Backlighting adds instant drama and atmosphere to your characters — it’s the key to making them glow with life. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to shape, color, and enhance your lighting with dynamic post effects.
Ready to glow up your art? Let’s unlock the secrets of stunning backlighting and make your characters shine.
What Is Backlighting?
Backlighting places your subject in front of a light source, shining toward the viewer.
While it may look like just outlining a silhouette, effective backlighting is really about how light wraps around form—and how structure and color work together to enhance realism and drama.
Using 3D Models for Backlighting Reference in Clip Studio Paint
Clip Studio Paint’s built-in 3D models are a great tool for understanding how backlighting interacts with form—especially for portraits or complex poses. In this guide, we’ll create a quick reference setup using CSP’s 3D assets to plan our rim lighting before painting.
How to Set Up a 3D Backlighting Reference:
Go to Window > Material > 3D (Body Type) to access CSP’s 3D figure assets.
Drag a 3D Drawing Figure onto the Canvas: Choose either the full body or just a head depending on your composition.
Tip: I often shrink the default body’s head and overlay a more detailed 3D head model for better facial lighting.
Use the Operation Tool (Object sub tool) and Click the wrench icon in the Tool Property panel to open detailed settings.
Go to the Light Source tab. Move the light behind the figure to simulate backlighting.
Adjust intensity, angle, and even light color to fit your intended mood.
This setup gives you a clear visual reference for:
Where the rim light will fall
How shadows behave on the form
The difference between soft and sharp transitions on curved vs. flat surfaces
After setting the light, you can trace or build on top of the model with lineart and base colors to form the foundation of your character before applying stylized lighting.
Preparing the Subject for Backlighting
Backlighting is most effective when the subject sits in relative darkness. But shadows aren’t just black—they reflect the environment. Here’s how to do that based on your scene:
For Simple Backgrounds:
If your background is mostly flat or limited in color, a quick tone adjustment will do.
Create a new layer above your subject.
Set the blending mode to Multiply
Fill the layer with a slightly darker background color, and clip it to the layer below.
Lower the opacity until the subject sits comfortably in shadow without disappearing.
For Complex Backgrounds (Using Color Match):
If your background has multiple hues or lighting conditions, we’ll take a slightly more advanced route using CSP’s Color Match function.
Save or export your background as an image.
Duplicate your subject layer.
Go to Edit > Tonal Correction > Color Match.
Click the folder icon to select the background image from your device.
Uncheck “Maintain Brightness” that preserves your original values.
Adjust the sliders until your subject adopts the color tone of the background naturally.
Then, for shadow depth:
Create a new Multiply layer above the color-matched subject.
Fill it with grayscale values (just tone, no saturation) to darken it slightly.
Clip this layer to the subject to keep everything clean.
Group all these layers into a folder to keep your project organized.
Painting the Backlight
Now that your subject feels grounded in its environment, it’s time to bring it to life with light. We’re going to explore two different ways to apply backlighting, but both methods begin with the same crucial step: painting where the light hits.
Plot the Backlight
One of the benefits of using a 3D model as reference is being able to extract the lighting information directly, giving you a clean base for painting. This method also works great on other images where you want to isolate the light from the shadows.
Here’s how to extract the light shapes from your 3D model in Clip Studio Paint:
Select your 3D model layer. Right-click > Duplicate Layer. Then right-click > Rasterize.
Drag it to the top of your layer stack.
Note: This will be your Light Layer.
While on the light layer, Go to Edit > Tonal Correction > Tone Curve.
Create an S-curve to increase contrast between lights and shadows.
Tip: Flatten the curve to clearly define the light area but retain the S shape to still show light on other places.
Go to Edit > Tonal Correction > Reverse Gradient. This flips the image so the lighter (your shadow) areas stand out.
Go to Edit > Convert Brightness to Opacity. This turns the bright areas into a transparent mask.
This basically removes the shadow so the light areas remain.
Reverse the gradient again to return to normal light placement.
Use Transform or Mesh Transformation to align the extracted light shape over your painted subject.
Since your character likely has added clothing or details, adjust accordingly and refine later.
Understanding How Light Behaves on Forms
Before we jump into refining and coloring your lighting, it’s important to understand a key principle: backlighting follows the form — it doesn’t simply trace the edges like a flat outline.
Light Behaves in 3D, Not 2D
Light doesn’t act like a highlighter skimming the outside of a shape. Instead, it interacts with the 3D surfaces of your subject, wrapping around curves and contours depending on the angle and position of the light source.
Let’s Break It Down:
On Rounded Forms
For areas like shoulders, cheeks, or thighs, the rim light doesn’t cling strictly to the edge. Instead, it bends slightly inward, following the curvature of the surface.
It also fades out gradually, which can be recreated with an airbrush or blending tool to make it softer.
Directional Influence
The angle or direction of a form will change how much of the rim light is visible. Surfaces that face away from the light will catch less, while surfaces angled toward it will show more.
On Smaller or Thinner Elements
For details like fingers, ears, or fabric tips, the light tends to be sharper and more intense. These narrow areas give the light less room to scatter, creating more concentrated highlights.
Thickness of the Rim Light
The thickness of the rim light often reflects the thickness of the object itself. For example, a nose—being cone-shaped—will have a thicker highlight at the tip, where the surface bulges outward and catches more light.
Once your lighting is plotted in a way that follows the 3D structure accurately, you’re ready to enhance it with color. The next section will cover two dynamic methods to tint and stylize your backlight for depth and realism.
Note: Keep all these refinements on the light layer, painted using only white. This keeps the lighting clean and makes it easier to apply dynamic colors later on.
Method 1: Overlay & Fill — Quick Color Control
This is a fast and flexible way to tint your lighting layer.
