In this tip, I'll show you how to use a variety of manga effects to add depth and more emotions to your story, without further ado, let's get started!
Action lines
I will categorize lines that convey movement as “Action Lines.” These lines can be found easily in action comics, and as the name suggests, they illustrate motion or how an object moves.
Now let’s learn about different types of action lines!
• Focus Line (Flash)
Focus lines, also known as flash effects, can effectively highlight a character's emotions, direct the viewer's attention to a key object or scene, and emphasize impactful moments. You can easily create focus lines in Clip Studio Paint, and here’s how to do it!
1. Prepare your lineart! I will be drawing a random dumpling man punching a mochi creature as an example~ First, click on selection tool and use it to highlight the area surrounding the object/character. To emphasize the punch, I will surround the fist with focus lines to draw attention to it.
Select “Refer to all layers” to allow selection of both the panel/frame and character line art.
2. There are many types of focus lines available to use in Clip Studio Paint. Try experimenting with each line and choose the one that suits the scene best! here I will be using Scattered focus lines as an example
3. Click/tap to set the center point of the focus line, then drag your pen/mouse to form a circle.
4. The focus line will automatically appear once you let go. If you want to adjust the circle and the position of the focus lines, you can edit them using the Object tool.
You can remove the selection when you're done. To deselect, click on this icon or use these shortcuts: Cmd+D (MacOS) and Ctrl+D (Windows).
Alternatively you can use image materials!
To find it, open Clip Studio Paint Materials > Manga Material > Effect line
To import image materials, just drag and drop the image onto the canvas. You can adjust its size and position using Object Tool or Transformation Tool (Ctrl+T/Cmd+T), and you're all set!
If your folder is still empty or if you need more materials, you can always search for focus/flash lines in Clip Studio Assets
※ How to Add Material Window in Clip Studio Paint
※ How to Import Brush and Image Material in Clip Studio Paint
Extra 1: Layer Mask
After adding the focus line, you’ll notice a new window next to the layer preview. This is called Layer Mask!
Layer mask helps you to hide or show parts of a layer without deleting anything. Think of it like putting a masking tape on top of a drawing!
In Clip Studio Paint, you can use eraser tool or any drawing tool set to transparent color to hide parts of the layer. To make the hidden parts reappear, draw over the layer mask using any colored drawing tool.
The original image remains safe, so you can change what you see without losing anything. It’s a great way to control what’s visible in your artwork!
Extra 2: Transparent Color
Take a look at your color wheel window. Have you ever wonder about the icon under the main color and sub color? Well, It’s actually an icon for transparent color!
Selecting this icon will change your brush to draw with a transparent color instead of an opaque/visible color
I like to use airbrush or any other normal brush with a transparent color to delete the parts of masking layer, here’s a quick example on how I use layer mask and transparent color brush together!
• Speed lines
Speedlines convey speed, movement, and urgency. They help build momentum before we reach an impactful scene, signaling the reader that something intense or fast is happening, which can add to more excitement!
However, speedlines are not limited to these functions; they can also convey emotions. For example, drawing speedlines coming from the top can create a sense of gloom, while drawing them coming from the bottom can evoke a rising effect.
Now, let's create one in Clip Studio Paint!
1. Similar to the previous steps, start by selecting the drawing
2. Since the dumpling man is flying and punching from below, I want the lines to go vertically from the bottom to the top
After selecting the speed line tool, navigate to the property tool to adjust the angle option. Once the angle is set, click/tap on the canvas and draw a horizontal line across the drawing, and double click/tap on the canvas to finish drawing the line
3. Since we were using selection tool before, a layer mask will automatically appear on the speed lines layer
4. Click on the layer mask and begin hiding the lines that overlaps with the character with soft eraser tool
You can also make curved speedlines!
To understand more about speedline editing tool, you can see the guide here:
• Motion lines
Now that we’ve learned about focus and speed lines don’t you think the dumpling man lacks something? Well now let’s introduce you to motion lines!
While speed lines and focus lines are usually added to the background, Motion lines are typically drawn close to the character. These motion lines help to indicate the direction of a movement/moving object
Try moving your hand as fast as you can and observe what happens. If you look closely, you’ll see a blurry motion or an afterimage trail left by your hand movement. This is the “special effect” that we need to recreate in our drawings!
Here’s the updated dumpling man drawing with extra motion lines!
Since I’ve already created the line art, I added a new layer to draw the extra motion lines on top of it and used a masking layer to hide the original lines.
To gain more insight on where to add these lines effectively, you can look up any action comic that features a fight scene.
I prefer to draw the lines manually to make them look more organic. However, if you want to work more efficiently, you can use action lines brushes from Clip Studio Paint! Here are some brushes that I recommend using!
