*Shoutout John Nelson (Esri) for the tutorial

1. Set Up Your Map and Shadow Layer

• Start with a base map (e.g., hillshade set to Soft Light blend mode) and a reference layer (e.g., boundaries with Screen blend mode).

• Add your Area of Interest (AOI) layer (e.g., Kentucky from the “States” layer) and apply a definition query to isolate it.

• Style the AOI to create the shadow:

  • In Symbology > Structure, move the outline below the fill.

  • Set the outline to a thick (e.g., 60pt) gradient stroke, fading from transparent black to black.

  • Adjust gradient stops to cluster near the center for a natural drop shadow effect.

  • Set the fill color to white.

  • Keep blend mode set to Normal for now.

2. Create the Cover-Up Layer

• Duplicate the AOI shadow layer.

• Remove the gradient stroke.

• Apply a white gradient fill with a strong offset (e.g., 60pt) to cover the shadow.

  • Use a Linear gradient: opaque white at the bottom, transparent at the top.

  • Set it to Continuous for a smooth fade.

3. Final Touches

• Group both layers and apply a Multiply blend mode to the group to reveal only the shaded edge.

4. Optional Enhancements

• Adjust the gradient angle to shift shadow direction (e.g., 70°).

• Add a second shadow by duplicating the group and tweaking styles.

• Try alternative blend modes like Color Burn for different lighting effects.