Halftone patterns or dots are very common in manga and usually serve to give depth, expressiveness and create midtones that simulate different shades of gray using only black and white.

As you well know, the way in which these plots were added in the past was quite elaborate, however, although there are still manga authors who obtain by traditional methods, new technologies allow us to use more effective ways that will help us advance faster in the production of a drawing.

 

In today's tutorial we want to show you different ways to apply hatches or halftone dots with Clip Studio Paint. Finally, you will learn some tricks and tools to be able to get the most out of this program. How about we start?

Start: Prepare the canvas for manga or monochrome illustration

Go to [File] > [New] > choose in [Basic Expression Color]. With this action we are creating a canvas that accepts only pure black/white tones.

1) Apply patterns via [Material]> [Monochromatic pattern]

This method is very simple, you only have to select the part of the drawing that you want to hatch, drag said sheet on the canvas and a layer with the halftone dots will automatically be generated.

2) Apply pattern after selection

When you use the [Selection] tool, a bottom bar with different options will immediately appear. You must click on the box that we show you in the image below. The most important thing is to choose the right [Frequency] and [Density]. In this window you can also manipulate the angle and even the pattern.

Keep in mind that the density is equivalent to the thickness of the dot, while the frequency is the distance between each one of them, so the higher the frequency, the tighter the dots will be with each other.

3) Use grayscale mode to convert it to raster

As when creating the canvas we have asked the program for the expression color to be monochrome, the first thing we must do is create a new layer and convert it to grayscale from the [Layer properties] > [Expression color] window.

In this layer you can apply all the gray nuances you want, degrade them, etc.

Then you must click on the [Effect] > [Screen] section within [Layer properties] and the layer will automatically be converted into a dotted screen.

4) Use the manga gradient tool

To do this you just have to select the place where you want to apply the gradient, choose the parameters in [Tool property] by modifying the options of [Shape], [Edge processing] and [Opacity] and slide in the direction in which you want the gradient is generated.

[Shape] is used to decide the direction of the gradient, whether linear, circular or oval.

 

[Edge Processing] is for choosing whether you want the gradient to repeat, reverse, etc.

 

[Opacity] is equivalent to the density of the gray scale you want to apply to the illustration. The higher the opacity, the darker the start of the gradient will be and therefore the gradation will be wider, the lower the opacity the lighter, for example the sky in the background illustration has very little opacity.

In this illustration we have used different gradients for the sky, to give depth to the buildings in the background and to the ground.

 

Don't forget to go to [Layer Properties] to choose the proper dot frequency for the gradient after you've added the pattern.

5) Useful tools and tips for framing in CSP

In this section we will show you some useful Clip Studio Paint tools that complement the usual use of patterns very well.

5.1 Scraping weft

In [Airbrush] there is a brush called [Scratch Tone]. Its usefulness is very varied, you can use it to generate light, create smoke, give depth,...

 

To rip a weft you just have to choose the color white and within the same layer, or a layer above the one you want to modify, apply the scratch.

In this vignette fragment of "The Guardian", we have used the scraping tool to give light and shine to the stone sculpture and its back.

5.2 White brush on top of the pattern

If you want to apply any blank brush and add some grid etc. You just have to follow the following steps. This option will be very useful both for this point and for the previous one (5.1).

 

Create a new layer and in [Layer Properties] > [Expression Color], where the black and white icon are checked, check only the white icon. From now on everything you draw on that layer will be completely white, even if you use a brush with another color.

We have used this layer in the illustration for the brightness of the character's boots and jacket.

5.3 Modify parameters of halftone dots, once the pattern is applied

One of the things that fascinates us most about Clip Studio Paint is the ability to make changes to a pattern at any time. In old drawing software this did not happen and if you made a mistake you had to add the plot again. However, Clip Studio allows you to:

 

• Change point parameters at any time through the [Layer Properties] section. You can also manipulate the [Opacity] of the hatches to vary the thickness of the halftone dot.

• Delete and add patterns on the same layer with the same tone, regardless of the method. Any of those mentioned above, even in the case of the gradient, can be modified afterwards, you just need to go to the layer of the raster you want to modify and draw on it with any brush or pen.

We hope that our article has been very useful to you! If you have found it interesting and want to learn more about the grayscale and monochrome drawing modes or want to know their differences, we recommend that you visit the following link: