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About the new Relief filter function

Has everyone been using the new filters recently added to Clip Studio? They're very convenient.

In Clip Studio Paint Ver. 5.1, the "Relief filter," "Drop shadow filter," and "Glow effect filter" were added. Among these, I want to talk about how the "Relief filter" is particularly interesting, fun, and how much I love it.

I mean, the Relief filter is fun!! With this, you can do anything! Well, saying anything might be an exaggeration... but it allows you to quickly create a sense of three-dimensionality that was difficult to achieve with Clip Studio alone!

By itself, the Relief filter only produces gray shadows and doesn't look very flashy, but it shows its true potential when combined with other filters or tonal correction layers.

Introduction

In this article, I will frequently use gray fills and gradient maps.

 

For the gray, I recommend a color right in the middle of the neutral range. If you're not sure, it's okay to pick the color from the images in this article using the eyedropper tool.

 

I won't explain how to create gradient maps in this article, but I recommend them because they often turn out well even if you just play around with the settings.

For those who absolutely cannot make a gradient map, I plan to release the gradient maps used in this article as a set that can be purchased with CP on the ASSETS store at a later date. However, it's probably faster to look at other articles and make your own gradient map than to wait for that. This site has many excellent articles...

What can you do with the Relief filter? It becomes incredibly powerful when combined with gradient maps and tonal correction layers!

1. Liquid expression

Take this...

Apply the Relief filter with a low height setting...

And like this!

I applied posterization and a red gradient map. The troublesome highlights on the edges of the liquid are added in one go!

Try making it blue. If you rotate and transform it so the highlights are in the foreground, it looks quite convincing, doesn't it? It's super easy and simple.

2. Metal expression

Take a gold chain brush...

Set it to a single gray color...

Apply the Relief filter...

If you apply a gradient map, it transforms into a chain with fixed light directions that cannot be expressed with just a brush!

3. Perfect for UI too!

A rounded rectangle with Relief filter & gradient map & double border looks like this.

If you flip the center square vertically and horizontally, it looks like a button being pressed. In game production, there are many situations where it's useful to have a button image in its pressed state in addition to its normal state, so I recommend it. This puffy look might be good for pop and cute games.

4. Can also be used for black and white manga by binarizing!

Effects used: Relief filter + Gradient map + Binarization

This is the previous chain binarized and slightly retouched. I painted the tone parts myself, but there might be a better way... like LT conversion...

However, at this point, the "Relief filter look" has faded quite a bit.

5. By combining with posterization, you can create pixel art or cel-shaded styles! (Also possible with gradient maps)

Effects used: Relief filter + Posterization + Gradient map

This is just a heart drawn on a small canvas of about 60px x 60px, with the Relief filter and gradient map applied, and then enlarged with the interpolation method set to "Hard edges." Simple but cute.

3. Relief filter tricks

1. Relief can be applied in double or triple layers. In other words, it can handle lighting from multiple sources.

It's often forgotten, but filters can be applied in layers. Therefore, if you apply the Relief filter to the same image multiple times, you can depict scenes with many highlights.

2. Using selection tools with the Relief function makes only the selected area three-dimensional.

You can also draw puffy pictures like the one at the beginning of the article.

How to make it

1. Prepare a solid gray image.

2. Create a selection using the Selection Pen or similar tool.

3. Blur it slightly using the "Select" > "Blur border" menu at the top of Clip Studio (the appearance won't change at this point).

4. Apply the Relief filter.

5. Press "Invert selected area" from the button list also shown in the screenshot to invert the selection.

6. Apply the Relief filter. Finally, deselect to complete.

From here, if you apply a gradient map as you like, it will look like the previous image.

3. Reflected light can also be depicted by layering the Relief filter.

If you first apply light from below like reflected light with the Relief filter, and then create highlights from above on the same layer with the Relief filter again, it looks like this.

With this, it's possible to create a translucent expression using only the Relief filter.

Tips for using the Relief filter

When using the Relief filter, I recommend enabling the gradient map or tonal correction layer first, and then adjusting the Relief filter so it's easier to understand what the result will look like.

If you place the processing layers beforehand like this and apply the Relief filter to the ★ layer, it looks like this.

Bonus

I haven't explained how to draw the intro picture. That said, I didn't do anything special.

1. Place a circle created with Relief filter + Gradient map (+ a type of border where the center is transparent) in front of the character illustration. Set the circle layer effect to: Lighten.

 

 

2. While holding the Ctrl key, click the circle layer in the layer window to select the circle...

3. If you apply the Filter > Distort > Fisheye lens effect to the character illustration, you can create the appearance of eyes looking larger through a crystal.

4. Conclusion

New features are exciting, aren't they? I particularly like things that show great results when combined with existing processing, as it feels like a puzzle.

Let's experiment with various things and enjoy drawing pictures easily. Thank you for reading the article!