In Step with InDesign – Making Candids Pop
Written by Marketing Staff
“Lift” images off your page. You can create different versions of this effect by experimenting with elements of various sizes, gradients and feathering.
01. Draw a rectangle using the Rectangle tool. Make the fill black with no stroke.
02.Add points to the center of the rectangle’s sides. Find the center of the sides by dragging a horizontal guide line from the Ruler to intersect the middle of the rectangle. Then, use the Add Anchor Point tool to add points where the guide line crosses both sides of the rectangle.
03. Convert the side anchor points into curves. Using the Convert Direction Point tool, hold the Shift key then click and drag up or down on each of the side anchor points to change them into curve points. Make both sides the same length so the image will look natural.
04. Curve the rectangle’s edges. Using the Direct Selection tool, hold the shift key and select each of the rectangle’s four corner anchor points. Then, use the right arrow key to begin moving the corner points and “curving” the rectangle.
05. Add a gradient. To make the edge of your candid stand out slightly, apply a slight gradient to the fill of your rectangle. For reference, the gradient shown here has an angle of -55°.
06. Create the shadow effect. Copy the rectangle, then go to Edit > Paste in Place. Flip the rectangle horizontally by selecting Flip Horizontal in the Control palette’s fly-out menu. Set fill to black and tint to 85% in the Swatches palette. Move the rectangle slightly down and left of your original rectangle, vertically lining up your side anchor points. Finally, use Object > Arrange > Send
to Back to put your “shadow” behind your original element.
07. Improve the shadow effect. To make the shadow look more natural, select the “shadow” rectangle and apply a Feather effect. Go to Object > Feather, select the Feather and Preview check boxes and set Corners to Diffused. Then, adjust the Feather Width as you prefer.
08. Create the window for your image. Copy your original rectangle, go to Edit> Paste in Place and change the fill of the new rectangle to Black. In the Control palette, make sure the center Reference Point for the image window is selected, and using the Scale X or Scale Y Percentage boxes, slightly reduce the window size.
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