As it is, this is the best solution I've discovered so far. If anyone knows how I can fix this shadow or knows of another way I can draw a line that I can easily manipulate the curve and length of while still applying a stroke and dropshadow to it, I'm all ears. It looks like it's picking up the white color from the stroke even though I have the shadow set to use the color Black. However, the dropshadow is showing up more like a white glow than a black shadow. 4.In the Layer Style dialog box that appears, adjust the settings for the drop shadow as desired. 3.Click on the Layer Style button at the bottom of the Layers panel or go to Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow. So I then drop this path composition into my main composition where I can position it over the map and give it a white stroke and a dropshadow. 2.Select the layer you want to add a drop shadow to in the Layers panel.
![add drop shadow to layer after effects add drop shadow to layer after effects](https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/01/Release-to-Layers-1.jpg)
As it is a stroke on a path for ease of animation, I find that I cannot add a white stroke to it. If you go for a lighter color as opposed to a darker color palette, it will give the effect of a glow rather than a shadow. I make the stroke of this path the color I need for the body of my line (red or blue), set the stroke width to 24 and set it's line caps to Round Cap, and set the opacity of the fill to 0. You can also use a drop shadow to give an object a glowing effect.
![add drop shadow to layer after effects add drop shadow to layer after effects](https://community.adobe.com/legacyfs/online/1549487_Untitled-1.jpg)
Because the lines can change shape and length, I found that my best option is to draw a line path in a composition that I can animate the shape and length of (using trim path). I need to animate bunch of styled lines on a map that are either blue or red in color with a white stroke around them. Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me out.