Duplicate your white light layer as a backup, and hide the original.
On the active light layer, change the blending mode to Add (Glow) and Click the Lock Transparent Pixels icon (the checkerboard).
Pick a light color (warm, cool, or anything that suits the mood) and Click the Fill Tool to fill it instantly, or paint over it with a soft brush for more control.
Want to change the light color later? Just repeat the fill step.
Method 2: Gradient Map in a Color Dodge Group — For Dynamic, Luminous Light
If you want your lighting to feel more magical, glowy, or atmospheric, this method gives you beautiful, shifting color transitions.
Take your white-painted light layer and place it in a new folder. Set that folder’s blending mode to Color Dodge.
Inside the folder: Create a black-filled layer below your light layer (this gives the folder a dark base to react from).
Note: Filling the new layer with a black color should change nothing in the canvas for now because of the color dodge blending mode.
Above your light layer, create a Gradient Map correction layer: Go to Layer > New Correction Layer > Gradient Map.
Choose or create a gradient that starts with BLACK on the left and transitions to your desired light colors.
To show the different gradients, play with the opacity of your light layer. To reduce the intensity, tweak the opacity of the folder.
To adjust the lighting color or mood later, just double-click the Gradient Map thumbnail and pick a new gradient preset.
This method gives your backlighting a glowing, film-like color blend — ideal for dreamy, ethereal, or cinematic scenes.
Light effects
Once you figure out what mood and setting you are going for, you can now start finalizing by painting over it.
Of course part of it is adding light effects that can complement the whole drawing so for the last part of this tutorial, we’re going to discuss how to create some of these effects.
Glow or Light Bloom
Purpose: Creates a soft halo that radiates from the light source, simulating how bright light diffuses in the eye or camera.
How to Apply:
Set your lighting layer’s blending mode to Add (Glow), Color Dodge, or Overlay, depending on the desired glow.
Go to Filter > Quick Effects > Gaussian Blur or Lens Blur.
Adjust the blur to create a gentle spread of light.
Use a soft eraser to remove the bloom where it’s not needed, especially if it spills over into shaded areas or the subject's focal points.
Also, Duplicate the layer if you want the effect to be stronger and play with the opacity.
Best Used For: Enhancing strong light sources, adding dreamy or magical atmosphere, and softening transitions.
Lens Flare Effect
This effect works best when the light source is positioned directly behind or at a sharp angle to the camera, partially obscured by the subject. It helps convey a strong light presence and adds a cinematic punch to the scene.
For this, I like to use preset effect brushes available in Clip Studio Paint.
How to Apply:
Create a new layer, then select a sparkle or lens flare brush.
Increase the brush size and tap once on the canvas to create a large, bright sparkle.
Move it into place, positioning it near or behind your subject where the light source would logically be. Do this method as many times as you’d like to create your desired flare
Add additional soft circles or dappled light around the main sparkle to enhance the spread and intensity.
Go to Filter > Quick Effects > Chromatic Aberration (Lateral), then increase the strength to create a subtle RGB color shift around the edges.
Change the blending mode to Add (Glow), duplicate it, and place beneath the original.
Duplicate the aberration layer, and apply a Lens Blur. Adjust the blur radius and intensity until the light looks diffused.
Place this blurred layer underneath the previous ones to reinforce the glow.
Lastly, tweak the placement and size, then use a soft eraser to fade out parts of the flare that overlap your subject too much or distract from the focal point.
Tip: Use sparingly — lens flares can easily overpower the image if not balanced.
Light Rays (God Rays)
Purpose: Simulates beams of light streaming through objects like trees, windows, or fog. This adds volume to your lighting and gives a mystical or divine quality.
How to Apply:
Go to Filter > Quick Effects > Radial Blur.
Use the ‘X’ marker to place your light source.
Increase the intensity to maximum for bold rays.
To strengthen the effect, duplicate the layer, merge it with the layer below, and repeat the process.
Use Free Transform to stretch or shift the rays as needed.
Clean up areas where rays obscure key parts of your subject with a soft eraser.
Adjust blending mode and opacity to match your scene.
Best Used For: Scenes with visible light shafts, atmospheric haze, or dramatic lighting through structures.
Light Wrap
Purpose: Softens the boundary between shadow and light by allowing light to subtly “wrap” around the subject’s edges.
How to Apply:
Duplicate the Background: Copy your background layer and move it to the top of your layer stack.
Create a selection based on your subject layer.
While the selection is active, shrink it, press Delete on the duplicated background layer and deselect. This trims it down to just the inner edge.
Go to Filter > Quick Effects > Gaussian Blur and apply a soft blur to create a gentle light wrap effect.
Create another selection from the subject. Then on the same blurred background layer, delete anything outside the new selection and deselect again. This keeps the wrap tightly around the subject’s edges.
Duplicate the blurred layer and set the duplicate to Overlay blending mode.
Adjust the opacity to control how soft or strong the wrap appears and use a soft eraser to remove some of the effect.
Best Used For: Diffuse lighting, rim-lit scenes, or anywhere you want a softer, more natural edge to the light.
Light Particles, Dust, or Sparkles
Purpose: Adds fine visual detail and motion to the scene, making it feel alive and immersive.
How to Apply:
Choose a scatter, dust, or droplet brush, and set the layer’s blending mode to Add (Glow) or Glow Dodge.
Lightly tap or stroke areas around the light source or subject.
Use low opacity and scale variation to keep it subtle and organic.
Best Used For: Magical or spiritual settings, volumetric lighting scenes, or to break up large empty spaces.
Final Thoughts
And that’s it! Backlighting isn’t just a glow — it’s a powerful tool for shaping form and mood. With these techniques, you can add depth, impact, and style to your scenes. Keep practicing, stay curious, and let the light tell the story.
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