The convenience and fun of digital art with professional illustrators of “Small S”

In this series, professional illustrators will introduce the convenience and fun of digital art to other artists who rarely draw on computers.

 

When first creating art, many people turn to the familiarity of pen and paper, but many are interested in digital art as well.

However, you might be worried about how to use the tools and software.

 

This series introduces the basics of Clip Studio Paint so that beginners can use it with ease to enjoy creating their art, without having to learn the most complex functions.

Clip Studio Paint is a drawing software often used by contributors to the Japanese illustration magazine “Small S” as well as professional illustrators.

An iPad version offering all the PC functions and tools has been released!

It has the advantage of allowing artists to easily do things that are difficult or even impossible when working traditionally. The software has a lot of useful functions to learn.

Over the course of this series, you can learn and draw alongside real beginners to digital drawing as we introduce some tips for digital art!

 

Artists for Part 3: Shun Akagi and Aro Hagiwara

Shun Akagi (Japanese: 紅木春): She mainly works in Clip Studio Paint.

She draws book covers, for social games, and teaches illustration to high school students.

Shun also regularly attends the independent comics convention “Comitia.”

 

Aro Hagiwara (Japanese: 萩原あろ): She draws and paints traditionally with Copic markers, watercolors, and ink pens.

Aro usually uses Paint Tool SAI for her digital artwork, but is trying to learn how to make manga and illustration on Clip Studio Paint EX.

This spring, she'll begin attending art school for comics and illustration to further her studies.

 

In this part 3, Aro, a beginner wishing to improve her digital art skills, will team up with Shun, a professional illustrator.

Shun will support Aro by sharing valuable tips for digital illustration.

She will also provide information about her own creative process. Watch these two artists create their work and try out Clip Studio Paint yourself!

 

Make the most of Clip Studio Paint’s various functions!

■ Make your favorite brush! [Sub Tool Detail]

 

Click on the wrench icon on the bottom left of the [Tool Property] palette to display the [Sub Tool Detail] palette of the main drawing tools.

 

Shun: This useful dialog box lets you change the shape of the brush tip, such as to a straight line, curve, or rectangle.

The illustration won’t blend properly if the brush texture is not the same for the characters, the background, and the other small elements. That’s why I appreciate the customization possibilities offered by this function.

The density settings also make this tool one of the greatest assets of Clip Studio Paint!

 

 

 

■ No more color hesitation! [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity]

 

Shun: It’s possible to adjust the opacity, blending mode, hue, saturation, and opacity of every layer.

If you aren’t satisfied with the color scheme, you can easily change it later. Simply duplicate the layer, apply different shades on it, and compare with the original colors.

 

 

 

■ Paint with transparent color for a better blending than the [Eraser] tool!

 

Shun: The ability to draw with transparency is one of the things that makes Clip Studio Paint stand out from other graphics software.

Most software offer only two options: a main color and a sub color. Clip Studio Paint offers a third choice, the transparent color.

You can drop or dilute colors as you would do with the [Eraser], but the big difference is that you do not have to switch tools.

This makes shading more natural.

 

 

 

■ Enhance your efficiency with shortcut settings!

 

Ctrl + T : [Edit] menu > [Transform] > [Scale up/Scale down/Rotate]

Ctrl + Shift + T : [Edit] menu > [Transform] > [Free Transform]

Shun: I use those shortcuts especially during the rough draft making process. They are perfect for adjusting the size of all the elements and maintain the balance of the character’s bodies.

Ctrl + U : [Edit] menu > [Tonal Correction] > [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity]

Shun: I use these a lot in my regular creative process.

 

Configure your pen tablet for better quality!

Shun: Because I frequently use the [Eyedropper] tool, I assigned the [Alt] shortcut to the lower button of my tablet pen.

▼ Configure the pen tablet on the settings page.

 

Recommended functions of Clip Studio Paint

Shun: I started to use Clip Studio Paint recently after I changed my computer.

When I was using Windows, I was working with Paint Tool SAI and Photoshop CS6.

When I changed my work environment to a Macintosh device, I switched to Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop CS6.

