Clip Studio Paint (CSP) is an amazing software with numerous features which may often be unknown to new and existing users. Over the years, I have discovered a number of these features and shortcuts that have helped me in my overall utilization of CSP as well as making the creative process 10x easier.

 

In this post I will be introducing, if not known already, three (3) shortcuts that you can use to make your art process much more efficient. Now I do not know the formal names attached to these shortcuts and therefore will be assigning them my own names, but I will try my best to be as descriptive as I can be, alongside some visual aids.

The Shortcuts

① Preview a Specific Layer While Hiding All Other Layers

This shortcut hides all the other layers in the file and only shows you what is on the layer you want visible.

 

Steps:

 

❗N.B. You can be on any layer for this shortcut to work.

 

1. Alt + Click (Left Mouse Button [LMB]) on the eye icon (hide/show layer icon) of the layer you want to see. The content of all other layers will be hidden leaving only the layer that you have clicked visible.

2. To undo this effect, repeat step one and all other layers will be visible again.

② Finding a Layer for that one dot

This shortcut I feel as though everyone may probably already know of. It allows for you to go exactly to the layer of an element, just by clicking on the element on the canvas.

 

Step:

 

1. Press ctrl + shift then click (LMB) on any element on the canvas for which you want to find its layer.

 

This shortcut is quite useful for when you cannot find the layer for that one random spot on the canvas. Well now you can.

 

💡TIP This shortcut can also be done by using the [Operation] tool. Simply switch to the [Operation] tool > click on the element on the canvas > and it will take you to the layer of that element. If your element is vector based, it will also select it.

③ Selection Cutouts

this shortcut may be the most confusing one yet. It allows for the user to remove from a selection on one layer, the shape of a drawing of another layer.

 

Sounds confusing? Let me try to make it easier to understand.

 

Steps:

 

1. Make a selection of your item using any selection tool. This is the selection that you will be removing a portion of.

 

2. On another layer have a portion of art which shape you want to be removed from the selection mentioned in step 1 : e.g. a shadow layer.

 

3. Press ctrl+alt and then click on the layer preview box of the layer mentioned in step 2.

 

4. Voila!

 

I have created a video with voiceover so that you can see exactly how it works.

Now this is just a cool shortcut I learned randomly watching a YouTube video from Color With Kurt's video :

What you would want to use it for is up to you but at least now you know it exists, and you can also see how Kurt uses it in his video timestamp 42:28 .

Wrapping Up

I hope that you find these tools useful and that they make your creative process just a tad bit more efficient. I will be posting more posts just like this one, so stay tuned for future posts and thank you for reading!