Using Inflate, Drop Shadow, and Glow for Comic

Clip Studio recently added three new filters: Glow, Inflate, and Drop Shadow. Although filters are typically used for finishing touches, this time I’ll be using them to create an object.

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VIDEO

If you’re interested in learning about webtoon, you can check out my youtube channel where I share a lot of my tutorial there.

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1. Inflate

First, let’s look at Inflate. First of all, we need to know what this filter does. As always, go to Filter > Effect, and select the filter you want. The Inflate filter adds shading and lighting to your drawing, creating a three-dimensional look.

The Inflate filter comes with four settings: Shadow controls the shadow intensity, Shine adjusts the highlight intensity, Height sets the shading distance from the edge, and Smoothness adjusts how smooth the edge of the shading is. You’ll also see a blue dot on your screen that you can drag around to set the direction of the light source.

This filter is really helpful for anyone looking to work faster when creating dimensional objects. I’ll share a few examples of how to use it.

A. Using it for SFX in Comic

First, creating an embossed effect for comic sound effects. Honestly, comic sound effects don't need a lot of detail as long as the font fits. However, using this filter helps add more character to them for certain scenes.

1. Use the Text Tool to Type Out the SFX.

2. Change the Color to Fit the Mood of the Panel

3. Go to Filter > Effect > Inflate, and Set the Lighting Direction and Intensity

4. Add an Outline with the Borderline Effect Tool

and there you have it, a finished comic SFX made using inflate filter.

B. Using it for Making an Object

Not only that, you can use the Inflate filter to create other objects. For instance, I used it to quickly make foods because it handles the shading and lighting automatically.

1. Draw the Food with Solid Color

2. Use Inflate Filter to Give Depth

3. Add Texture to the Food

4. Duplicate and Add Cast Shadow

Just make a few adjustments to the cast shadow so the objects naturally interact within the panel. You can use this filter on any object that requires extra depth without having to color it manually. Keep in mind, though, that this filter affects the selected layer directly, meaning the shadows and lighting will be on the same layer rather than a new one.

2. Drop Shadow

Next, let’s try another filter: Drop Shadow. The process is the same, just go to Filter > Effect, and select Drop Shadow. This filter automatically applies a shadow effect to your layer without any extra hassle, and you can easily tweak its intensity.

Blur controls how smooth the shadow edges are. Angle and Distance set where the shadow goes, but you can also just drag the blue icon on your screen for an easier setup. Opacity lets you adjust how transparent the shadow is, and you can even change the shadow color to whatever you like

Let me show you how I use this filter to put the finishing touches on a comic. Take a look at this panel, for example. As you can see, I have a ton of layers here! This green folder contains the fully colored character along with the line art. So, the first step is to select the area of the panel I want, then copy and paste it.

A. Duplicate Character Layer

The reason why I duplicate it is because for safety, in case I make a mistake later, I still have the original layer.

B. Merge the Duplicated Layer

Next, just merge the duplicated folder so it becomes one layer. I know everyone workflow is different. But when you’re making a comic, you must be make a different layer for ‘line art’ and ‘coloring’ right? This is a step to merge the line art and coloring layer becoming one layer.

Actually, you can add filter to multiply layer, but of course that’s heavy way to do and make your device laggy.

C. Add the Drop Shadow Effect

After you merge the folder, it will become ‘one layer’. This layer is the one I use for drop shadow filter.

D. Change the Color and Add Borderline Effect Tool

Change the shadow color and add borderline effect tool, to easily outline the shadow.

E. Add Finishing Touches with Pop Art Brushes

Add the final touch using a random pop art brush around the panel to set a fun, casual mood. And here is the result of finishing a cute comic panel using the Drop Shadow filter.

3. Glow

Next, let’s try the third new filter: Glow. As the name suggests, it adds a glowing effect to your artwork. It comes with three main settings you can adjust: glow intensity, range, and blur intensity.

This is a great filter for creating dramatic scenes in comics. You can emphasize the light and dark contrast in your panel with just one filter.

A. Duplicate Character Layer

The same way as before, duplicate the character layer so you have safety in case you’re making mistake and still have the original layer and merge it into one layer.

B. Use the Glow Filter

Use the Glow filter to make the character glow.

C. Finishing

add a little bit shading to make a contrast to deliver the mood of the panel better.

By the way, I’m only showcasing three new filters in this post since I’ve previously covered filters for webtoon finishing. If you want to learn how to use the other filters, feel free to go to my other tips.

4. Using them All together

Now that we’ve learned everything, we can apply them all together!

A. Inflate

First, create a solid object so the Inflate filter has something to work with and can give it that 3D dimension.

B. Drop Shadow

Next, you can add an outline or more details to the drawing, then duplicate it to create interactions between the objects. After that, apply the Drop Shadow filter to quickly add cast shadows.

C. Glow

Next, use Glow to create a dramatic effect.

And that’s all for today post, if you’re interested about learning filter don’t forget to checkout my other tips.

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