Can drop shadow one photo but not the other.

[PedgeJameson]

If you see this on a dark background I was able to add a white drop shadow to make it easier to see. This other picture...

I'm not able to do the same, is it because the picture has a background and is not transparent? I'm not in touch anymore with the original creator, what can I do?

 

TYIA folks.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2016 by PedgeJameson

[IRON67]

The simple way:

 

Load the image, duplicate the first layer.

Use the magic wand tool to select/mark the blue color (Flood mode GLOBAL with a tolerance of ~20-25%). Invert the selection (CTRL+I) and hit the DEL key.

Now you have in the top layer only the blue part with letters and some splatter around.

Use Object -> Drop Shadow with color white and your prefered values. Finally merge the layers to one so you can save it as a normal image like JPG or PNG.

And if you want it as an transparent image, delete the lower layer and save it as PNG.

 

My sample:

 

Edited April 24, 2016 by IRON67

[PedgeJameson]

OMG TY! Hey any clue how to get rid of the jaggies? Whats the harder way, maybe that might help.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

AA's Assistant or Feather Object can both be used to soften the edge of a group of pixels provided the pixels are on a transparent layer.

 

If you want to soften a selection, use Feather Selection

[IRON67]

I personally prefer in such cases correcting the shape manually and not by a plugin. So I would simply delete the outer "jaggies" with the eraser. If you additional want to fill the gaps in the letters, I would use the paintbrush. Of course it depends on the size and detail of the image. On bigger images with more details or on smaller with less details on the edges a plugin may be helpful.

 

I called it the simple way only because I have ignored the possibility to change or rebuild the whole background texture.

 

Edit: Maybe I have misunderstand the term "jaggies". If you mean hard, pixelate edges then Ego Erams answer is your solution. I mean the splatter around the letters.

Edited April 25, 2016 by IRON67

[PedgeJameson]

Yeah It seems like a tough manual job, let me run it a few times on a new background I have as a test with your method to make sure I have my brain in wack for it.

 

Oh at what stages would I use feather selection, and is that the best one to use? TY

Edited April 25, 2016 by PedgeJameson

[Ego Eram Reputo]

When you make the selection, use the antialiased selection clipping mode from the tool bar. This will soften the selection edge. See http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/Toolbar.html

If that doesn't completely remove the jagged edges, apply either of the plugins after you have deleted the background (before the drop shadow).

Either plugin will do. Which you choose is entirely up to you.

[BoltBait]

You can use stroke instead of shadow for this picture. It's a better option for you.

Once again, you're answering with Photoshop advice.

That is worthless information on this forum and if it continues, I'll ban you for spamming.

[PedgeJameson]

I can't see what a feather effect or any of those when it's selected because of the ant trail. You know the selection thingy.

[MJW]

I once started a thread requesting the option of disabling the selection indications, such as the ant trail, but got no replies to the topic. I can't figure out why. Trying to match at a selection boundary with the selection indication is nearly impossible. I know Paint Shop Pro allows that, and I think Photoshop does also. The only solution I know of is to rely on layers and transparency rather than selections. For example, instead of feathering a selection, copy the selection into another layer, disable the selection, and use Feather Object.