How to Create a Long Shadow Effect in Canva
Written by Casey Botticello
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Sometimes, when creating a graphic design, you want to add flair or underscore the tone that a certain image conveys. If you want to help an image standout, adding a long shadow effect to your text in Canva can be a great option.
When we add shadow effect in our designs then it make our designs look more life-like. Adding shadow elements into our designs also help giving our 2D designs a more realistic, almost 3D appearance. This Canva tutorial will teach you how to create a long shadow effect in Canva, in just a few, simple steps!
How to Create a Long Shadow Effect in Canva
1. Add the Text of Your Choice
Canva offers a wide range of fonts. Select your font and add your text to the blank page. If you need you can also change the color, font size, letter spacing, line spacing of the text. In this example, I Increased the letter spacing from 0 to 90.
2. Copy the Text and Change Color
Next, copy the text and change it’s color you want for shadow and make sure to adjust the shadow position to the backward of your main text. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to adjust the copied text. This will move the copied text one pixel at a time in any direction.
3. Create the Shadow Part Properly
Next, keep aside the main text and focus on creating the shadow part. Repeat the Step 2 which says copy the text, change it’s color, position the text to backward and align all the text properly until you get a align stack of shadow.
4. Position the Main Text
Next, once you are done with the shadow part alignment and positioning then select the main text and position it to it’s original position which is in the middle and center. Keep the main text position forward (If it is not).
5. Add a New Page
Next, add a new page in the same project and change the background color of the new page to the same of shadow color then download the new page. Upload the downloaded page to Canva by drag and drop or by using upload media option.
6. Use a Grid for Fixing the Edges
Next, search for grid and add the first grid from the element tab. Now from the upload tab add the new page (which we created in step-5) inside the grid by drag and drop.
7. Fixing the Edges
Next, drag the grid over the edges, do proper positioning, resizing and alignment of the grid accordingly to make the edges look smooth and clear. Keep doing this on all the edges possible and leave the bottom part of shadow for now. Remember these terms for fixing the edges -> Resize, Align, Reuse, Adjust.
8. Add Rectangular Element
Next, search and add a rectangle from the element tab and change it’s color to the same color of our page background. After using grid fixing still some edges are left so use this rectangle over those edges. Resize the rectangle according to the edge you want to fix then align it properly to give the edge a clean look.
9. Design the Bottom Part of Shadow
Next, as we left our bottom part of shadow so to make the shadow look 3D and more realistic we add the shadow part up to the end of the page and filled the blank part with the grid and rectangle element. Take the rectangle element over the bottom part and stretch it up to the end and on the edge use the grid element and align it.
Conclusion
Canva is an amazing graphic design tool, and I hope you found this tutorial on how to create a Long Shadow Effect in Canva useful! Click here to read our comprehensive Canva Guide. If you are interested in downloading Canva or trying Canva Pro for free, click here. Below are several related Canva tutorials that you might find useful:
