Combining Reality With A Rotoscope-Style Painting

Step 5: Add A Drop Shadow

With the Layer Style dialog box still open, click directly on the words Drop Shadow on the left of the Layer Style dialog box. Make sure you click directly on the words and don't simply click inside the checkbox. We want access to the Drop Shadow options, and for that, you need to click directly on the words:

The middle column of the Layer Style dialog box will change to show the Drop Shadow options. The first thing we want to do here is lower the Opacity of the drop shadow down to around 40% so it's not so dark and intense. Then, increase the shadow Distance by dragging the slider to the right. Keep an eye on your image to see how far your shadow is extending outward from your subject as you drag the slider. I've increased my shadow distance to 30 pixels. Depending on the size of your image, you may want to set yours higher:

Here's my image after adding the drop shadow:

Step 6: Clean Up Any Unwanted Shadow Areas If Needed

The image is looking good except for one thing. If you recall from the beginning of the tutorial, I pointed out that the guy in the photo is holding something in his hand, and because I only wanted the rotoscope painting effect to be applied to the two people in the image, I made sure that whatever it is he's holding wasn't included in my initial selection so that it wouldn't be affected. Problem is, the drop shadow I just applied is extending over top it, as well as the strap dangling below it, and it doesn't look right. I need to clean that up.

To clean up the drop shadow, I'm going to use the Eraser tool, but before I can use it on a layer style, I need to convert the layer style into a normal layer. To do that, I'm going to go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen, then I'll choose Layer Style, and then Create Layers:

If I look in my Layers palette, I can see that both the stroke and the drop shadow have been placed on their own layers, with the stroke appearing above "Layer 1" and the drop shadow appearing below it. I'm going to click on the Drop Shadow layer to select it:

Then I'm going to grab my Eraser tool from the Tools palette:

I could also press the letter E on my keyboard to quickly select it. Then, with the Eraser tool in hand and my drop shadow layer style now converted into a normal layer, all I need to do is click and drag my mouse over the areas where I want to remove the drop shadow, which in my case is over the item the guy is holding, including the strap hanging from it:

Once I'm done erasing away the drop shadow, the effect is complete!

Here, for comparison, is my original image:

And here is the final "rotoscoped painting combined with reality" effect:

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