I have experience working on the finishing process for webtoons.

While character direction is certainly important, background direction is just as crucial.

In this article, I will explain effective background direction techniques for webtoons.

 

Click here for the YouTube video.

Read the Name (Storyboard) to Understand the Intent of the Panel

First, read the name (storyboard) carefully to grasp the overall flow and understand the intent of each panel.

It is important to direct according to the content.

For example, the left panel looks like it has a sacred atmosphere, but I think the right panel looks eerie and unsettling.

Readers who see the right panel will likely interpret it as "something ominous is about to happen."

Think about "what kind of impression you want to give at a glance" when directing.

These are panels of chibi characters. Both are comical, but you can tell that the right one looks like they are having a fun conversation, while the left one has a slightly awkward atmosphere.

With proper direction, you can convey the nature of a panel to the reader even without dialogue.

The Impression Created by Colors

The first impression of a webtoon is determined by color.

By being conscious of the impressions colors create, you can achieve effective direction.

 

• Red: Aggressive, energetic

• Orange/Yellow: Energetic, cheerful

• Pink: Romance, cute

• Green: Calm, natural

• Blue: Cool, unsettling

• Purple: Eerie, unsettling

• Black: Eerie, dark

Battle scenes often use red unless a character has a specific element.

Few readers would interpret a scene as a serious battle if it were directed with pink.

Even without dialogue in this panel, the speech bubbles, background, and sound effects processed in pink will convey that it is a scene related to romance.

You can create an eerie atmosphere by using a lot of black and purple.

As a general rule of thumb, warm colors often have a positive image, and cool colors often have a negative image.

 

However, it is important to note that these are not absolute universal images; for example, the image of "poison" is purple in Japan but green in many other countries, and the colors that evoke a sexy atmosphere can differ by country.

Using and Managing Assets

Webtoons have about 60 to 70 panels per episode. Delivering one full-color comic per week is a massive workload, even with a division of labor.

You need to utilize assets and finish your work quickly and appropriately.

Check CLIP STUDIO ASSETS frequently and keep your eyes peeled for new materials.

Since you will eventually have a huge amount of assets, organize them into folders so you can quickly find the one you need.

 

In my case, I categorize them as follows:

 

• General Frequent Use (everything I use most often goes here)

• Frame Borders

• Frequently Used Speech Bubbles

• Other Speech Bubbles

• Frames for Backgrounds

• General Finishing

• Textures

• Stream Lines

• Saturated Lines

• Frequently Used 3D

• Image Background Assets (Color)

• Image Background Assets (Monochrome)

• Pattern Assets (Color)

• Pattern Assets (Monochrome)

• General Battle-related

• Hands

• Sound Effects

• General Backgrounds

• Sky

It's convenient to group items you use often.

How to Process Assets

Apply Textures

Textures not only add material quality to objects but can also easily add atmosphere to a background.

Applying a noise-like texture created an unsettling atmosphere.

Change the Asset Colors

Sometimes you can't use downloaded assets as they are. Process them to match the panel.

Being able to process them according to the scene you want to create will greatly expand the versatility of your assets.

Let's change the color of this asset.

 

There are multiple ways to change the color of a layer, but this time we will use [Gradient Map], which allows you to choose colors intuitively.

Select [Layer]→[New Correction Layer]→[Gradient Map].

The [Gradient Map] dialog will appear, from which you can select a gradient set asset.

The whole thing was too dark, so I placed yellow on an Add (Glow) layer with an airbrush to make the bottom glow.

 

It's convenient to download gradient map assets from CLIP STUDIO ASSETS.

Please see this article for detailed instructions and recommended assets.

Also, please note that tonal correction layers only affect layers within the same layer folder.

Directing Using Assets

I've prepared a mansion.

 

• The mansion where the protagonist lives

• A bright story

• Time of day is morning

• Suggesting a cheerful beginning

 

I will process it based on these settings.

Since it's morning, I'll paste a bright blue sky asset and a sunlight asset.

I clip a Screen layer to the mansion and add blue with an airbrush to blend it with the sky color.

