Introduction

Hello everyone! For this tutorial, I'll show you the process I follow to design kimonos in a manga style, as well as some shortcuts that help me save time, such as CLIP STUDIO ASSETS decoration brushes.

I'll be using CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO and, as always, I'll be detailing the brushes used throughout the tutorial.

From Sketch to Inking

We'll be working with this sketch of one of my OCs, Karime. Since the main objective is the kimono design, I've opted to draw the character full-body instead of using panels, but I'll still be showing various uses for decoration brushes later on.

For both sketches, this is the brush I always use

This illustration will be quite heavy on details, but if we're talking about Linework, I'll only focus on the model, so we just trace the general shape as we're used to (in other words, just trace the simple shapes) :

 

I did the inking with this brush:

Kimonos (and background decoration) are usually detailed, and this illustration is no exception, so for all those accessories, I will use some detail brushes later on. But that doesn't mean I can't refine this Linework with more details.

In [Decoration -> Flower Sub Tool], you will find various flower brushes (among other options) that we can implement into the figure. I will use the Lily brush:

(*) Optional: My Linework style has thick lines, so to adapt the look, I only traced the outline of the flower

Now that we've completed the Linework, in [Edit -> Convert brightness to opacity], we can replace the white background with a transparent one. (Since most design brushes have a white background, it's highly recommended to have a transparent background for the Linework layer so that it doesn't interfere later when we add screentones or coloring, depending on the objective)

Kimono Screentone and Texture I - Decorative Brushes

We lay down the color bases (in grayscale, as this will have a manga appearance), like this:

Now comes the fun part: Designing the kimono.

With these brushes, we will trace the design we want at will.

I recommend opening a new canvas to get a better perspective of how the texture will look, but it's also possible to apply the brush directly to a clipping layer. Here's an example so you can notice the difference and choose which is more comfortable for you:

For me, it's more comfortable to design on a separate canvas, so I'll go for option 2.

Japanese ornamentation tends to be very ornate, so it's best to have plenty of references on hand if you're not used to it yet!

(*) Important: References are good, but it's not necessary to copy them exactly. A good way to experiment is by making random strokes. Of course, with appropriate judgment in the grayscale (personally, I use 3 to 4 shades from white to black)

Kimono Screentone and Texture II - Custom Decorative Brushes

Now that we have the fabric base, I'll add some flowers. To save time, we'll create a brush that we can reproduce without having to draw the same flowers over and over again:

1) Create a module

2) In [Edit->Register Material->Image], give it a name and a tag so you can quickly locate it, and save the texture as a brush material

Then, in [Decoration Sub Tool->Create custom sub tool], we'll give the brush a name and insert the texture we previously saved.

A new window will open automatically. In [Brush Shape], we'll apply the shape of one of the default brushes so that it acquires similar settings. Then, in [Brush Tip], we'll replace the shape with the material we previously drew.

We search for the name or tag with which we saved the material, accept, and done! We have our personalized brush.

Now all that's left is to use it to fill the canvas as desired

As I said before, it's good to make random strokes from time to time, so I'll do that to fill some spaces:

After a few attempts, it looked something like this:

Now all that's left is to save the image and export it to our character's canvas!

Now for the background:

The brushes I attached earlier have good textures, so I'll also use them to fill the background of the illustration.

Kimono Screentone and Texture III - Shine Patterns and Tones

Done! Now all that's left are the final details.

Let's add some shine to the hair and the kimono's obi.

In [Decoration->Sand Pattern Sub Tool->Gauze Cloud], we have one of my favorite brushes for this job.

Just direct the brush stroke from where the light originates.

We're almost done!

The only thing left to do is give it a more traditional look with screentones:

In [Layer Properties->Effect->Tone], we can give our illustration that texture.

Select the layer(s) (or folders) we want to screentone and click the tone icon.

And done!

Final recommendations

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Manga is one of the things I enjoy doing the most, so I hope this tutorial helps you save time whenever you have to create very detailed designs, as CLIP STUDIO's decorative brushes have saved me many times from my deadlines, not only when drawing manga but also when doing color illustrations!

 

I'll attach some of my social media links in case you're interested in seeing more of my drawings! Thanks for reading!