Welcome to this tip of the month. Today I want to share some tricks and techniques that I use daily on almost every single drawing that I do. The subject is Black and White Monochrome Art, that we usually see in illustrations and comic pages. I invite you to check the video as well, clicking down below. I hope you like this tutorial and that it can help you! Let’s Go!

 

 

Tip 01 – The Mask Effect

When I’m creating a new file and the ink is complete, I always make a layer mask. It’s almost automatic. There are so many benefits of having one and a cool trick is to play with the mask. By using different brushes, you can change the overall look of your mask.

It doesn’t need to be on the same layer of your mask. You can clip it to another layer to preserve all the information on the actual mask. You also can choose the transparency color and paint over your effects with every single brush of your library. This will help to keep your drawing clean.

Tip 02 – Geometric Shapes on the Background

Immediately creates an Illustration with Foreground (Character/Subject), Middle Ground (The Geometric shape) and Background (Paper). Great to add more attention to the foreground, you can use any kind of shapes.

Tip 03 – Line weight and contrast

A powerful way to express emotion and define a light source on your drawing. The closer to the light, thinner the line.

If you’re starting, try to ink without too much line variation. Then, in another layer, you can add thicker strokes. It can be done in a Vector Layer as well.

Tip 04 – Vector Inking

Maybe one of the biggest advantages of inking on Clipstudio Paint, Vector Layers can be resized without the loss of quality. It works with the Balloon Tool and Text as well and you can combine these tools to make all the inking for your drawing.

You can find in the toolbar an option called Correct Line and its shortcut is the Y key. There are many options there to edit your vector. Try the Adjust Weight and Switch Corner options, you’ll love it.

If you don’t have a Stylus, try to click, hold shift, drag and click again. It will create only two dots and it is easier to build from there, by adding new dots and repositioning them.

 

Cool shortcuts to keep in mind:

With the Control Point sub tool selected set it to Move Control Points.

 

Hold Shift and click to add a point.

Click holding the Alt Key to remove a point.

Hold Control and you can move your entire vector.

Shift + Alt changes the corner of your vector. It can be Round or Straight.

Tip 05 – Reaction to a Big Scene!!

This is more to comics, but it can be added on Illustrations too. The idea is to valorize the scene and create more impact with it. Sometimes, a simple small frame with a close on the character expression can add a lot of information to your reader.

 

For example, how he feels by performing the action and how others react as well. You can extract traits of behaviors from your characters on simple moments, turning them into Big Scenes!

Tip 06 – Symmetric Layer Trick

This is something that I found out recently when I was moving the Symmetrical Ruller. By duplicating the Symmetrical Layer, you can delete the information on the copy and immediately add your inking in a Symmetrical Layer as well.

 

You don’t need to move the ruler since it’s a copy. Toggle off the Snap to Special Ruler option to add details that aren’t equal on both sides.

Tip 07 – Keep Organized

Maybe a tip not only to make your lineart, but to all occasions. Having everything organized can change your game in the long run. It can be with Layer Names, Colors, Folders and Even Folders with colors!

 

I like to have a clear distinction of Inking Layers and Tones, so I can keep track of everything that is happening in the file just by looking to the layer panel.

Thanks + Extra

Thanks for reading this tutorial! I found myself using these techniques on a daily basis and they help me a lot. A simple detail can make all the difference in the way you present your work and as you can see it doesn’t take too much time to be added.

 

If you want to check the File used in this tutorial, you can download it here.

That’s it for today, keep drawing and chasing your dreams. I’ll be doing the same here. Until the next time, take care!