Introduction

Your workspace is a factor that determines productivity. It is best to have the 'necessary' tools and functions available while painting. These are subjective to everyone.

First, if you notice there are one or more tools not being used, remove them. Sure, it is also good to experiment every once in a while to find something more useful. However, for the sake of productivity, organize your workspace according to the tools you use regularly.

 

 

In the image above, the interface is set to dark with the density at 0%. I prefer it that way because I concentrate better with a dark theme. You may try out both the light colour and dark colour and their densities to see what you like. To change the theme, go into files/preferences/interface or control k.

 

Tool

 

These are on the left. I ordered the brushes I use into three categories: The main brushes, the secondary brushes I use occasionally, and the erasers. I renamed the defaults, and the ones gathered from Clip Studio assets. Renaming brushes are optional. I do it according to either how they look or work. For memory's sake, if a brush stroke looks like a star or appears as if it would paint tree texture well, I would name them accordingly.

 

Modified Keys

 

I have adjusted essential keys to ensure that I do not waste time going back and forth, searching in files, edit, and filter for the function. Remember, the key here is to create a spatial and efficient environment for your work.

Here are some universal functions. You may use or change to your desire.

Flip Canvas Horizontal- H

Flip Canvas Vertical - V

Increase brush size- M

Decrease brush size- N

Fit to screen- F

 

Palettes

Navigator

This will be a friend to everyone who experiences this scenario. You zoom in to work on details for minutes or even hours, only to zoom out and notice they were unnoticeable or worsened the illustration. The navigator gives an overall view to track your progress while the canvas is zoomed in.

 

Colour History

This function of Clip Studio remembers all the colours you have ever selected. You can even go back to the colours you chose in your past artworks.

 

Quick Access

A substitute for Modified Keys. Quick access will allow you to place all the functions you would commonly search for in the title bar in your sight. Since your necessary controls are at arm’s reach, you will save time and speed up your workflow. To add quick access, click on windows/quick access, go into quick access settings and add all the tools you need.

 

Colour slider

I use the Hue Light and Saturation (HLS) colour slider. It gives more control over your values, hue and lighting to get the precise colour you want.

 

History

You will have a track of everything you have done from the moment you worked. With this tool, you will go back anywhere you like.

Warning! Be careful not to change or add anything to your canvas when scrolling through history. Identical to the undo button. If you go back too far and add or change anything, it will delete your progress.

 

Layers

Layers are like glasses stacked on top of one another. They provide flexibility to paint or add filters on each layer separately from the rest of the illustration.

 

Thank you for your time

Overall, remember to experiment with the features Clip Studio offers. I hope this assisted in your workspace organization. Thank you for your time. Keep creating.