#Create drop shadow in after effects update#

Then, convert your artwork to a Symbol (if you use this artwork in multiple places, this is a good idea anyway). Here's a solution - create your artwork and add the Drop Shadow effect.

A workaround I've seen from folks is to use the Expand Appearance command (from the Object menu), but that means the effect is no longer 'live' and hence, the art can't be easily updated. The result is a drop shadow that may be set to offset down and to the right, but when the art is flipped, the drop shadow is still applied with an offset down and to the right (as seen below).įor those people who regularly do imposition, or those in packaging, this presents a huge problem, and often, these problems aren't detected until it's too late. If you flip your artwork upside down, Illustrator (and InDesign) rotates the art and then reapplies the drop shadow to the art. The shadow isn't 'baked in' to the art, and so if the art changes, the drop shadow simply updates itself to match any edits applied to the object. A drop shadow is an effect, and is therefore applied to the overall object. Let's take a closer look at what is happening here.

#Create drop shadow in after effects update#

Drop Shadows are applied as live effects, meaning that if you update your artwork or move it, the drop shadow updates and moves as well.īut have you ever applied a drop shadow to an object, and then ROTATED that object so that it's upside down? Have you then taken a closer look at the drop shadow and realized that the drop shadow DIDN'T rotate? Even worse, did you ever see that problem AFTER your job was printed? What I describe happens not only in Illustrator, but in InDesign as well. Illustrator (and just about all Adobe apps for that matter) has the ability to apply the most over-used design effect of all time - Drop Shadows (look out Drop Shadows, reflections aren't far behind).