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Watch that light source
Remember that all shadows have a direction that is dictated
by the light source casting the shadow. For example, if
the light is above to the left, the shadow will fall below
and to the right. If you're adding a shadow to an object,
look for where the highlight is falling on the object and
position the shadow opposite it.
This gets tricky when you want to place a shadow elsewhere
for design reasons. At that point you need to weigh the
decision based on how badly you need the shadow position,
versus how much you think people will notice that descrepancy.
As long as it is not a glaring contradiction, you are probably
safe. You may also decide to alter the object, removing
an obvious highlight that might give you away.
Another more common factor to be aware of is making your
shadows fall in the same direction when used on the same
page. If you place multiple items on one page they must
share the same light source, and have shadows that fall
in the same direction. Make sure you consider the bigger
picture of the entire page design,and make your drop shadows
consistent.
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