Drawing on a smartphone with Clip Studio Paint

Hi, I'm loc.artstories, and in this video, we're going to talk about setting up the Clip Studio interface on Android smartphones and some features that help make your work more efficient. We'll talk about vector layers to make coloring your illustrations easier, and finally, some accessories I use when drawing with my phone.

We're on the home screen of Clip Studio on a smartphone, and as a Clip Studio user on a computer, I don't miss any of the PC features.

On one side, we have the projects we've been working on, below are recommended materials, and then tips and more.

At this point, we have our projects, and in the middle, the button to start a new drawing.

INTERFACE CONFIGURATION: EDIT BARS, PALETTES AND COMMANDS.

To configure Clip Studio Paint, I'm going to start by modifying the editing bar on the side, where it's very useful to have the tools you normally use more accessible.

To do this, click on the menu, the three lines we see above, and click on app settings and look for the editing bar settings.

Right now we have 3 subtools and we can set up to 9 without losing the sliders: the one that controls the size of the brushes and the one that controls the opacity below.

As we can see, we need to configure the subtools that are most useful to us. Double-clicking on each one allows us to change them.

In my case, I'll add the brushes, the selection lasso, which I use a lot when sketching, the fill for coloring, the layer selector, which I use when I can't find them easily. I personally use vector layers, and this line control tool makes your work much easier. Finally, I would select the automatic selection subtool.

To modify the shortcuts for the first bar at the bottom, go to the palette bar, from the app settings, as in the previous action.

In my case, I am going to leave what is pre-established.

And as for the command bar, the last one, we adjust it the same way as the previous ones, by clicking on Command Bar Settings. I use the mesh transformation a lot. We would add this function by clicking this button, and it will be fixed in our command bar.

INCORPORATE MATERIALS FROM ASSETS:

To install materials from recommended materials, Clip Studio will redirect us to the browser and from there we can download everything we need.

We'll monitor the download during data transfer. Don't worry, it may take a while to load. Once the data transfer is complete, our hardware is installed.

We click on the Materials tab, and all our downloaded materials will appear. To use them, in the case of images, double-clicking them will take us to our drawing. If they are tools, we have to go to our subtools and click Add Subtool, adding it wherever it's most applicable.

INSTALL .SUT MATERIALS FROM OUR STORAGE.

It's also possible to install brushes from our internal storage. In my case, I install them by dragging them, moving them directly to the desired subtool.

USING PC PROJECTS ON YOUR SMARTPHONE.

If you work between your smartphone and PC, you'll need to know how to share your projects between your computer and phone. The only way I know of is through the cloud. If we go to Projects, at the top, we have Manage projects in this app or in the cloud. On your computer, you must sync your projects to the cloud and, this way, you can download the material. Wait for it to download by clicking on the cloud under each drawing. It will appear in your projects on your smartphone app, and vice versa.

USING VECTOR LAYERS TO BE MORE EFFICIENT

Without a doubt, if I don't use vector layers, digital drawing becomes very complex and frustrating for me. The cube shown below identifies vector layers. To use many of Clip Studio's features, it's important that this layer be the reference layer. You must first create the vector layer and then click the lighthouse icon to mark it as your reference layer.

EFFICIENT USE OF THE FILLING TOOL AND LINE CONTROL

As you can see, if I fill with a normal raster layer, it follows the same line. I understand that if you don't have a very clean and connected line, it can be a bit complicated. One solution is to close the gap in the fill by clicking on the Fill subtool settings.

If these kinds of problems persist, we can use line control to close it, which is why I keep it close.

BORRADOR ALONG REFERENCE EDGE

Finally, I recommend a free Eraser available for download in Clip Studio Paint, called Erase Along Reference Edge. To use it, it's very important that your vector layer be the reference layer. We'll see that when you paint outside the vector layer, this eraser erases around it.

USE OF ACCESSORIES

KEYBOARD AND SHORTCUTS

Finally, I use certain accessories that I like to work with. One of them is a Bluetooth keyboard. In my case, I have a mini one with keys I've programmed, but a regular small one would work.

To use them, you need to modify shortcuts for actions. Go to app settings and click on shortcut settings. If you click the button that says "main menu," you can see all of Clip Studio's features.

To edit shortcuts, you need to have the keyboard connected and then simply type the letter or set of letters you're interested in.

LINE STABILIZATION FOR DRAWING WITH YOUR FINGER

Finally, I don't really like drawing with my finger, but there's a way to stabilize the line to make it very easy.

Double-click the brushes you're interested in and increase the stabilization.

However, I would recommend connecting a graphics tablet to your smartphone via cable or Bluetooth for convenience, or, in my case, I use a Samsung Galaxy Ultra with a stylus.

With that, I conclude my recommendations for Clip Studio on smartphones. I hope it was helpful!