Drop shadow in After effects

An option for me to create my animation would be to create it digitally and use after effects to create a layered effect. 

I created my layers in Photoshop and imported them into after effects and was shown how to add a shadow to, to make it look like it is made or layered paper.

I added a drop shadow, and played around with it's distance, spread (which made the feathered edge reach further) and the angle, which made me control the angle of the light.  

I quite liked how it turned out, however I think if I were to carry on with creating it digitally after my stop motion test, I'd use textures instead of solid colours, to add a paper styled effect that I originally wanted.