Inner Shadow
A shadow inside the silhouette, so the layer reads as carved out.
Inner Shadow darkens the inside edge of the layer, as if light were falling on a surface above it and the layer were a hole punched through.
It is the same maths as Drop Shadow with the mask inverted, and the same controls. What changes is what it communicates: outward for height, inward for depth.
When to reach for it#
- Pressed buttons, inset panels, engraved type.
- Making a shape read as a hole rather than an object.
- Adding weight to a fill without changing its colour.
How it works#
The shadow is drawn from the silhouette edge inward. On thin artwork there is very little inside for it to occupy, so the effect saturates quickly — a hairline stroke goes solid dark long before the blur looks soft.
Parameters#
Where the light is coming from. Note this is the opposite convention to how it reads: light from the top-left produces shadow on the top-left inside edge.
How far in the shadow is pushed. Keep it well under half the artwork's thinnest dimension or the shadow meets itself in the middle.
Softness of the inner edge. High blur with low distance is a subtle vignette inside the shape; low blur with high distance is a hard bevel.
Same advice as Drop Shadow — a dark version of the fill colour beats black.
Strength of the darkening.
Things that catch people out#
There is not enough interior for the gradient to develop. Thicken the artwork or drop the distance.
See also#
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