From Clip Studio Paint Ver. 1.11.6, primitives and panoramas have been added to the Material palette.

This article will introduce panoramas.

 

For more about primitives, see the following article.

 

1. What is a Panorama?

A panorama is a 360-degree background image that can be set on a 3D layer in Clip Studio Paint.

 

The images that can be set are photos from cameras that can take 360-degree panoramic images, and Equirectangular (equirectangular cylindrical) images that can be exported by 3D software.

2. Importing & Setting Panoramas

 

Importing panorama materials

Drag and drop the panorama material from the Material palette > 3D > Panorama to the canvas. You can also import it by tapping Paste Material at the bottom of the Material palette.

 

Setting a panorama image on a 3D layer

If you are using a 3D drawing figure or 3D material, a 3D layer has already been created, so you can set the image from the Object sub tool's Tool Property palette under Panorama.

 

File: Select an image to set as the panorama from the images (clip/lip/psd/psb/tga/tif/bmp/png/jpg) on your device.

Materials: Select an image for the panorama from the Material palette.

Reload: Tap to reload the image from the file path set to the panorama.

Delete: The image set as the panorama will be deleted, leaving a 3D layer without a background.

 

3. Export 3D Layer as a Panorama Image

 

You can export panorama images and draw directly on them or alter the colors. You can also export data on a 3D layer as a panorama image.

Note: Perspective will not be reflected in the exported image.

 

Export the image set as a panorama

Tap Tool Property palette > UV Map > Export to save the image set as a panorama as a .clip file.

 

The exported .clip file will have a layer with the texture of the panorama, a background color layer, and a layer with gridlines labeled as the UV map.

 

Export a 3D layer as a panorama image

Tap Tool Property palette > Export as panorama image to get a 360 panoramic image of everything on the 3D layer including 3D figures.

 

The exported panorama image will be centered around the camera in use and will show everything in front of it horizontally.

Note:

• The camera’s roll and vertical tilt will be reset.

• Empty areas will become transparent.

 

The following is an example of the exported image spot from the middle of the default material room, “clubroom.”

 

You can use the exported panorama to make small color adjustments and hand-drawn additions, or you can add distortion with Fish-eye perspective.

 

Specify where the camera is located and where it is facing by going to Sub Tool Detail palette > Camera category > Camera position and Focal point Position.

 

With the All sides view palette (only in EX), you can more easily control where the camera is and where it is facing.

 

4. Draw an Image for a Panorama

 

You can also set an image you drew as a panorama.

Try editing the panorama image in a .clip file after exporting it as a UV map.

The .clip file canvas size is 8K (8192 x 4320).

 

Panorama images that wrap around in a 360 globe will be heavily distorted on the top and bottom. Because it is difficult to know how the distortion will affect straight lines like in a room, you will want to place 3D figures and primitives to make shapes and give lines you can use as hints.

 

If you want to check how the panorama will appear when set as a 360 degree environment, you can create a new canvas to check. Go to the Layer menu > create a 3D layer, then go to the Tool Property palette > File and load the .clip file.

 

You can tap Reload to keep checking how the panorama looks after you save the edited file.

 

5. Using Panoramas in your work

 

Using panoramas as backgrounds for illustrations and manga

With the ability to support 360-degree angles, you can adjust the camera settings to find the right spot for your work in a 360-degree image of a room or landscape.

 

Creating a panoramic stage set

You can create a stage set by placing multiple 3D materials on a 3D layer with a panorama image as a reference. This can be used for deciding the composition of concept art and comics.

 

6. Mastering Panoramas

 

Displaying a larger area on the canvas

If you want to widen the image you have on your canvas or in your comic panel, you can set a higher value for Fish-eye perspective by going to the Tool Property palette > Perspective.

If you increase the value, a wider area will be filled with the image, but the image at the edges will be distorted because of the strong perspective.

 

Adjust panorama eye level

By default the eye level will be set to the middle of the canvas but you can move it up and down by going using the Move layer tool.

 

Changing the display while adjusting a panorama

While operating the panorama, changing Edit Display Settings at the bottom of the Tool Property palette will change the screen display. When set to Fast, the panorama will be superimposed on the upper layer or outside the canvas. When set to Normal, the panorama will not display outside the illustration or canvas.

Try to choose a display method that is easy to use when operating panoramas.

 

When a panorama is rotated, the 3D material placed shifts from the anticipated position

When using the panorama as a stage set, if the position of the placed 3D material in 3D space does not match the position on the panorama's display, the 3D material will be displaced when the camera is turned.

 

Go to the Sub Tool Detail palette (PRO/EX) > Camera > and change Camera position and Focal point Position to specify where the camera will be in the 3D environment.

 

Set X and Z to "0", and set Y to the height of the camera eye level in centimeters (ex. 300 for 3 m, 50 for 50 cm).

 

If you are using a default panorama environment then you should set it to X:0, Y:130, and Z:0 and then place the 3D materials for easier placement.

 

Apply panoramas as ambient light

From Clip Studio Paint Ver. 4.0 and later, if there is a panorama and 3D model on the same 3D layer, you can apply the panorama itself as ambient light.

 

While selecting the 3D model, in the Tool Property palette or the Sub Tool Detail palette, select Panorama under Light Source > Ambient light.

 

• If the panorama and 3D model are not on the same 3D layer, then Ambient light > Panorama cannot be used.

• You can also apply colors from image files, image materials in the Materials palette, and Panorama materials as ambient light.

 

Rotate panoramas horizontally

From Clip Studio Paint Ver. 4.0 and later, Rotation angle has been added under Panorama.

By using Rotation angle, you can rotate the panorama horizontally while keeping the perspective and camera height.

If a 3D model is placed on the same layer, only the panorama material will rotate and not the 3D model.

When the Ambient light is set to Panorama, changing the value of the Rotation angle will also change the color of the ambient light on the 3D model in the same layer.

 

7. Registering Panoramas as materials

 

Registering a single panorama

Tap Tool Property palette > Panorama > Register Material to display the Material Property window where you can set the material name and location, and register it in the Material palette.

When the panorama launcher is displayed, you can also register panorama materials from the rightmost icon.

 

Publishing panorama materials to Clip Studio Assets

You can publish panoramas to Clip Studio Assets.

If the panorama is included in a 3D layer, it will be classified as an Image Material in Clip Studio Assets advanced search. Materials registered with a panorama separately from the 3D layer will be displayed as Panorama.

 

Therefore, if you register materials with separate panorama and 3D layers, more people will have a chance to see the material. It will also make it easier for people to use materials that are panorama only.

Separately registered materials can be published together as a collection of materials.

 

Also, make sure that the textures you set on the panorama and the rights to the 3D layers do not violate the Clip Studio Assets rules. Materials that can be published on Clip Studio Assets are limited to those for which the submitting user owns the copyright or other intellectual property rights. Users must be aware of the intellectual property rights of content before posting it.

 

Please take a look at this article regarding how to use 3D materials.