Creating a shadow line by drawing it on, rather than applying it automatically

[MarkPapa]

I'm trying to do some creative work that requires adding a very specific shadow to specific areas of an image. Is it possible to 'draw' the shadow rather than creating one automatically from a layer? Automatic sin't cutting it for this as I need to apply it to specific areas. I was hoping that there would be a shadow 'brush' that I could use to paint on the particular area. Please advise.

[EllenM]

Hard to tell without an image I guess.
Maybe like so: draw your line with the Pen tool - adjust black color with 50% opacity and a Gaussian Blur effect attached:

[Alexander Tokarev]

Is it possible to 'draw' the shadow rather than creating one automatically from a layer?

Of course - if you're good at drawing and know how the shadows look in different lighting conditons, so that the shadow you draw looks convincing.

The very basic technique to create a Drop Shadow by hand is the same for all pixel editors, not just for Pixelmator:

1. Create a new empty layer, name it 'Shadow'
2. Move it under the layer with the shadow-casting object.
3. Set the blending mode of the 'Shadow' layer to Multiply.
4. Pick the soft Brush, select a dark-grey color (or some other shade, which best represents lighting condition in your image) and draw your shadow, however and wherever you want it to be.