Shadow on two apples

[Shr]

Hi, is it possible to create an automatic shadow that hits two objects (e.g. two shapes)?

If you know any way to cast some automatic shadow, i.e. only one shadow shape, onto multiple things, that would be sufficient for me.

 

 

The way I tried did not work.

What works (shadow hits one object):

I made a shape that is one object, e.g. an apple. Then I was able to use the layers feature like ClipView and PoweClip in Xara and Corel.
So, I created a semi-transparent black shape which is the shadow. I dragged that layer to some position of the apple layer in the layers list. And that makes a clip and it works.

What did not work:

So, then I added another apple. And to make one shadow hit both things, I grouped the apples, because "automatic". Duplicating the shadow would be a problem later, when I want to change things a bit.

Then there is the new layer that stands for the group. And I dragged and dropped the shadow-layer onto that group-layer, expecting to get a shadow on two apples, because it had worked with one apple. But then the shadow also is painted on the transparent area of the group (of apples).

I hope my text can be followed, sorry.

[Callum]

Hi @Shr ,

Welcome to the forums

If possible could you provide a copy or screenshot of your file so I can see what you are working with? Could you also please tell me which of the apps you are working with?

Thanks

Callum

[Shr]

Hi, yes, I have made an example.

In Xara I would be able to keep the shadow being one ellipse. I don't need to split it or duplicate it or anything, which means, when the object that casts the shadow changes its shape or size, that will be just one little change. So, I would use a ClipView (Q) in Xara. Or maybe  PowerClip in Corel, but I haven't tried that.

Because of this I tried to do it in this manner in Affinity Designer. But I don't know how.

affinity_one_shadow_shape_on_two_things.afdesign xara_one_shadow_shape_on_two_things.xar

[Shr]

In Affinity, I need my brain to come up with a solution that makes the shadow shape not be cast on the background white (or the transparent area of a group, which is where Xara ClipView differs a bit from Affinity).

That can be seen in the picture above.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Shr

[firstdefence]

You could boolean add the ellipses together to create a single curves layer then nest the shadow ellipse in that curves layer.

Another option if you want to keep the ellipses separate is to make a symbol out of the shadow ellipse duplicate the shadow symbol and nest a symbol in each apple ellipse, if you then edit or move the shadow ellipse within the symbol it will edit in both and if moved will move in sync.

[Shr]

3 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

You could boolean add the ellipses together [...]

Won't that be a problem? I wanted to cast a shadow on a few objects that are groups themselves, because of complexity. The boolean would just be the right thing to do, or isn't that more like for shapes somehow?

(I currently don't have that affinity file for the tree picture, because I reformatted my drive and reinstalled.)

[Shr]

18 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

Another option if you want to keep the ellipses separate is to make a symbol out of the shadow ellipse duplicate the shadow symbol and nest a symbol in each apple ellipse, if you then edit or move the shadow ellipse within the symbol it will edit in both and if moved will move in sync.

Oh, that is a bit like 'Create Live Copy' in Xara? I think I get it, looks a bit complex in the layers, but I'll try. Thanks!

[lepr]

9 hours ago, Shr said:

What did not work:

So, then I added another apple. And to make one shadow hit both things, I grouped the apples, because "automatic". Duplicating the shadow would be a problem later, when I want to change things a bit.

Then there is the new layer that stands for the group. And I dragged and dropped the shadow-layer onto that group-layer, expecting to get a shadow on two apples, because it had worked with one apple. But then the shadow also is painted on the transparent area of the group (of apples).

Hi Shr. Affinity apps currently do not support clipping by a Group. I believe that will be implemented at some point, but that could be years away, so a workaround will need to be used until then.

[G13RL]

Hi @Shr ,

You can duplicate the group, place the ellipse on top of the set and nest the top group in the ellipse. This could be a problem if you change the group later...

[Shr]

 

  

1 hour ago, anon2 said:

Hi Shr. Affinity apps currently do not support clipping by a Group. I believe that will be implemented at some point, but that could be years away, so a workaround will need to be used until then.

I've tried it with symbols and it's just that creating a symbol for each object is additional work, and selecting gets slightly difficult.

I believe what happens is, I'm able to select symbols individually, and I'm able to select the original shape for the symbols, too. When the shape is indicated (blue Affinity line that follows the shape exactly vs. blue bounding box) then the original shape is selected.

When a symbol is selected, I can make a transformation/translation by moving it, which is not what I want.

So all I need to do is a bit of extra work for setup + not translating one of the symbols accidentally.

Edit: I think it's extra work per shape, because it's (really) not currently applicable on groups, so that "bit" of extra work is actually too much. Although, it's the only automatic solution later. Hm. But still, just too much extra work.

_____

What Affinity does in this case seems to be default behavior among a few drawing apps, somehow? Paint.net does a similar thing, which I recently noticed. In terms of layer operations, kind of, it interprets empty areas as having full opacity. And it appears, someone even made a plugin that makes empty areas being interpreted as having no opacity instead.

I don't know about the work of the developers, but keeping up the selecting system in Affinity is probably much more than just adding some boolean operation, I guess. I'll patiently wait, for any convenience feature. I'm not really dependent on these, I hope. Better not.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Shr

[Shr]

21 minutes ago, G13RL said:

Hi @Shr ,

You can duplicate the group, place the ellipse on top of the set and nest the top group in the ellipse. This could be a problem if you change the group later...

Hi! I'll try it (anyway), thanks a lot.

[Shr]

I almost had completely missed that I could use fx "Outer Shadow" + Blend mode "Darker Color" + Scale with Object. It needs the object, that casts the shadow, being in the picture. But actually that was the case.

Edit: Well, okay, I can't make two separate 'depth layers' / parallax then. But it's still an option.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Shr