Hello there! This is Kyorin, and now I want to share a bit about one of the most awesome feature of Clip Studio Paint: Colorize!

 

If you haven't known what this feature is for, it is made to help you color your drawing automatically. All you need to do is to prepare lineart (and some color hints) and bam! Your drawing is done!

 

I also provided the video version if you want to watch the process.

 

Let's see further about this tool.

a. The Basics of Colorize Feature

This Colorize feature is located in [Edit] menu. There are 3 options you can use to color your drawing. But before that, I will show you the concept of this feature.

1. Why did I use this feature? Is it better than coloring manually?

 

Yes and no. It depends on when you want to use it. This Colorize feature can't be applied to huge canvas (example for my comic canvas which is 2480x27777), the colors will get pixelated. But when you have an illustration with complicated lineart, this feature might be helpful for you.

 

2. Where can I apply this Colorize feature?

 

You can actually apply this anywhere, but I like to use it for base color, shade, and pattern drawings.

 

3. What do I need to prepare before using this feature?

 

You simply need to prepare lineart (make sure you merge it in one layer because the feature can only read one layer of lineart).

And your color hints layer. Roughly put some colors in some areas that you want to put the colors. You don't need to make it neat.

4. How to apply Colorize feature?

 

Go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > Choose one of the 3 options.

Here's how they differ:

 

a) If you use [Colorize All], you don't need to create color reference layer because it will automatically give you random color with your lineart as your reference. Click on your lineart layer, go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > [Colorize All], and see the result ^^

 

b) If you choose [Use hint image and colorize], it means you want this feature color your drawing with some certain colors you want to apply. What you need to do is to create color hints like above then make your Lineart layer as your reference layer [Click on set as reference layer].

Go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > [Use hint image and colorize], then see the result!

c) The last option, [Use more advanced setting] is quite similar to the second one [Use hint image and colorize] except you can adjust more of the colors.

For more details, let's go to the next section.

b. Using Colorize Tool for Drawing Pattern

Pattern drawing usually has complex lineart. Creating base colors would be an extra work for us. I love to apply this [Colorize] feature because the result is quite satisfying, for me.

 

Before that, I want to share a bit about how I do patterns. Here, I use a tool called [symmetrical ruler].

The number of lines can vary, depends on your need. I used 7 lines to create this pattern.

Now we got a pattern!

Now, I'm going to show you the final results between the 3 colorize options.

 

a) [Colorize All]

Click on your lineart layer, go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > [Colorize all].

Here's the result:

b) [Use Hint Image and Colorize]

Create a color hints layer, make your lineart as [reference layer], go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > [Use hint image and colorize].

Here's the result:

Color hints (before applied with Colorize)

After applied with [Colorize]

c. [Use More Advanced Setting]

Like before, you need to create a color hints layer, make your lineart layer as [reference layer], click on your color hints layer, then go to [Edit] > [Colorize] > [Use more advanced setting], and you will have this window shows up (note that it will take a few moments to load this one):

Check [Analyze colors and colorize] and [Preview] to show the options and your result at the same time. The color list above are colors that are detected from the color hints layer. You can rearrange their layering (which one should be put above and which one should be put below) by clicking the arrow on the right side.

The graphic shows each colors intensity. You can try to move the points and see the difference.

So here's the result:

Note: try to hide your lineart layer and look at the result :D

(Left is with lineart, right is without lineart)

You can also clip your colorize result layer to your lineart for another trick!

 

(Make your colorize layer mode [normal], put it above your lineart layer, then [Clip to Layer Below])

So now we are done with pattern coloring. The next section is a little bit more complicated since it's about coloring character. Let's check it out!

c. Using Colorize Tool for Drawing Character

The concept is still the same. You need your lineart and color reference layer. Now, we are going to try coloring this guy :3

Before coloring, I create a base for him by selecting the area outside with [auto select] (W) (which won't be colored and will be made into background) and [inverse] (Ctrl + Shift + I) the selection. Fill all the selections with white color in a new layer below your lineart.

This base is made to keep your colors inside the white area so it won't spill to the background. Make sure to put your colorize result layer above this white base and [Clip to layer below].

So, first of all I will show you the result with all the 3 options:

a) [Colorize All]

b. [Use hint image and colorize]

(Color hints layer)

c. [Use more advanced setting]

In this case, I use the second option but I have to fix some colors with [Watery] and [Blend] tool. You can always use any brush to do this. Here's the result after I fix it:

Good news, this feature isn't only good for base colors but you can also use it for shading!

I create some a new color hints for my shades (in a new [multiply] layer).

Then use [Colorize] on this layer with your previous lineart layer as [reference layer]. I used [Use more advanced setting] for this shading. Here's the result!

I added some more layers for detailed shading ([multiply] layer with [watery] brush). You can check out my other tutorial for further details about shading:

Then another layer for lighting ([normal] and [glow dodge] layer with [airbrush]) and some adjustments with [correction layer]. I also colored the lineart using another layer clipped to the lineart layer.

I also used [Colorize] feature for simple background. Here's the color hints layer:

After applied with [Colorize], I adjust the color a bit by lowering its [opacity]. And here's the final result!

You can check out the full speedpaint of this drawing here:

d. Closing

This [Colorize] feature is quite fun to play with, the result is also satisfying for me xD

But note that this isn't meant for large scale drawings (unless you wanna fix some more because the edges will be pixelated in super high resolution canvas).

 

Those are some tips I could share with you based on my experience. There are a lot more tricks you can find out with this feature! Thanks for reading this tips, hopefully it will be helpful :D

 

p.s. If you have anything to ask you can find me on my social media or email ^^