1. Click the Effects tool button icon on the Toolbar. The Effects box opens. Scroll through the effects until you find Drop Shadow. Click the picture above the words Drop Shadow.

2. Click on the details tab. First we'll deal with the Drop Shadow effect. You will notice a small yellow sun with square buttons surrounding it. Those represent the direction the shadow will be cast. In this case make the shadow point to the lower right by clicking that button, (pictured below).

3. Set the distance to 6 by highlighting it and then entering the number six (6), or click the up or down arrows until 6 appears. Set the Angle to 315 in the same manner. Click the rectangle beside Color. The Color Picker dialog box appears. Set the color to black. RGB values, (R:0: G:0, B:0).

4. Set the opacity slider to 100 either by highlighting it or entering the number 100 in the space provided. Opacity is the ability of an object to absorb or let light pass through it. (See Tip below). Next set the Softness slider just shy of as Hard as it will get. See the picture below. The Softness slider can make a lot of difference in an image's appearance with only small adjustments.

5. Click Apply (see below) to place the specified shadow on the Stubby's Gator Farm sprite. Your image should look similar to the one pictured below.

6.  Keep your finished drop shadow sprite on your work area.  You will need it for other Image Composer tutorials.

Tip: Play around with the opacity slider and check out the different effects it has on your image. A little change of value can make a lot of difference so be careful and don't forget Ctrl + z to undo your last change if you make a mistake and not a happy accident.

Another Tip: Sometimes when shadows are set to be too soft they appear fuzzy in their saved version. You can get around that to a degree by making your sprite large, applying your changes, and then compressing the sprite's width and height to desired dimensions.