I am glad that Clip Studio Paint is supported both by Windows and Macintosh.

I currently use Clip Studio Paint Pro, which offers a huge range of functions and an amazing value compared to its low purchase cost.

 

Aro: Although I draw traditionally, my first insight into the art world was digital.

When I was in elementary school, I started painting with Paint Tool SAI like the artists I admired.

At that time I didn’t know about any other graphics software.

Now I use Clip Studio Paint EX.

I chose EX because it includes more features for creating comics.

 

<Useful Points>

· Compared to other software, lines are easy to draw

· Brush and material customization

· Can easily apply screentones

· Many specialized tools for illustrations and comics, such as figures and perspective rulers

· You can flip the canvas horizontal in a different viewer

· Can paint with transparency

· Can be used for professional art because of its PSD compatibility

· Complete illustration and comic tools at a low price

 

Shun’s Tips for Designing Clothes

Let’s try designing clothes together!

 

Aro: Those clothes are inspired by the classical Japanese style that Shun often draws.

I decided to draw short hakama pants and an inner kimono vest to combine fantasy and classical Japanese elements.

I was especially interested in drawing a hakama.

I know how to draw long hakama because I’ve worn one for after-school activities, but I wasn’t sure how a short version would work.

Shun: I like the balance of the fitted clothing with floaty elements such as the hair and the cloak in Aro’s design.

 

Shun: A short hakama is easier to draw if you base it on a regular skirt.

I imagined the shape of a skirt when drawing the short hakama in this illustration below.

The silhouette, volume, and hakama pleats have a similar look to a typical schoolgirl sailor uniform.

The hakama is usually tied at the front and the back, but I omitted this there and drew a hook fastening.

I mixed the styles by drawing openings at the sides of the hakama.

 

Think about shadow placement

Aro: This illustration was colored with COPIC markers. I do not think much about the light source, I usually decide as I paint. I enjoy drawing, but I am not very good at painting clothes...

I think that Cocoa Fujiwara (manga author) has the best coloring style; sharp and smooth at the same time! I can’t hide my mistakes with sharp shadows, so I tend to use smooth shading overall.

 

Shun: Here’s an example of my shading on this illustration. This method is different of the one I usually use; I simply painted the shadows on white clothes. I decided to use this method because it was hard to see the shadows on top of the dark blue that I wanted for the clothes.

Fortunately, digital drawing allows you to add the shadows on a different layer to the main color, which makes the shading easier.

 

Shun: Here I tried shading Aro’s drawing with my usual method. This is just a simple version for explaining my technique.

First, I identify the light source.

I begin with the structural shading.

Next, I follow the folds in the clothes and start to define other small elements.

There are exceptions, but for me, the overall three-dimensional aspect is usually the most important thing.

For example, when drawing a white shirt, I find strange to suddenly draw folds and wrinkles everywhere.

I usually start by drawing the necessary shadows, such as the crease under women breast or under the arms.

 

Aro colors the clothes

■ Let’s paint using Shun’s advice and Clip Studio Paint functions!

 

(1) Aro: I decide the colors of each part as I am painting. I fill each area with the [Fill] tool.

 

(2) Aro: The [Fill] tool isn’t painting everything, so I use the [Felt Pen] to color the remaining white parts.

 

(3) Shun: When you are hesitant about color choice, I suggest first applying some temporary ones. Then, use the [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity] tool to change the colors until you are satisfied.

 

Hint: Using the [Clip at Layer Below] function

If you don’t clip the layers, colors might go out of the edges.

When the shadow layer is clipped to the lower color layer, the shadow color won’t go outside the area of the lower layer.

 

(4) Shun: Why not hide the red colors temporarily so you can concentrate on the shading? By hiding the color layers, you can work on adding the shadows in monochrome.

 

(5) Shun: The more complex the clothing, the harder shading becomes.

You don’t need to work on the small details from the beginning; instead start by painting the shadows on the main zones.

 

(6) Using Shun’s advice, I blur the edges.

I am using the same [Transparent Watercolor] tool, but using the transparent color.

It’s new for me to add such large shadows!

