Object shadow: gloss

What the effect does

"Gloss" applies soft color bands to the object that follow the outline. Depending on the shape, the area appears like silk, satin, or curved glass. The effect is most pronounced on irregular shapes like stars, waves, or text; on a rectangle, it creates a soft edge shadow without a fixed light direction.

Technically, Stylo shifts two blurred copies of the object shape along the angle against each other, one forward and one backward. The gloss appears where exactly one of the two copies is located. Invert swaps this: then it appears where both or neither are located. Like the other inner effects, the gloss is on the surface of the object, over fill, gradient, or background image and under the border.

You can find the effect in the dialog Object Shadow/Effects: select Gloss at the top right, check Active, set values, and apply with Assign. Once you change a value, Active is automatically set. The eye symbol at the bottom left shows a preview, and the arrow next to it resets the values.

The gloss can be combined with other effects. Internally, Stylo applies it last: inner shadow, inner glow, beveled edge, gloss.

Overview of parameters

Seven values determine the gloss. Distance and size in relation to the object size have the strongest effect, mode and color decide whether it darkens or lightens.

Parameter	Effect	Typical range
Mode	Fill method against the object surface. Multiply darkens (invisible on black), Negative multiply lightens (invisible on white), Normal covers with the gloss color.	Multiply with dark, Negative multiply with light color
Opacity	How strong the gloss is. Multiplied by the object's fill opacity.	30–70 %
Angle	Direction along which the two copies are shifted: 0° = top, clockwise. The bands lie at the edges perpendicular to this direction. Since one copy moves forward and one backward, 0° and 180° appear the same.	0–180°
Distance	How far each copy is shifted. Large = wide bands that reach far into the object.	1–4 mm
Size	Blurring of the copies. Small = sharply defined bands, large = soft, even gradient.	1–4 mm
Invert	Swaps gloss and surface: The gloss then lies in the middle, the bands at the edges remain free.	mostly off; on for a hollow with a dark center
Color	Color of the gloss; without its own transparency, which regulates the opacity.	Black or dark object color, white for light reflections

Distance and size do not scale with the object. If they are more than about a quarter of the smaller object side, the bands overlap, and bright gaps appear at the corners.

Example rows

In each row, only one value changes. All others are set to: Mode Multiply, Opacity 50 %, Angle 330°, Distance 2 mm, Size 2 mm, Invert off, Color Black, Object Light Blue 30 × 17 mm on a white page.

Shape and Invert

On the rectangle, the gloss appears as a soft edge on all sides, strongest at the top and bottom, perpendicular to the angle. On the circle (Distance and Size 3 mm), it becomes a crescent, strongest at the top left and bottom right. Invert instead darkens the center, leaving the edges bright.

Angle

At 0°, the copies are shifted vertically, with the gloss at the top and bottom. At 90°, it is on the left and right, at 45° and 135° at the corners in a cross. From 180° onwards, the sequence repeats.

Distance

With 0.5 mm, only a narrow edge remains. As the distance increases, the bands become wider; at 4 mm, they reach far into this object, and bright gaps appear at two corners.

Size

Small values result in sharply defined bands, almost an outline. Large values blur them into a soft gradient that also becomes paler.

Opacity

The opacity only regulates the strength, not the shape. With black, usually 30 to 50 % is sufficient; above that, the gloss quickly appears dirty.

Mode

Here with orange gloss and 75 %, left on light, right on blue surface. Normal covers both with orange. Multiply darkens: on light, an orange edge, on blue, almost black. Negative multiply lightens: on light, hardly visible, on blue, a bright shimmer.

Color and Use

From left: Silk on a red ellipse, dark red #4A0010 with 60 %, angle 300°, distance 3 mm, size 4 mm. Star in orange, dark brown #6B2A00 with 60 %, distance and size 2.5 mm; the typical gloss bands appear in the points. Glass button: blue circle, white in Negative multiply mode with 70 %, angle 315°, distance 2.5 mm, size 3 mm. Wave: green band, white in Negative multiply mode with 60 %, angle 0°, distance and size 3 mm; the gloss follows the curve, the center remains saturated.

Recipes

These combinations are a good starting point; fine-tuning is usually done only through distance and opacity. The column shape is crucial.

Effect	Shape	Mode	Opacity	Angle	Distance	Size	Invert	Color
Silk, e.g. ribbon or logo area	Ellipse, round	M	60 %	300°	3 mm	4 mm	off	dark object color
Satin on points, e.g. disturbance star	Star, polygon	M	60 %	330°	2.5 mm	2.5 mm	off	dark object color
Glass button	Circle	NM	70 %	315°	2.5 mm	3 mm	off	White
Shimmering band	Wave, banner	NM	60 %	0°	3 mm	3 mm	off	White
Soft edge without light direction	Rectangle	M	30 %	0°	1 mm	2 mm	off	Black

M = Multiply
NM = Negative multiply

Tips:

The gloss needs a surface: fill, gradient, or background image. An object without fill will not have gloss. If only lines are selected, the dialog will hide the tab.
In text frames, the gloss is on the frame surface, never on the text.
On rectangles, the gloss acts like a soft edge shadow. If you want a light direction, it is better to use the beveled edge or the inner shadow there.
Distance and size do not scale with the object: small objects need smaller values, otherwise the bands overlap and bright gaps appear at the corners.
A dark variant of the object color looks more elegant than black, which clouds the area gray.
The fill opacity of the object also plays a role: an object with 50 % fill only gets half the gloss.
Effects do not work on groups. Select the object in the group or ungroup it.

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