I place leaf assets and add blue to them using Screen as well.

I use a Color Dodge (Glow) layer to add dust motes and pentagonal light to express a sparkling morning.

Finally, I place a lens flare asset and change the layer mode to Screen to complete it.

 

I think I've managed to create a direction that suggests a bright development.

Process with Filters

CLIP STUDIO PAINT has [Color Filters] for adjusting the tones of an illustration and a [Filter Gallery] where you can use effect filters from a list.

(Quoted from the following page)

[Color Filters] allow you to select and apply filters that change the colors of your illustration. (Quote)

Select either [Apply to selected layer] or [Apply to all (add integrated layer)] from [Filter]→[Color Filter].

 

It's very convenient because even those unfamiliar with processing can do it intuitively from a list with a single click.

[Filter Gallery] allows you to select and apply filters to process textures or extract lines from an illustration. (Quote)

Select either [Apply to selected layer] or [Apply to all (add integrated layer)] from [Filter]→[Filter Gallery].

 

It's very useful for things like chromatic aberration without using auto actions.

For webtoon finishing, "Film" or "Noise" seem like they would be useful.

Lens Blur is helpful for processing night scenes.

Process with Gradients

If the processing you want to do isn't in the filter list, do it yourself.

By applying a gradient from above and changing the layer mode, you can easily change the overall atmosphere.

I applied a gradient from [Foreground to Background].

Since I want to change the color at the bottom, I select the Object tool and, with the background color selected, clicking any color will change the gradient's color.

As it is, the layer below won't be visible, so I change the layer mode to [Linear Light] and lower the opacity.

By clicking a color as before, the gradient's color is updated.

Choosing blue creates a cold atmosphere, while choosing purple makes it eerie. You can change the overall image without individual processing.

How to Adjust 3D

Please see this article for the basic usage of 3D.

In this section, I will explain how to adjust 3D models.

With the 3D layer selected, choose the Object tool and change the settings in the [Sub Tool Detail] palette.

 

You can set the light direction and color under [Light source].

[Directional light color] is white by default, but clicking here allows you to choose a color.

[Ambient light] is also white by default, but if you set a color, that color will be applied to the entire 3D model.

You can change the intensity of the light with Strength.

 

If it's difficult to create the scene you want with settings alone, I recommend these assets.

This is a collection of polygon 3D layer assets with the Sub Tool Detail settings pre-configured.

First, paste this 3D asset onto the canvas.

Then, drag the asset you want to use onto this 3D layer.

 

It's important to note that the settings will not be applied if you drag these assets onto the layer of the asset you want to use.

You can use the assets without understanding how they work, but if you're curious, please read the description on the asset page.

When You Want Shadows on a Separate Layer

As of July 3, 2026, it is not possible to render only the shadows of a 3D layer, but you can achieve something similar with a few extra steps.

Prepare a 3D asset and duplicate it.

For the original 3D asset, uncheck [Light source]→[Apply light source to model] to ensure that no shadows are displayed.

 

Configure the duplicated 3D asset in [Environment]→[Rendering settings] as follows:

 

• Uncheck [Outline] to hide outlines

• Uncheck [Use texture] to hide textures

• Click the [Lighting]→[Method] drop-down, select [Toon], and change to sharp, anime-style shadows with fewer color gradations (this is optional)

Now you have a state where there's no texture influence and only the shadows are visible.

Rasterize the 3D asset in this state, then change [Expression color] to Monochrome in [Layer Property]→[Effect] and apply the previewing expression color. This makes the shadows even sharper.

Switch the expression color back to Color since we want to add color.

Then, by selecting [Edit]→[Convert brightness to opacity], the white areas become transparent, leaving only the shadows.

You can change the color of the drawn parts of the layer using [Edit]→[Change color of line to drawing color] and paint with any color you like.

Setting it to Multiply makes it very useful as a shadow.

Conclusion

That concludes "9 Webtoon Background Direction Tips." What did you think?

Each step is a simple action, so please try incorporating them bit by bit.