Web/API/CanvasRenderingContext2D/shadowColor

The CanvasRenderingContext2D.shadowColor property of the Canvas 2D API specifies the color of shadows.

Be aware that the shadow's rendered opacity will be affected by the opacity of the fillStyle color when filling, and of the strokeStyle color when stroking.

Note: Shadows are only drawn if the shadowColor property is set to a non-transparent value. One of the shadowBlur, shadowOffsetX, or shadowOffsetY properties must be non-zero, as well.

Syntax

ctx.shadowColor = color;

color

A DOMString parsed as a CSS <color> value. The default value is fully-transparent black.

Examples

Adding a shadow to shapes

This example adds a shadow to two squares; the first one is filled, and the second one is stroked. The shadowColor property sets the shadows' color, while shadowOffsetX and shadowOffsetY set their position relative to the shapes.

HTML

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

const canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');

// Shadow
ctx.shadowColor = 'red';
ctx.shadowOffsetX = 10;
ctx.shadowOffsetY = 10;

// Filled rectangle
ctx.fillRect(20, 20, 100, 100);

// Stroked rectangle
ctx.lineWidth = 6;
ctx.strokeRect(170, 20, 100, 100);

Shadows on translucent shapes

A shadow's opacity is affected by the transparency level of its parent object (even when shadowColor specifies a completely opaque value). This example strokes and fills a rectangle with translucent colors.

HTML

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

The resulting alpha value of the fill shadow is .8 * .2, or .16. The alpha of the stroke shadow is .8 * .6, or .48.

const canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');

// Shadow
ctx.shadowColor = 'rgba(255, 0, 0, .8)';
ctx.shadowBlur = 8;
ctx.shadowOffsetX = 30;
ctx.shadowOffsetY = 20;

// Filled rectangle
ctx.fillStyle = 'rgba(0, 255, 0, .2)';
ctx.fillRect(10, 10, 150, 100);

// Stroked rectangle
ctx.lineWidth = 10;
ctx.strokeStyle = 'rgba(0, 0, 255, .6)';
ctx.strokeRect(10, 10, 150, 100);

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'CanvasRenderingContext2D.shadowColor' in that specification.	Living Standard

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
shadowColor	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1.5	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  

Full support

WebKit/Blink-specific notes

In WebKit- and Blink-based browsers, the non-standard and deprecated method ctx.setShadow() is implemented besides this property.

setShadow(width, height, blur, color, alpha);
setShadow(width, height, blur, graylevel, alpha);
setShadow(width, height, blur, r, g, b, a);
setShadow(width, height, blur, c, m, y, k, a);

See also

• The interface defining this property: CanvasRenderingContext2D

CanvasRenderingContext2D.shadowColor by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.