Help with Shadows

I am trying to create shadows, but not drop shadows. We frequently render up 2D floor plans and site plans in Photo shop. What I would like to do is create shadows for an object (or layer preferably) that would cast a shadow like it does in real life. take for instance a fence post as viewing it from directly above. if you use a drop shadow, it will look like a circle that is floating above the ground. In real life, the shadow would start at the base of the post and stretch to the end of the shadow. Are there any simple ways to do this? I guess to simplify what I am asking, is there a way to add a shadow that starts at the original object position, but fills in to the final shadow location? Sorry if this is confusing. I have looked everywhere for information on this, but it seems i am the only one in the world trying to make 2D plans look 3D.

Thanks in advance for any help

Andy

what you need is a perspective shadow. There are 3rd party plugins that do this sort of thing - the Shadowcaster plug-in may help.

There are manual ways to do this, but since it sounds like you're looking for a turn-key solution, I'd suggest the "Shadowlab" plugin in EyeCandy 4000.

<http://www.alienskin.com/ec4k/ec4000_filters.html>

Drop the little menu on that page and have a look. If I'm not mistaken, the demo version's "Shadowlab" component is unlocked and will render in your document without throwing up a "Please Register EyeCandy 4000" alert.

[PhosEDIT: Shadowcaster is for QuarkXPress, not Photoshop, Jason. And Andy...how wise of you to delete your question from The Lounge and post it here. I went to post my answer and found you had already deleted your original post]

sorry about that phosphor...

figured out it was in the wrong spot :o)

Thanks for your replies, however neither of these is still what i'm looking for..

perspective shadows make the object look like it is standing up and casting a shadow on a horizontal plane.. I need a shadow cast on a horizontal plane, but looking at it from directly above. picture it this way: you have a 10 pixel by 10 pixel square. on a new layer behind the square, you draw a shadow (using a 10 pixel by 10 pixel square brush) from the original location of the square to 5 pixels away at 45 degrees.... (this would be so much easier if i could post an image to show what i'm talking about)

thanks again for your help

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this sounds like a 3D problem. For example, if you're looking at a standing person, from above, you won't see much except their head and shoulders. However, the shadow they cast may include stuff like the position of their arms and hands, whether their feet are turned in or out, information that won't be available from the "top looking down" perspective.

Andy...

You certainly CAN post a link to an image on a server somewhere that shows what you're after. Whether you choose to mock up what you're trying to do with some descriptions in Photoshop, or point to somebody else's work, often an image is a much better way to explain things.

This is true, and those will have to be manually done.. however for simple columns, posts, and buildings it would be a very big help to find something that works.

I was thinking of the one from Andromeda - called "Shadow Filter" appropriately enough.

<http://www.andromeda.com/>

this may help...

< http://www.c3.hu/perspektiva/adatbazis/abrah.php3?MUID=117&a mp;LN=4>

to kind of get an understanding of what i'm talking about (look at the top left image)

So you're looking for more of a 'sketch' type shadow as opposed to a more realistic approach?

It would be fairly easy, as long as the shapes are basic, to do the shadows in a 3D program, and transfer them into Photoshop for compositing.

Plus that sort of simple stuff wouldn't require a monster 3D app, nor the latest and greatest in hardware, nor an arduous, extended learning curve.

I really think a 3D application is what you need to be exploring, Andy.