Now that all the large areas have been colored, finish the character by drawing the fine details of the illustration such as the eyes and highlights.

 

Drawing the Eyes (Combine Layers)

Create each part of the eyes on a separate layer and finish by joining the layers.

 

<Drawing the White of Eye>

 

1 Click [New Raster Layer] on the [Layer] palette to create a layer. Double click the layer name of the layer you have created and change the layer name to "White of eye".

 

2 Change the stacking order of the layers with the [Layer] palette.

On the [Layer] palette, drag the "White of eye" layer so that it is immediately above the "Skin" layer.

 

Note: Change the layer stacking order

To move layers in the [Layer] palette to change their stacking order etc., drag and drop layers to the appropriate position.

When using a tablet or smartphone, move any layer by dragging and dropping the grip on the right side of the [Layer] pallette.

 

Move the "Hair" layer so that it is above the "White of eye" layer. This places the eye layer below the hair so that drawing the eye does not affect the hair covering it.

 

3 Select the [Pen] tool from the [Tool] palette and select [G-pen] from the [Sub tool] palette.

 

4 Select white on the [Color Wheel] palette and color the whites of the eyes with the [Pen] tool.

 

5 Select a slightly darker color than white on the [Color Wheel] palette and color the shadow area with the [Pen] tool.

 

<Drawing the Eyelashes>

 

1 Click [New Raster Layer] on the [Layer] palette to create a layer. Double click the layer name of the layer you have created and change the layer name to "Eyelashes".

 

2 Select dark brown on the [Color Wheel] palette and color the eyelashes with the [Pen] tool.

 

Blur part of the eyelashes by using the [Airbrush] tool in a lighter color so that the color of the eyelashes is not too strong.

 

3 Click [Lock Transparent Pixel] on the [Layer] palette.

 

4 Select the [Airbrush] tool from the [Tool] palette and select [Soft] from the [Sub tool] palette.

 

5 Adjust the brush size of the [Airbrush] tool.

Adjust this on the [Tool Property] palette or select a size from the [Brush size] palette.

 

6 Select a slightly lighter brown on the [Color Wheel] palette and trace along the tops of the eyelashes with the [Airbrush] tool to add a gradient.

Changing the color like this will not cause runover from the eyelashes as [Lock Transparent Pixel] is set.

 

<Coloring the Eye (Irises/Pupils)>

 

1 Click [New Raster Layer] on the [Layer] palette to create a layer. Double click the layer name of the layer you have created and change the layer name to "Eye".

 

Make sure that the "Eye" layer is above the "White of eye" layer. If the "White of eye" layer is above the "Eye" layer, drag the "Eye" layer so that it is above the "White of eye" layer on the "Layer" palette.

 

2 Select the [Pen] tool from the [Tool] palette and select [G-pen] from the [Sub tool] palette.

 

3 Select light blue on the [Color Wheel] palette and color the colored parts of the eyes with the [Pen] tool.

 

4 Select a slightly darker color than the light blue base color on the [Color Wheel] palette and color the darker areas of the colored parts of the eyes with the [Pen] tool.

 

5 Click [Lock Transparent Pixel] on the [Layer] palette.

 

6 Select the [Airbrush] tool from the [Tool] palette and select [Soft] from the [Sub tool] palette.

 

7 Adjust the brush size of the [Airbrush] tool.

Adjust this in [Tool Property] or select a size from [Brush Size].

 

8 Select a brighter light blue color on the [Color Wheel] palette and trace along the bottoms of the colored parts of the eyes with the [Airbrush] tool to add a gradient.

 

<Joining the Layers>

Due to the drawing method, the eyes are made up of three different layers. Join these into one layer for easier management.

 

1 On the [Layer] palette, click the left area of the "White of Eye" and "Eyelashes" layers so that a check mark appears. The "Eye", "White of eye" and "Eyelashes" layers are now all selected.

 

2 Select [Layer] menu → [Merge selected layers].

The "Eye", "Eyelashes" and "White of eye" layers are joined as one layer. The layer name is "Eye", as this layer was selected while performing this operation.

 

You can use this function to organize layers by joining them if there are too many layers or if you have finished drawing some layers. Note, however, that once layers have been joined, they can only be separated by using the [Undo] function.

 

Drawing Highlights

Finally, add highlights to the entire illustration to add depth. Place the highlight layer above the line drawing to make the highlights more lustrous.

 

1 Click [New Raster Layer] on the [Layer] palette to create a layer. Double click the layer name of the layer you have created and change the layer name to "Highlight".

 

2 On the [Layer] palette, move the "Highlight" layer so that it is above the line drawing layer and all of the other layers.

 

3 Select the [Pen] tool from the [Tool] palette and select [G-pen] from the [Sub tool] palette.

 

4 Adjust the brush size of the [Pen] tool.

Adjust this in [Tool Property] or select a size from [Brush Size]. Set a slightly thick size for the pen tool so that you can make use of the pen pressure when coloring.

 

5 Select white on the [Color Wheel] palette and add highlights to areas such as the wings and hair, adjusting the brush size as appropriate.

 

6 If you make a mistake or color too far, correct the shape using the [Eraser] tool.

 

7 Once you have finished drawing the highlights, the basic coloring of the character is complete.

 

Saving the Illustration

Select the [File] menu → [Save] to save the data of the completed illustration.

To keep the layers you have created, save the data in "CLIP STUDIO FORMAT file" (extension: .clip).

When using the Galaxy/Android/Chromebook version, selecting [Save] will save automatically.

 

In this section, you have learned how to color a character using the basic functions. These functions are enough to draw anime style illustrations with comparatively flat coloring.

In the Advanced Guide, you will learn how to use the functions of CLIP STUDIO PAINT to give the illustration a more textured finish.

 

[Memo]

To open a saved file, select the [File] menu →[Open file].

Tips: Formats for Saving Files

To publish your illustration online or in other media, select the [File] menu → [Export (Single Layer)] to save the file in formats such as JPEG or PNG.

The A4-sized, 350dpi canvas used in this example is too large to publish online in its current form. Reduce the size in the [Export settings] dialog box before exporting the data. You can view a preview showing how the exported data will look after changing settings such as the size by checking [Preview rendering result on output].

 

Read the advanced guide here

The guide will explain how to retouch the illustration to bring the work one step ahead, which includes creating a background and adding texture.