 

(7) Shun: Now that most of the shadows are painted, it’s time to display the color layers.

Once they are visible, try adjusting the color of the shadows colors using the [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity] tool and the density of the layer.

 

(8) Aro: I turn on [Lock Transparent Pixel] to paint only the shadows.

I am surprised by the sense of depth created simply by adding light blue and purple on the edges.

 

(9) Aro: This is my illustration with just the shading visible.

I left some sharp shadows while blurring others, as well as adding some different tones like blue and yellow.

I darken the blue of the cape to make it stand out more.

 

(10) Aro: I color the rest of the illustration and finish it by adding highlights with the [Glow Dodge] blending mode.

▼ Adding highlights and shadows enhances the three-dimensional feeling of the colors.

 

Now I’ve finished painting the shadows.

In the next part, I will add some finishing touches to the illustration.

 

 

 

■ Impressions so far...

 

During this process, I’ve come to like Clip Studio Paint more and more!　

It will probably take time for me to get used to all the different functions. I hope to learn more little by little.

I think this shading lesson was very useful because it applies to many things including comics and screentones.

I learned many ways to paint shadows and will start to use this new knowledge from now on!

I am not very good with the finishing steps, so I am looking forward to the next lesson!

 

Shun’s process, from rough draft to shading

(1) This is my rough draft.

First, I draw the body of the character and then put the clothes on it.

I will draw the butterflies and the small details later.

 

(2) Because I often draw calm illustrations, I decided to do something more summer-like and dynamic this time.

 

(3) I reduce the rough draft opacity to around 10%–15% and create a new layer for the line art.

Brush Size: 15px-30px, Canvas Size: A3

 

(4) I divide the zones in three; the background, the character, and the butterflies. Then I start to paint each of them.

I adjust the colors with [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity].

 

(5) The parts have been properly divided.

I separate the parts that I might change later onto different layers. This will make it easier if I decide to change them later.

 

<About the color scheme>

This time, the colors are separated into four bases; yellow, blue, white and orange.

In this illustration the number of colors is low. When I draw something more colorful, I separate the layers according to the different color schemes or saturation levels to make the file easier to manage.

 

(6) I paint the shadows.

I place a white layer on top of the layer of step (5) and set it so that only the colors of the shadows are visible. I use different color shadows for each part, for instance, painting the skin in orange and the shoes in purple.

 

<Focusing on the shading>

I hide the dark blue underskirt temporarily so I can focus on the shape of the shadows.

After painting, I make the colors visible again and adjust the colors of the shadows.

I use the [Mapping pen] to add an “anime” touch.

I paint sharp shadows to give the feeling of sun rays and embrace the summer theme of the illustration.

 

This is my drawing with the color layers of step (5) and the shadow layers of step (6).

Most of the coloring is now complete.

In the next lesson, I will work on the textures.

 

The figure below shows the organization of some of Shun’s layers.

The blending mode of the shadow layers is [Linear Burn].

Layers are properly divided, the names are indicated, and they are all organized into files so that the drawing is easy to manage.

 

 

 

To the attention of people interested in digital drawing...

Shun: Even if there are a lot of features offered by software, you don’t need to use all of them. Besides the functions I always use, there are a lot of tools that I do not know about as well.

I suggest that you focus on learning to use the tools that are useful in your own creative process and leave the rest behind. Start off by learning about the functions that you use on a regular basis. Then, you can gradually start trying new tools little by little.

I think you can get what I mean here and see the link if you are drawing analog pictures. (You can see similarities with drawing styles, brushes names, icons, etc.)

If you are interested in starting to draw digitally, I suggest that you start off trying different tools and functions and see what you prefer to make your own digital creative process.

 

 

 

In the next lesson, we will discuss finishing touches and effects!　We hope you will enjoy it!

 

 

 

What is Small S? (スモールエス)

It is a Japanese illustration magazine first published in 2005. With the slogan "A magazine for tutorials and submissions", it features special articles with step-by-step tutorial guides for illustration making, alongside many illustrations submitted by readers. It includes artworks made both traditionally and digitally. Readers can submit their illustrations online.