: If we examine shadows of objects lifted in the middle we can see that their shadow blur progresses the more it's lifted and is more sharp the more the object touches its ground. So the

@Reiling762

If we examine shadows of objects lifted in the middle we can see that their shadow blur progresses the more it's lifted and is more sharp the more the object touches its ground.

So the most realistic shadow of an object that seems to be lifted in the middle should be done this way:


copy your layer with the square that needs a shadow
fill it with black (or any other appropriate shadow colour
create an Alpha filter that had a gradient (black on sides, white in the middle)
go back to your shadow layer and select Filter > Blur > Lens Blur
a dialog will open where you can select your alpha channel
select appropriate blur level and confirm



Note: additional tweaking can be done to make it even better by distorting the square (stop #2 ) so the middle part extends below original layer.


This will create the most realistic shadow effect that can be seen below on this image (click for a 100% preview). Shadow with different strengths is applied three times


upper band and
middle ribbon-like object that also seems to have curved/flipped lower edge.

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