Glow or shadow ?

[porkenbeans]

Click image to enlarge.

Also, if you want to make it stand out even more, put an inside glow on the edge of the light colored item, and an inside shadow on the edge of the dark colored item.

[natty dread]

Um, ok I guess?

So just out of curiosity, what's the difference between drop shadow and outer glow, if they are the same colour? I don't know about these photoshop things.

In paint.net I mostly use drop shadow or object outline, which both let you choose any colour for the shadow/outline. There's usually little difference in them, but in some situations one is better than the other.

[porkenbeans]

Um, ok I guess?

So just out of curiosity, what's the difference between drop shadow and outer glow, if they are the same colour? I don't know about these photoshop things.

In paint.net I mostly use drop shadow or object outline, which both let you choose any colour for the shadow/outline. There's usually little difference in them, but in some situations one is better than the other.

A drop shadow and outer glow are similar, but not entirely the same. Their transfer modes are pre-set to their own specs. So, each one is quickly adaptable to its purpose. Drop shadow is suited for black or dark colors, while outer glow is suited for white or light colors. Drop shadow also has the added capability of choosing distance, and direction.

The above also applies to inner glow, and inner shadow.

[RedFlyingGolf]

Thanks for the tip.

[MrBenn]

While you're right about the brightness/darkness of the shadow or glow that you use, you can actually use any colour as a glow or shadow. The real difference between the two is directional...

A glow will extend equally from the edge of your layer (or inside if you're using an inner glow).

A shadow will follow a direction depending on your 'lightsource', and can drop outside your layer, or inside it.

Here are some examples of outer/inner glow/shadow:

[porkenbeans]

While you're right about the brightness/darkness of the shadow or glow that you use, you can actually use any colour as a glow or shadow. The real difference between the two is directional...

A glow will extend equally from the edge of your layer (or inside if you're using an inner glow).

A shadow will follow a direction depending on your 'lightsource', and can drop outside your layer, or inside it.

Here are some examples of outer/inner glow/shadow:

Another difference is that You can do an inner glow on the center, instead of the edge.

[ender516]

Nice to see some examples and definitions of these terms that are so commonly used around here. I would like to note that pork is right, the ones marked correct do stand out, as they appear to float above their background. The ones below almost look like tunnels receding into the page, with darkness or light at the far end.

[porkenbeans]

Nice to see some examples and definitions of these terms that are so commonly used around here. I would like to note that pork is right, the ones marked correct do stand out, as they appear to float above their background. The ones below almost look like tunnels receding into the page, with darkness or light at the far end.

Thank you ender, The reason that I made this small tut. is because I see people using outer glow in an effort to make something stand out. This is not always the right choice, as it is more a case of increasing the contrast between the object and the background, that "makes something stand out". So if the object is a lighter shade than the background, then you should use a drop shadow. An outer glow is the way to go if the object is darker than the background. You want to create a sharp edge of contrast.

Also this contrast can be created by not only shadow or glow, but also with texture/pattern, size, color, shape etc. This is the opposite of camouflage. anything that is different from the background will help in this effort.

[MrBenn]

The reason that I made this small tut. is because I see people using outer glow in an effort to make something stand out. This is not always the right choice, as it is more a case of increasing the contrast between the object and the background, that "makes something stand out". So if the object is a lighter shade than the background, then you should use a drop shadow. An outer glow is the way to go if the object is darker than the background. You want to create a sharp edge of contrast.

You need to avoid confusing the use of the words glow and shadow; they're a bit like different models of cars. You can have either one in a light or dark colour, and while they may have some similarities they handle differently. This is why I posted the examples of how glow/shadow are different... look at the shape of them

It doesn;t matter which effect you end up using; what is important is the colour you choose!

[porkenbeans]

The reason that I made this small tut. is because I see people using outer glow in an effort to make something stand out. This is not always the right choice, as it is more a case of increasing the contrast between the object and the background, that "makes something stand out". So if the object is a lighter shade than the background, then you should use a drop shadow. An outer glow is the way to go if the object is darker than the background. You want to create a sharp edge of contrast.

