Introduction

Did you ever have a hard time getting your head around bezier curves?

Clip Studio Paint has all the tools to quickly and efficiently create anything we want using bezier curves and I'll show you how it's done.

 

I recommend watching the video to get the most out of it but I also try to explain everything here.

My version of ClipStudioPaint: 1.9.11

 

Please like this Tip if you found it helpful and check out the links I've prepared for you at the bottom of this article.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and watching this tutorial!!

 

Mastering Clip Studio Paint: Curves - Fundamentals (Part 1)

Thanks for watching the video!

Consider liking it, giving a comment and subscribing to my channel.

And have a good time!

 

Contents with timestamps:

00:25 - Welcome

00:34 - Introduction - Why you should use bezier curves in CPS

01:17 - Raster vs Vector

02:24 - The Figure Tool - where to find it?

03:30 - The relevant Subtools explained - Straight Line, Curve etc.

06:30 - Curve interpolation types - Spline, Quadratic Bezier and...

09:15 - The Cubic Bezier - all the secrets revealed

12:00 - Adjusting the Curve - how to edit a line afterwards

15:19 - Snap to Angle - Improve your workflow with Shift & Alt

18:17 - Alternative to Ctrl-Z (because it's not working when creating control points)

19:43 - Why you should just create a curve without worrying!

20:10 - Quick Tip: Easily duplicate a line for offsets and more

21:11 - Quick Tip: Use the Linart as a Reference Layer

22:19 - Conclusion

 

Sport Car Illustration (Part 2) + get your free Pack on Gumroad !

Want to go even further?

I've made a car illustration that utilizes all of the explained techniques.

 

Download your FREE copy of my sport car illustration tutorial on Gumroad.

It includes the commented timelapse from below with a highres .clip file with all the layers intact.

 

With the .clip file you can study all my effects and layers to your hearts content!

1. Why you should use Bezier Curves in Clip Studio Paint!

Bezier curves or curves in general are really good tool to use for creating clean shapes like you need in logos, graphic design, vehicle design and mechanics.

They are editable after creation and therefore very versatile.

2. Raster vs Vector

Raster layers in CSP have many great uses, I don't have to tell you that.

But where vector layers exceed is when you want to have clear lines regardless of resolution.

They are editable afterwards and are my first choice for lineart that later acts as a reference layer.

 

3. The Figure Tool - Where to find it?

If you don't find your figure tool, go to the tool-tab, right click at the top and choose : add from default.

 

 

4. The Subtools explained - Straight Line, Curve etc

fig 4.1

Straight Line and Curve are basicly the same, they only differ in the setting "Curve" which I understand as the curve interpolation method.

You can choose between Straight Line, Quadratic and Cubic Bezier. fig 4.2

 

Polyline and Continious curves are similar in that aspect too because the Polyline is simply a Continious curve with a "straight curve" type assigned like in fig. 4.2

 

The rest isn't that important for this tutorial.

 

5. Curve interpolation types - Spline, Quadratic Bezier and...

With the Continious Curve tool we have the option to choose from straight line, spline, quadratic and cubic bezier curve types.

 

With the spline you set the different points of the curve and CSP tries to make a smooth line out of it. You can see this in fig. 5.1.

 

With the quadratic bezier, the points you set are not necessarily the points where the line goes through... that's why I find them hard to handle. See fig. 5.1. on how the quad bezier differs from the spline.

 

Next is...

 

6. The Cubic Bezier - Secrets Revealed! lol

The cubic bezier is the best in my opinion. Especially with the new upgrades! in CSP 1.9.11

This curve type is created more by dragging than clicking...

You set a point, keep it pressed, drag your mouse and choose the initial angle( fig. 6.2.) then you let go of the mouse and click at a point where you want your segment to end. Keep it pressed and you can adjust the angle again (fig. 6.3.) And so on.

 

I think the video explains it a bit better :-) . Just try it out!

7. Adjusting the Curve - How to edit a line afterwards?!

If you press CTRL and click on the line, or use the "Object" Tool you can adjust your line afterwards.

Right click on the line or a control point to either add a point, delete a point or switch it's behaviour from "aligned" to "free" which results in a very sharp corner.

8. Snap to Angle - Improve your workflow with Shift & Alt

I love it.

Press Shift while creating or adjusting a control point and it snaps to a 45°angle (by default fig.8.1).

Change this angle in the "subtool detail palette" in the first section (fig. 8.2).

I like 15degrees because you can get a lot out of it (15, 30, 45... 90 and so on)

 

While pressing alt, you create a "broken handle", which isn't aligned (like explained under 7.).

You will see that the cursor is changing to indicate that the next corner will be a "broken" one (fig. 8.3.)

 

It takes some time to get used to it but you can work blazingly fast with these options!

 

 

9. Alternative to Ctrl-Z (because it's not working when creating control points)

When you create a "continious curve" you can delete the last control point by pressing Del (I think that's the default shortkey).

After you have commited a line, with enter, you can use Ctrl-Z again but it deletes the whole line.

10. Why you should just create a curve without worrying!

Just a little motivation at this point:

Don't worry too much about all the techniqual details... just dive in and give yourself some time.

One option with the Cubic Bezier is to create your points very quickly without worrying to much about the angles and stuff. After that you go in there and adjust everything to your liking.

The benefit is, that you split the process into two separate parts and therefore it's much easier.

11. Quick Tip: Easily duplicate a line for offsets and more

If you press Ctrl and click on the curve, keep Ctrl pressed and additionally press C on the Keyboard... that makes it Ctrl+C (for copy). Keep Ctrl pressed! now Press V, that equals Ctrl+V (for paste).

Now you just have to drag the selected line somewhere and you will see that you have created a duplicate!

 

Very useful for offsets. For perspective offsets like shown in the figure above, you delete the excess lines with the vector-eraser.

12. Quick Tip: Use Curves as a Reference Layer

Use your created vector lines as a reference layer to quickly select parts with the magic wand tool.

13. Conclusion

Thanks for watching/reading. I hope you could learn many things from this tutorial.

 

Check out the free gumroad pack or the .clip file and a commented timelapse!

 

Tag me on Instagram or Twitter to show me your results!

Or even better, post your artworks on SoulStinger-Lab , a subreddit dedicated to learning art / digitalart.

 

 

Please like this Tip. It would mean a lot to me :-)

 

Useful Links