I've finished drawing the character, but drawing small items is difficult!

In manga, you have to draw the same thing from various angles!

 

I'll show you how to streamline this process.

A video version is also available, so if you understand Japanese, please check that out too.

Clip Studio Paint offers a variety of materials.

By mastering them, you can significantly streamline your workflow.

Don't be afraid of villainess accessories or glasses from any angle!

I'll explain them in order.

Image Materials

First, let's talk about image materials.

Their use is very simple: just drag and drop the downloaded material onto your canvas!

As is, the material might be too plain, so let's transform it to fit your character.

You can transform with shortcut Ctrl+T, and free transform with Ctrl+Shift+T.

Shortcut key input is also valid during transformation; pressing Ctrl+Shift+T while transforming allows you to free transform immediately, which is very convenient when adjusting materials.

Once the transformation is complete, erase any unnecessary parts.

Deleting the layer directly would make it irreversible if you want to fix it later, so use a layer mask to hide the parts you want to conceal.

A layer mask is a feature that allows you to partially hide drawing within a layer. You can hide unnecessary parts like overflows.

Quote: CLIP STUDIO PAINT User Guide

 

Since it's only hidden by the layer mask, the original image remains intact.

Erase and hide the parts that go under the hand or hair.

We've successfully added a ribbon to the character.

Next, let's add earrings to the villainess.

I searched the material folder for 'earrings' and pasted this material.

Transform it the same way as before and mask the unnecessary parts.

The gem color seems a bit off, so I'll partially change the material's color.

Create a selection for just the gem part, then create a gradient map layer.

Choose a gradient set that suits the character.

Then, the gem that was red earlier turned purple.

Gradient map layers can be changed any number of times later, which is convenient for adjusting colors.

Drawing belts can be tough, right? Let's try using a brush material this time.

Drag and drop the downloaded brush material into the sub tool palette to register it as a tool.

Select that tool and draw on the canvas, and you've drawn a belt!

Unlike image materials, this brush material allows you to draw as if drawing a line, so you can draw it to fit the character's body.

 

Also, if you draw on a vector layer, you can adjust it later with the line correction tool.

How to use vector layers is also introduced in this article.

If you want to process it more freely, you can rasterize the vector layer and adjust it with the liquefy tool, etc.

However, be aware that once you rasterize, subsequent operations become irreversible.

Repeated transformations will degrade the image quality.

3D Materials

Hearing '3D' might sound difficult, but it's not that hard once you get used to it.

3D materials can be used from various angles, so learning how to use them can save a lot of time.

You can easily add a lawyer's badge to a character, or even sprout a raccoon dog mascot character.

You can intuitively arrange 3D materials by rotating them, and ribbons are easier to fit to characters than image materials.

Simple usage of 3D is explained in this article.

Next, let's add glasses to this character.

Drag and drop the material onto the canvas, then adjust the angle with the object tool.

Since this material is divided into parts, you can hide unnecessary sections.

Check the object composition from [Sub Tool Detail] → [Object List] and hide the right temple and nose pads.

Since this is a monochrome manga, I won't use the material as is, but convert it using LT conversion to extract lines.

Click [Layer] menu → [LT Conversion of Layer].

Set the options in the [LT Conversion of Layer] dialog, and click OK to convert.

Mask unnecessary parts and further adjust with the liquefy tool.

Glasses that seemed difficult to draw were made in just a few minutes!

You can draw as many characters with glasses as you want.

Next, I want to add a wedding veil to this dreaming girl.

Drag and drop the material the same way as before and adjust the angle.

 

Since the colors don't match as is, I'll change the layer color to pink to match the illustration.

You can display parts drawn in black replaced with [Layer Color] and parts drawn in white replaced with [Sub Color].

That's why the part previously drawn in black turned into the set pink color.

This is useful when you want to quickly change the color tone of a layer.

I changed the lighting condition in [Sub Tool Detail] → [Light Source].

Here's the corrected and processed version after realizing the veil might have been too small.

3D materials are great because they offer high reversibility and easy corrections.

Even if a wedding scene continues for many frames, you can just place the material as is, which is a bit easier.

Actively searching for 3D materials for things that seem difficult to draw will save you effort later on.

Customizing Materials

Register frequently used materials together in the Material Palette.

The materials used to draw this character are these three:

 

• 3D skirt

• 3D shoes

• 3D ribbon

Group them into a layer folder, then drag and drop that folder into the Material Palette to register them.

Dragging and dropping the registered material onto the canvas will call up multiple materials grouped in that layer folder.

 

This is convenient for repeatedly drawing the same character, as you can use them anytime, any number of times.

Earlier, I changed the gem's color with a gradient map, but now I'll explain in more detail how to change material colors using a gradient map.

I'll change a yellow leopard print to a pink leopard print.

A gradient map is a feature that allows you to colorize an image by replacing its tones with gradient colors.

For more details, please refer to this article and the user guide.

There are other functions for changing colors, such as hue/saturation/luminosity layers, but I often use gradient maps because they allow me to intuitively add various color nuances.

 

Click [Edit] menu → [Layer] → [New Correction Layer] → [Gradient Map] to display a dialog where you can make adjustments.

 

Earlier, I used the downloaded material set as is, but this time I'll adjust it myself.

Select a color set that matches your image, then click on the color display area below the specified colors to choose any color.

The colors displayed are determined by the original image's light and dark tones, so choose colors while observing the preview.

You can also change a blue sky into a sunset this way.

Creating Materials

You can also create your own materials.

Let's create the pattern for the shirt this character is wearing.

Using the brush material below, create the pattern as large as possible. Also, include processed text.

Once complete, group them into a layer folder and combine them. Right-click the combined layer and select [Convert Layer] from the menu.

Convert the pattern layer to an [Image Material Layer].

 

Unlike the image materials discussed in the previous section, an [Image Material Layer] refers to a type of layer.

The difference from a regular raster layer is that it retains the original image information even when transformed, such as scaled up or down.

No matter how you transform it with the object tool, the image will remain crisp without degradation. Furthermore, clicking the circular icon to the left of [Sub Tool Detail] → [Transformation Settings] allows you to reset the transformation.

Transform the created material to fit the character and erase unnecessary parts with a layer mask. We were able to apply the pattern to the shirt.

It can also be tiled like this, making it a perfect feature for clothing patterns and such.

Once you register the created [Image Material Layer] in the Material Palette, you can recall it anytime.

Conclusion