You need to avoid confusing the use of the words glow and shadow; they're a bit like different models of cars. You can have either one in a light or dark colour, and while they may have some similarities they handle differently. This is why I posted the examples of how glow/shadow are different... look at the shape of them

It doesn;t matter which effect you end up using; what is important is the colour you choose!

Yes, I understand all of that. My point was, how to choose between a light, or dark shade. Where I come from, a shadow denotes a dark shade, while a glow denotes a light shade. Weather you choose to use a dark glow or a light shadow is up to you, but the crux of my advice is correct. Is it not ?

[natty dread]

We should really come up with some generic term for all these effects, since people use different software and the effects are named differently...

[the.killing.44]

The reason that I made this small tut. is because I see people using outer glow in an effort to make something stand out. This is not always the right choice, as it is more a case of increasing the contrast between the object and the background, that "makes something stand out". So if the object is a lighter shade than the background, then you should use a drop shadow. An outer glow is the way to go if the object is darker than the background. You want to create a sharp edge of contrast.

You need to avoid confusing the use of the words glow and shadow; they're a bit like different models of cars. You can have either one in a light or dark colour, and while they may have some similarities they handle differently. This is why I posted the examples of how glow/shadow are different... look at the shape of them

It doesn;t matter which effect you end up using; what is important is the colour you choose!

Yes, I understand all of that. My point was, how to choose between a light, or dark shade. Where I come from, a shadow denotes a dark shade, while a glow denotes a light shade. Weather you choose to use a dark glow or a light shadow is up to you, but the crux of my advice is correct. Is it not ?

Well, you're advising people to use only glow for light and shadow for dark, so no, not really.

[MrBenn]

We should really come up with some generic term for all these effects, since people use different software and the effects are named differently...

Personally, I believe that Photoshop terms should be the de facto standard

It doesn;t matter which effect you end up using; what is important is the colour you choose!

Yes, I understand all of that. My point was, how to choose between a light, or dark shade. Where I come from, a shadow denotes a dark shade, while a glow denotes a light shade. Weather you choose to use a dark glow or a light shadow is up to you, but the crux of my advice is correct. Is it not ?[/quote]
The technical term for the effect that extends from the outer edge of your layer is called "glow". If it extends outwards, it's called "outer glow". If it extends inwards, it's called "inner glow".

The shade of the "glow" that you use should be referred to in terms of the colour, brightness, saturation, opacity, etc. By using the terms "glow" and "shadow" instead of "light" and "dark", you have left yourself open to misinterpretation.

[natty dread]

Personally, I believe that Photoshop terms should be the de facto standard

What is this "Photoshop" you speak of? Do they sell cameras or something?

[porkenbeans]

We should really come up with some generic term for all these effects, since people use different software and the effects are named differently...

Personally, I believe that Photoshop terms should be the de facto standard

It doesn;t matter which effect you end up using; what is important is the colour you choose!

Yes, I understand all of that. My point was, how to choose between a light, or dark shade. Where I come from, a shadow denotes a dark shade, while a glow denotes a light shade. Weather you choose to use a dark glow or a light shadow is up to you, but the crux of my advice is correct. Is it not ?

The technical term for the effect that extends from the outer edge of your layer is called "glow". If it extends outwards, it's called "outer glow". If it extends inwards, it's called "inner glow".

The shade of the "glow" that you use should be referred to in terms of the colour, brightness, saturation, opacity, etc. By using the terms "glow" and "shadow" instead of "light" and "dark", you have left yourself open to misinterpretation.[/quote]I use the old 7.0 so maybe that is the reason for this difference in terms. I do not understand exactly what you are saying. Are you saying that a drop shadow should be called a glow ?

In the 7.0 software, there are "inner glow", "outer glow", "drop shadow" and inner shadow settings. The glow settings are default set, to a very light, pale yellow. while the shadow settings are preset to black. you can change these colors to anything that you want, but are preset for a reason. That is to give you a quick way to make the effect.

Sense the glow settings are preset to light yellow, and the shadow settings are set to black, this tells me that the photoshop terminology denotes shadow as dark, and glow as light. I can get behind that, and it makes perfect sense to me.

edit- I think that you messed up a tag or something Mr B.