How to generate shadow under words on an image

Question

public static System.Drawing.Image GenerateGiftCard(String text, Font font, Color textColor)
{
    System.Drawing.Image img = Bitmap.FromFile(@"G:\xxx\images\gift-card.jpg");
    Graphics drawing = Graphics.FromImage(img);

    //measure the string to see how big the image needs to be
    SizeF textSize = drawing.MeasureString(text, font);

    //create a brush for the text
    Brush textBrush = new SolidBrush(textColor);

    float x, y;

    x = img.Width / 2 - textSize.Width / 2;
    y = img.Height / 2 - textSize.Height / 2;

    drawing.DrawString(text, font, textBrush, x, y);

    drawing.Save();

    textBrush.Dispose();
    drawing.Dispose();

    return img;
}

But the text generated by this code is "plain" not dimensional and no shadow beneath it.

This is the font style I want:

Beautiful characters

Is there anything I can do to generate the same style via my code?

Does anyone know how to use SiteMapPath or ResolveURL objects to transfer a relative path to a physical one? cheers,

[Shadow](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xeawz664(v=vs.80).aspx) - To create the shadow, the text is drawn twice. The first time it is in gray and offset. The second time is in black. — KV Prajapati, Sep 25 '12 at 02:36
@AVD good idea, I'll try it now and let you know the outcome. — Franva, Sep 25 '12 at 02:37

score 8 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 25 '12 at 03:04

First render the shadow by drawing the text with a darker, optionally translucent brush at an offset. After the shadow is rendered, overlay the regular text.

Example:

public static System.Drawing.Image GenerateGiftCard(String text, Font font, Color    textColor, Color shadowColor, SizeF shadowOffset)
{
    System.Drawing.Image img = Bitmap.FromFile(@"G:\xxxx\images\gift-card.jpg");
    Graphics drawing = Graphics.FromImage(img);

    //measure the string to see how big the image needs to be
    SizeF textSize = drawing.MeasureString(text, font);

    //create a brush for the text
    Brush shadowBrush = new SolidBrush(shadowColor); // <-- Here
    Brush textBrush = new SolidBrush(textColor);

    float x, y;

    x = img.Width / 2 - textSize.Width / 2;
    y = img.Height / 2 - textSize.Height / 2;

    drawing.DrawString(text, font, shadowBrush, x + shadowOffset.Width, y + shadowOffset.Height); // <-- Here
    drawing.DrawString(text, font, textBrush, x, y);

    drawing.Save();

    textBrush.Dispose();
    drawing.Dispose();

    return img;
}

thx for your reply. do you have any idea about the font style? Plus, do you know how to use SiteMapPath or ResolveURL objects to transfer a relative path to a physical one? cheers, — Franva, Sep 25 '12 at 02:58
I don't know about the font style. I don't recognize it. If you want to resolve a URL, I'm sure there is a Stack Overflow question just for that, but if you don't want to look it up, try `Server.MapPath("~/path/file.ext")`. — Dan, Sep 25 '12 at 03:46
finally, the Server.MapPath() is what I was looking for and it works. A big Thank you :) — Franva, Sep 25 '12 at 03:51

How to generate shadow under words on an image

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