Hatching
Hatching is a traditional drawing technique that creates shading effects using pen or pencil
There are many types of hatching techniques you can use! In manga, single hatching and cross-hatching are the most common techniques. However, it ultimately depends on the artist’s style and preference
cross-hatching can be used as a background effect or a shading tool
Depending on the intensity of the hatching and its application, different emotions can be evoked. Heavy and dark cross-hatching creates suspense or a sense of mystery, while lighter cross-hatching evokes feelings of uneasiness and anxiety.
Examples on hair shading with single hatching and cross hatching gradient!
Instead of drawing the hatching lines one by one, you can browse and download hatching brushes in Clip Studio Assets!
Screentones (Halftones)
Screentone, also known as halftone dots, is a traditional shading technique commonly used in manga to add depth, gradients, and texture to illustrations. Originally, screentone sheets were adhesive-backed, similar to sticker sheets, allowing artists to cut out and apply precise patterns directly onto their artwork to create shaded or textured areas.
This technique let artists add consistent patterns and smooth shading without needing to do complex inking or detailed hatching by hand.
“Does that mean we need to buy a physical screentones?”
Of course not! Thanks to Clip Studio Paint, we no longer need to purchase physical screentones, as we can now apply them digitally. Though, I won’t stop you if you want to draw and use traditional screentone!
Now, let’s learn how to apply them in Clip Studio Paint!
• Screentone Layer
1. Select the area where you want to put the screentone, here I will be putting it on the character’s clothes
2. Since manga is printed in black and white, we’ll only be using grayscale colors!
3. Now, go to Layer Property and click on the screentone icon—and voilà! You’ve just turned the color into a halftone!
TIP: For PC user, you can also put screentones by clicking this icon after you selected your image!
for iPad/tablet users you need to add the icon manually to the command bar
Low frequency means less dots, making you see the dots texture and shape clearly
And higher frequency results in more dots and finer tone
You can also change the dot shapes in dot settings!
• Screentone Brush and Image Material
If you want more flexible, freehand control over tone application, another option is to apply screentone with brushes!
There are many different textures and materials in Clip Studio Paint that you can use as screentones. Just like the previous tutorial, make sure you selected the area where you want to apply the material and then drag the image material from assets onto the canvas
• Gradient Halftones
With the same screentone layer method, you can use gradient tool to create gradient effect
Now just click the screentone icon on layer property and you’re good to go!
• Pattern Tones
You can use pattern tones for both background and clothing materials. Here’s an example of how I use everything we’ve learned so far~ I’ll put the assets I’ve used down below
TIP: To change colored materials to black and white, go to the layer properties, activate the "Layer Color" setting, and adjust the color to black.
My pattern/image material collection! Most of these are free and available at Clip Studio Assets!
• Tone Scrapping
With physical screentones you’ll need a cutter and a sand eraser to scrap the screentones manually, but since we‘re using Clip Studio Paint, you can use eraser tool or any brush with transparent color to do it!
I’m using eraser brush I downloaded from this set:
Scraping is a good way to shape lighting!
• Tone layering and Moirè Effect
You can create new patterns when you overlap tones on top of each other, I’m layering two same tones here, pay attention how the dots interact and change as I’m moving it:
You can create new patterns when you layer tones with different angles too
It’s important to be aware of unwanted visual artifacts, such as Moiré pattern that can occur in your drawings. The Moiré effect is an optical illusion that arises when two patterns overlap, resulting in an interference pattern. This effect can be intentional or unintentional, but generally it can be unpleasant to the eyes.
• Why do the tones 'flicker' when I move my screen?
Your screen or monitor consist of a super tiny RBG grids also known as pixels in order to display an image. When the image is moving or zoomed, these RGB grids can struggle to perfectly match the arrangement of dots in a screentone pattern, leading to visual artifacts like "flickering" or “checkered” patterns
it’s like layering two screentones, but you’re layering the RGB grids on your monitor with the dots from your half-tones image! You can fix this by viewing the image on the right size and position on your screen.
The most important thing is, you want to avoid creating unintentional moiré pattern when printing your manga, I suggest reading this tips made by Konijnsate for more explanation!
Sparkles & Light Effects
Sparkles and light effects helps to intensify moments of beauty, emphasize key moments, and to visualize character’s emotion. You can easily spot these effects in romance comics! Either when a attractive character is being introduced or when a character is expressing their feelings~ it helps to communicate “blinding” or “heart pounding” effects to your readers!
You can draw the sparkles manually or you can easily find a variety of effect brushes in Clip Studio Assets. Here are the brushes I used for this effect!
Afterword
There are various types of effects in manga, and countless ways to use them. You can experiment with different techniques and mix and match the methods I've shared to find what works best for you! The best way to understand comic effects is to read as many comics as possible and use them as references.
Since English isn’t my first language, some of my explanations might not come across or translated perfectly, but I hope they still help you understand manga effects better. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions~ thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next tips!
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