text in Illustrator, select the text and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Set the shadow settings and click OK. Drop Shadow will be added to the text.

How to Edit Drop Shadow in Illustrator

To edit drop shadow in Illustrator, select the object to edit its shadow and go to Properties > Appearance, and there you will find the Drop shadow that is added to the object, click it and the drop shadow settings panel will appear. Now you can edit and change the settings for the drop shadow for the object.

Best Drop Shadow Settings Illustrator

The Best Drop Shadow settings in Illustrator depend on the need and requirements of the design. But here we can suggest some best drop shadow settings for you.

These settings can give you the best drop shadow for any object like text or shapes or any type of object you are working on.

You can also learn: How to Make a Drop Shadow in Illustrator

All Done! Enjoy.