{"id":38518,"date":"2014-04-18T11:15:03","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T15:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=38518"},"modified":"2014-04-18T11:15:03","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T15:15:03","slug":"casting-a-shadow-on-a-moving-2d-element-in-after-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/casting-a-shadow-on-a-moving-2d-element-in-after-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Casting a Shadow on a Moving 2D Element in After Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"adding-a-shadow-to-a-2d-element-in-after-effects-helps-sell-a-3d-effect\" dir=\"ltr\">Adding a shadow to a 2D element in After Effects helps sell a 3D effect.<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39245\" title=\"Adobe After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/04\/adobe-after-effects-all-ver.jpg\" alt=\"Adobe After Effects\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Drop a shadow from a 2D element in After Effects and match it up with the existing shadows of a piece of footage. This trick can give your video a nice cohesiveness and add an <strong>easy 3D effect to a flat object<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/treeshadowcolored.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">This effect is best if you <strong>use bottom layer footage with well defined shadows<\/strong>, I\u2019ve chose this midday short shadow shot that I will drop a little looping cartoon on top of. <em>Click any of the images below for larger view.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial007.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38520 aligncenter\" title=\"After Effects Shadow 2D\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial007.jpg\" alt=\"After Effects Shadow 2D\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The general concept of this technique is that we are going to <strong>setup a virtual light<\/strong> to mimic the sun and a shape layer to accept the shadow, so you\u2019ll first want to add a shape layer, draw a white rectangle with the shape tool and then make sure the layer is in 3D<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial009.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38521 aligncenter\" title=\"After Effects Settings\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial009.jpg\" alt=\"After Effects Settings\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Then you\u2019ll want to add a new camera. I set my lens to 35mm because thats what I shot the lower layer at.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial011.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38522 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial011.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial012.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38523 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial012.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The goal is for this white rectangle to sit where the ground is and have the cartoon directly on top. I\u2019ve started by <strong>rotating my rectangle 90 degrees<\/strong> at the X-axis and then tweaking its placement so it looks like its sitting on top of the ground.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial013.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38524 aligncenter\" title=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial013.jpg\" alt=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial016.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38525 aligncenter\" title=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial016.jpg\" alt=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">I need to make sure my animation is directly on top of the rectangle and has 3D mode turned on as we fine tune it\u2019s placement. Flipping camera modes to top and side lets you place the element right against the rectangle at a 90 degree angle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial017.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38526 aligncenter\" title=\"AE Comp 3D Mode\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial017.jpg\" alt=\"AE Comp 3D Mode\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial018.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38527 aligncenter\" title=\"AE Shape Layer\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial018.jpg\" alt=\"AE Shape Layer\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial019.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38528 aligncenter\" title=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial019.jpg\" alt=\"Shape Layer Settings After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Once everything looks lined up, change the blending mode on the rectangle to multiply.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial020.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38529 aligncenter\" title=\"Blending Mode Multiple After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial020.jpg\" alt=\"Blending Mode Multiple After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Next you will add your light. Before you move it around, change a couple of settings on the shape and animation layer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial021.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38530 aligncenter\" title=\"After Effects Light\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial021.jpg\" alt=\"After Effects Light\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial022.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38531 aligncenter\" title=\"After Effects Light Settings\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial022.jpg\" alt=\"After Effects Light Settings\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">You want your shape layer to accept shadows but not lights and you want the animation layer to cast shadows and accept lights.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial023.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38532 aligncenter\" title=\"Light Settings After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial023.jpg\" alt=\"Light Settings After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial024.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38533 aligncenter\" title=\"Light Settings After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial024.jpg\" alt=\"Light Settings After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The next step is to move around the light in 3D space until your shadow starts to mimic the shadows from the video.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial025.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38534 aligncenter\" title=\"Light Shadows After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial025.jpg\" alt=\"Light Shadows After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Switching to different camera views is a good way to get a better feel of your light&#8217;s position and length of the shadow.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial026.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38535 aligncenter\" title=\"Camera Views After Effects\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial026.jpg\" alt=\"Camera Views After Effects\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Here I didn&#8217;t notice that my image was accepting lights until I moved the light in front of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial027.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38536 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial027.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial028.jpg\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38537 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Dropshadow-tutorial028.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"498\" height=\"280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Here\u2019s a gif of my final video, I added some color and motion tracking because the base footage wasn&#8217;t shot with a tripod.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-38538 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/pbblogassets\/uploads\/2014\/03\/treeshadowcolored.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adding a shadow to a 2D element in After Effects helps sell a 3D effect. In this quick tutorial we&#8217;ll show you how to pull it off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":39244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30],"tags":[2557,2556,5375,664,2547,1802],"class_list":["post-class-post-38518","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-after-effects","post-class-tag-2d-layers","post-class-tag-3d-layers","post-class-tag-after-effects","post-class-tag-lights","post-class-tag-shadows","post-class-tag-shape-layers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.5 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Casting a Shadow on a Moving 2D Element in After Effects - The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Adding a shadow to a 2D element in After Effects helps sell a 3D effect. 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