I'm manually creating a sprite sheet using Photoshop and many of the graphic elements have drop shadows applied. Given that fact, it's tough at times to see where the drop shadows begin and end. I don't want to set my guides too close and cut off parts of the shadow. Anyone have any tips on how they go about handling this issue?
1 Answer
I'm sure there is more efficient ways to handle this, but the only way I'm aware of is to Rasterize Layer Style.
This will now include any layer styles (such as the drop shadow) as part of the layer. To do this, right click on the layer in the Layer panel window, and you should see the option.
The shadow will also now snap to a grid or to other layers, instead of just the original layer. I would also be sure to keep a backup of the non-rasterized layer, just copy the layer and hide it (in case you need the original version).
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The only problem I'm having with this technique is that it seems to be giving the elements a little too much space. Now I'm running into the problem of should I trust my eyes or trust where Photoshop is snapping the grid at. I have an icon of a magnifying glass and after rasterizing the layer, selecting the layer and putting grids around it, there's a good amount of white space around it. When I zoom in on it, I see alot of white space within the grid boundaries. Commented Jul 31, 2013 at 18:49
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@J_Tremain this is strange... are you sure there is not low opacity pixels (say, the edge of a shadow) that you aren't seeing? To gauge an edge, sometimes I select the layer (ctrl+select layer on Layer panel) and then fill it a few times to see the low-opacity pixels a bit more clearly. This obviously is just for reference, you don't want to harden your edges otherwise.– Mattc0mCommented Jul 31, 2013 at 20:44