How to create the plastic look in an image

Question

Hi there, I have seen so many times images that seem to look
like plastic or they look as if the item is real. it is because it
has a shadow behind it and the surface seems to look slightly
curved giving it that 2d 3d effect.
I understand how to do the background, which is just a
shadow, but not the face.
I have included a link to a few sites that have this as an
example.
Can anyone let me know if this can be done in Fireworks and
if so what is it called?
I call it the Microsoft look.
http://www.atollorecords.com/index.php
this page has it at the top of the page, in this one they have set
it as a two tone look, but each tone seems to have a curve to it.
IMPORTANT: please put your speaker volume down because their music
plays everytime you load the page.

Answer 1

quote:
Originally posted by:
Mal9
I gave that a try, it seemed to get close to what I was
looking for, also I noticed that it only lets you create gradients
from left to right. Is there a way to create it from top to bottom
or from top left hand side to bottom left hand side?
When you apply a (linear) gradient to an object there will be
a line with two endpoints. The square endpoint changes the
direction and length of the gradient. The circular endpoint moves
the whole gradient. By moving the square relative to the circle,
you can change the direction of the gradient. By changing the
length of the line, you can change how much of your object has
gradient. If you stretch the line so it extends farther than your
object, then only that portion of your gradient will be applied to
your object. If you shrink the line so it has less extent than your
object, then only part of your object will have the gradient and
the remainder, outside the line, will have the two endpoint colors.
It's quite flexible, really. :)