1. Introduction

Have you ever spent hours on a drawing, only to feel it doesn't convey what you expected when finished?

This used to happen to me constantly... until I started using two key Clip Studio Paint tools:

▪️ Free Transform

▪️ Liquify

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to go from a rigid pose to a much more dynamic and balanced one in just a few steps.

2. Long video (8:32 min.)

3. Short video (2:41 min.)

4. Preparation

Before touching anything, I usually work by separating elements into layers. In this case, for example, I separate the character on one layer and the pigtails on another.

I also like to add some guides (horizontal and vertical), mainly so I don't get lost when I start deforming.

 

Because yes, if you overdo it... the drawing can turn out horrible... 😅

5. Free Transform

❖ Procedure

► General Settings

There isn't a single way to use this tool, but this is more or less what I usually do:

 

1. I start by placing points in key areas:

 

▪️ feet

▪️ knees

▪️ waist

▪️ neck

▪️ head

2. And from there, I start moving the anchor points. For example:

 

▪️ I lean the body forward

▪️ I compensate by leaning the neck back

▪️ I slightly raise a heel

▪️ I adjust the legs

Nothing too technical, really. It's more about experimenting until it looks good. The important thing is to avoid everything being straight and static. Curves make our drawing much more dynamic and attractive.

► Small Adjustments

Let's move on to small adjustments now. Sometimes I also tweak the face a bit and improve it, but the changes should be very slight. That is:

 

▪️ slightly raise an eye

▪️ adjust some hair

These are small changes, but they help everything fit together better.

 

 

► The Pigtails

We can also use this tool with hair (in this case, pigtails). Here I did something very simple:

 

▪️ I duplicate a pigtail

▪️ I flip it horizontally

▪️ I place it on the other side

And then again, I apply Free Transform to each pigtail to give them a bit of shape. Because if I didn't, they would look very stiff and lifeless.

6. Liquify Tool

What I can tell you about the Liquify tool is... be careful. This tool can be used... but it must be very subtle.

 

 

This tool has modes like:

 

▪️ push

▪️ expand

▪️ shrink

▪️ twirl

 

I use this tool very little, especially at the end. It's useful, for example, for:

 

▪️ straightening a line

▪️ or adjusting something very small

 

But not much more. If you overdo it with the Liquify tool, it's very noticeable and looks quite bad. The best way to use this tool is so that it's not obvious you're using it, because then, you'll be using it well.

7. Result

With just these changes, the drawing gains several things:

 

▪️ more movement

▪️ better balance

▪️ less rigidity

And without having to redraw everything, which is ultimately what's important to streamline your workflow.

 

 

I hope you liked the tip, see you next time. 👋