You can now create animations in Simple Mode in Ver. 4.2 and later.

With Simple Mode, you can create basic animations like drawing in a flipbook, so it’s ideal for beginners.

 

In Clip Studio Paint PRO or Debut, you can create animations of up to 24 frames. In Clip Studio Paint EX, there is no limit on the number of frames.

 

Now let’s look at the animation tools.

 

Set up your animation canvas

Animate an illustration

To animate an existing illustration, simply change the project type to animation.

 

Tap the … menu on the top right of the screen and select Create Animation.

This creates a copy of your illustration project that you can animate.

 

Create a new canvas for animation

To create a new blank canvas, tap Draw from Clip Studio Start, then select New canvas > Animation and choose the canvas size.

You cannot create animation projects from the New dialog in Debut. Please create an animation canvas by following the steps to animate an existing illustration.

The canvas and the timeline will appear at the bottom of the screen. You are now ready to create an animation.

 

The Timeline Palette

This sections explains the tools on the Timeline palette.

 

(1) Play Button: Plays and stops the animation.

(2) Frame: The frames show the images for the illustration. Each frame has its own Layer palette.

(3) Add frame: Tap the plus icon to add a new frame.

(4) Menu button: Tap to toggle onion skin mode on or off and check the number of frames per second (frame rate). In Simple Mode, the frame rate is set to 12 fps.

For more information on onion skin, please see the Add frames section.

 

Tip: Reordering frames

You can reorder frames by long pressing and dragging them.

Drag and rearrange the frames whenever you want to change the order of the movements or move a frame you added.

Creating your animation

Now, let’s start creating a animation.

In this example, we’ll be animating a witch casting spells on a flask to conduct an experiment.

 

(1) Draw the first frame

While the first frame is selected, let’s draw the first sketch on the canvas.

We’re using the Brush > Sketch > Pencil to sketch in a rough and natural style.

 

Using layers in your animation

The Layer palette shows only the layers used on the current frame.

You can use separate lineart and color layers and manage them in layer folders just like illustration projects.

 

(2) Add frames

Once you have completed the drawing for the first frame, it’s time to draw the lines for the next frame.

While it is possible to complete the first frame with color, it’s easier to continue with just the line art first, as this makes it easier to see the movement of your animation.

 

To add a new empty frame, tap the [+] in the Timeline palette.

If you prefer to copy the first frame and use it as a base for the second frame, tap on the frame in the Timeline palette and select Duplicate.

By moving or redrawing certain parts or reusing the same frame multiple times, you can create a sense of buildup.

If you wish to delete a frame, tap the frame and select Delete.

 

Hint:

You cannot move layers across frames or copy and paste layers between frames.

If you wish to use the same drawing, please duplicate the frame.

 

When a new frame is added, the previous illustration in the timeline will appear in a translucent purple color. This is due to a function known as “onion skin.”

You can draw the next frame while referencing the positions of the previous frame.

Let’s draw the line art for the part that’s moving, so it’s slightly differently from the first drawing. For the parts that don’t move, we’ll trace over the drawing from the first cel.

 

To hide the onion skin, uncheck Onion skin from the menu on the right side of the Timeline palette.

 

After completing the second drawing, let’s add another frame and continue the animation.

 

When there are three frames, if you select the second frame, you will see that the previous frame is displayed in purple and the next frame in green with the onion skin.

Check the frames on both directions to make sure the movement seems natural, and make any necessary adjustments. We repeat this process to create the animation.

 

Reposition your character easily

You can also create animations by transforming a copy of the drawing using Puppet warp.

This is ideal for animating images that has both the line art and colors on a single layer, but you can also use it on line art.

 

 

When using Puppet warp on line art, it is important to start with lines that are connected, as gaps in the lines will hinder effective transformation.

For more information on how to use Puppet warp in Simple Mode, please see the following article.

 

You can also use the Move/Transform tool to change the size, position, or rotate parts of your drawing, or use the Liquify tool to move your character.

 

(3) Check your animation in motion

Once you have drawn a few frames, tap the ▶ on the Timeline palette to play the animation and check the movement.

Press the Stop button to return to editing. After watching your animation, you can catch which parts need adjusting.

 

(4) Adjust the animation timing

Slowing down parts of your animation

If you feel that the animation is playing too quickly, add more frames to the sections where you wish to slow it down.

By checking the onion skin and drawing between the lines on the frames each side, you can add intermediate stages of movement. This process is called “inbetweening."

 

Creating a loop animation

By duplicating several frames that depict a certain movement, such as blinking, you can create a looping animation.

Adding a pause in the movement

You can add duplicates of a frame to create a pause or “hold” in the flow of the animation.

(5) Complete the line art

The animated line drawing is now done!

This animation is made of 24 cels.

The number of frames per second (frame rate) is 12, resulting in a total animation length of 2 seconds.

Add color to the animation

Once the line art is completed, let’s color the character and add a background.

 

Coloring the character

This time, we’ll apply color with a light touch, similar to watercolor.

Create a new layer under the line art for coloring.

 

We’re using the G-pen and the Fill tool to color each part separately.

To apply a watercolor effect afterwards, add a layer while selecting the solid color layer is selected.

 

Tap the layer thumbnail, select the Clip to Layer Below option, and set the blending mode to Multiply.

Now we can paint only within the area of the filled layer.

 

Select Rough wash from Brush > Brush and add a watercolor-style fill to the new layer.

 

Importing an image as a background

Tap on … in the Layer palette and select Add from images to import an image saved on your device.

If you wish to use the same background for all frames, please import the image to each frame.

The other 23 frames were similarly colored and had backgrounds added, completing the animation!

Exporting your animation

It’s now time to save our completed animation to the device or the cloud.

Select Export animation from the menu in the top right of the screen.

 

You can check the playback status of the animation from the dialog that appears.

Tap Share and specify where you want to save your animation, such as to your device files or other applications.

The exported animation will be saved as an mp4. You can post your short animations on social media or video sites.

To try out all the animation features to make professional style animations like TV animations or music videos, we recommend using Studio Mode!

Please check this article for an introduction to creating animations in Studio Mode.