CSS Text Shadow Generator creates text-shadow CSS effects with a visual editor. Set the horizontal and vertical offset, blur radius, color, and opacity for each shadow layer. Add multiple shadow layers for stacked effects (glow, emboss, letterpress, neon). Preview the shadow on custom text and copy the complete text-shadow CSS value.
CSS text-shadow syntax: text-shadow: h-offset v-offset blur-radius color. Multiple shadows are comma-separated (first shadow is on top). Common effects: simple drop shadow (2px 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)), glow effect (0 0 10px #3b82f6, 0 0 20px #3b82f6, 0 0 40px #3b82f6 -- same position, increasing blur for glow spread), letterpress (1px 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.2), -1px -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.3)), neon (multiple layers with the neon color at different blur radii).
text-shadow vs box-shadow: text-shadow applies to text characters specifically. box-shadow applies to the element box (not the text shape). For text glow effects, text-shadow is correct. For card shadows, button shadows, use box-shadow. Drop shadow filter (filter: drop-shadow()) follows the element's actual shape including transparency -- useful for images with transparent backgrounds. text-shadow does not support 'inset' (box-shadow does for inner shadows).
Simple drop shadow
Result: text-shadow: 2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)
Neon glow effect
Result: text-shadow: 0 0 7px #fff, 0 0 10px #fff, 0 0 21px #fff, 0 0 42px #3b82f6, 0 0 82px #3b82f6;
Letterpress effect
Result: text-shadow: 1px 1px 0px rgba(255,255,255,0.15), -1px -1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.3);
What is the CSS text-shadow property?
text-shadow: applies one or more shadow effects to text characters. Syntax: text-shadow: offset-x offset-y blur-radius color. Multiple shadows: comma-separated list (first listed = top layer). The shadow color can be any CSS color: hex, rgb, rgba, hsl, named color. Negative offset-x moves shadow left; negative offset-y moves shadow up. Blur-radius: 0 = hard edge shadow. Higher values = softer, more spread shadow. text-shadow does not accept 'inset'. It applies to the actual character shapes (good for glowing text effects).
How do I create a text glow effect?
A glow effect uses text-shadow with 0 offsets and multiple blur layers of increasing radius: text-shadow: 0 0 5px #3b82f6, 0 0 15px #3b82f6, 0 0 30px #3b82f6; The color should match or be lighter than the text color. For an intense neon glow: add white or light versions at small radii, then the color at larger radii. For a subtle glow: one or two layers with low opacity. The text itself should be the same color as the glow for a true neon effect.
What is the difference between text-shadow and box-shadow?
text-shadow: applied to text characters -- follows the actual glyph shapes. No inset option. box-shadow: applied to the element's box (rectangular by default). Supports inset (inner shadow). Supports spread-radius (4th optional value) to expand or contract the shadow. For text effects (glow, drop shadow on text): use text-shadow. For element effects (card shadow, button depth, border glow): use box-shadow. For PNG images with transparency that need realistic shadows: use filter: drop-shadow() which follows the non-transparent pixels of the image.
How do I create a letterpress or emboss text effect?
Letterpress effect (text appears pressed into the background): text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.5), -1px -1px 1px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); -- use on dark backgrounds with dark text. Emboss effect (text appears raised): text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.5), 1px 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.3); -- use on light backgrounds. The key is combining a light shadow on one side and a dark shadow on the opposite side to simulate a light source angle. The effect works best with muted colors and subtle shadow opacity.
Can I animate text-shadow with CSS transitions?
Yes -- text-shadow can be transitioned and animated: .glow { text-shadow: 0 0 5px #3b82f6; transition: text-shadow 0.3s ease; } .glow:hover { text-shadow: 0 0 20px #3b82f6, 0 0 40px #3b82f6; } For animation keyframes: @keyframes pulse { 0% { text-shadow: 0 0 5px #3b82f6; } 50% { text-shadow: 0 0 30px #3b82f6; } 100% { text-shadow: 0 0 5px #3b82f6; } }. The browser interpolates between shadow values smoothly. Performance: text-shadow transitions are GPU-accelerated in most browsers (treated as a compositing effect).