Although Clip Studio Paint offers great vector functions, these are unfortunately not compatible with other vector programs and therefore cannot be used for printing.

 

Unfortunately, most vector programs are extremely cumbersome to use and far too complicated for beginners.

 

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to create cutlines for Clip Studio illustrations with just a few clicks, using kiss & cut stickers as an example.

 

 

Are you familiar with kiss & cut stickers?

 

They are very popular among artists. The stickers are pre-cut according to their shape and can be easily peeled off.

 

Printers require vectorized cutlines for shape cutting.

 

To create these, you need CSP Pro or EX and a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator

Step 1

In the first step, create your sticker sheet in CSP.

 

Make sure the file includes a bleed.

In my case, the sticker sheet should have a size of 90x160mm

 

the bleed* desired by the printer is 3mm

 

-> Consequently, my file has a size of 96x166mm.

In the next step, create your background and distribute your stickers.

 

Make sure that the background and the stickers are on 2 separate layers or folders.

In the next step, surround your stickers with a white outline.

 

To do this, click on the layers/folders containing your stickers, go to "Layer Properties" and add a white border of at least 1mm.

In the next step, make the background invisible by clicking on the eye next to the corresponding layer. If it disappears, the layer becomes invisible.

Now you should have a transparent background.

 

Export the result as a .png file.

 

Step 2

In the next step, take the Magic Wand and click on an "empty area" of the image

Then, invert the selection by going to "Selection"-> "Invert Selected Area".

In the next step, expand the selection by at least 1mm by going to Selection -> "Expand Selection".

Now create a new layer and fill the selection with the same color as the outline of your stickers

Finally, make the layer with the stickers invisible and the background visible again. Only the background + the filled area should be visible.

Save this result under a different file name than the exported .png sticker file.

Step 3

Now open the previously saved .png file in Clip Studio and select the "Lock Transparent Pixels" option (found above the layers).

 

Then choose any color and paint over the entire area. After that, re-export the result as a .png under a different file name.

You should now have three exported files:

1. PNG file with the stickers and an outline

2. Background file with an expanded outline area

3. A PNG file with the silhouette of the original .png file

Step 4

Now you can close CSP and open a vector graphics program. In my case, I use Adobe Illustrator, but there are now many free alternatives.

 

Go to File -> New and you will see the following window.

 

Now enter the size of your stickers (90x160mm) and the bleed (3mm) separately. You should also ensure that the color mode is set to CMYK.

Press OK and you will get a file similar to this one.

The outer frame shows you the bleed. If it is not visible, go to View -> Show Artboard.

Now drag your background layer into the program and place it using the black arrow "Selection Tool". Then place your stickers.

Now lock both of your layers by clicking on the empty box next to the corresponding layer.

If a lock appears, it is locked.

Step 5

Now finally drag your silhouette file into the program and place it.

 

Above your file, several functions should be available for selection. Click on the small downward-pointing arrow to get more functions and select "Silhouette".

The preview result should now be black. Now press "Convert".

You should now have a similar result.

In the top left, you'll find options to change the vectors.

 

Set the left box to the white symbol with the red line (no color) and for the right, choose the color of your cutlines. To the right of that, you can define the stroke weight of the outline.

 

The color of the cutlines must comply with the printer's specifications and often needs to be created and named specifically. Almost every printer has its own tutorial for this, which can be found on their respective websites.

 

Typically, cutlines are 100% Magenta and have their own name, such as Cutline-Color. You create this by clicking on the symbol you know for new layers in CSP. Now you can define and name a new color.

Now you have your cutlines!

Next, export your cutlines.

Go to File -> "Save As..." and select PDF.

 

Ensure that the document's bleed settings are used, meaning that the entire document, including the bleed, is exported.

Now you should have a PDF with cutlines. If you've done everything correctly, the color of the cutlines will no longer be visible in the final print.

 

Read the printer's specifications carefully, as these vary from printer to printer.

The silhouette technique can be used for any type of cutlines, and I hope this tutorial has helped you and made creating them significantly easier.

* Bleed

The bleed is a safety margin that guarantees no white edges, also called "flashers" or "glitches," appear.

 

Because, contrary to what you might assume, your print files are not printed on a sheet of paper of the corresponding size, but rather together with other pages on large sheets of paper.

After printing, these are cut to the appropriate size using a laser. Since this does not work with 100% accuracy, it has a fault tolerance, which corresponds to the "Beschnitt" or "Bleed."

Therefore, it is not advisable to simply draw a white border around the page, as this will become visible in print if the laser did not work precisely.

 

For sticker cutlines, a white border is also necessary because the laser does not work with 100% accuracy here either.

 

 

If you create the bleed manually and not through program specifications, you must add it to each side, i.e.

for a 3mm bleed, 3mm will be added to the top, bottom, right, and left.

The print document will then be 6mm wider and 6mm longer than the original format.

To make the original format visible, you can use guides.

 

To do this, activate "View" -> "Ruler"

 

Now a ruler should appear around your document.

You create a guide by clicking on the ruler and moving your cursor while holding down the left mouse button.

When you release the left mouse button, you also "release" the guide and place it.

 

In this tutorial, I used guides in Steps 1-3.