Scrapbooking: It's all in the Details

Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS5 on a Mac

Creating a believable shadow can make all of the difference in a digital page. So here's a little tip.

On the example shown above I have wound the string around the dotted ribbon by holding down the control key (command on a Mac) while clicking inside the thumbnail of the string layer in the layers palette. This will create marching ants around the string.
Next click on the ribbon layer and erase just the area where the string covers the ribbon. Press control D (command) to release the marching ants.
To create a shadow, duplicate the string layer. Click on the thumbnail of the duplicated string layer and press control (command) to create marching ants. Go to Edit>Fill>Black. Now place the layer underneath the original string layer.
Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur (just enough to soften the edges, around 2-3 pixels) and change the opacity of the shadow layer to around 40-50%. Notice that the entire shadow will fall underneath the ribbon.
To make the shadow more realistic, draw your marquee tool around the shadow that is beneath the ribbon.
Cut and Paste and move the shadow layer above the ribbon. You will need to reset the Blur and the Opacity.
If you have the warp tool with your software program, this is an excellent spot to do some pushing and pulling to manipulate the shadow. Keep in mind that a little extra effort will give great results!