Presentation
Hello!! Welcome, once again. On this occasion we will take a tour of the CLIP STUDIO PAINT mobile application, geared towards beginners who are just beginning to take their first steps on the platform. I hope it is useful to you, without further ado...
Let's get started!!
1. Download CLIP STUDIO PAINT for mobiles
To obtain the application you will have to download it from the corresponding application stores:
• If you are Android users, you can find it on Google Play:
• For iOS users, this will be available in the App Store:
2. Formats of use
There are two ways to use the application, one free and the other through a subscription. Both allow you to use all the tools, only in the free version we will have a time limit.
• FREE FORMAT
When we start the application, as long as we do not have an active plan, a screen like the one on the left will appear where we will choose: “Start drawing”, an option that provides one free hour per day. When we are working on the canvas, a timer will appear (image on the right); When time runs out, a warning message will appear and it will not allow you to do anything until the next day.
• PAYMENT PLAN FORMAT
To have the application for an indefinite period of time we must acquire a plan, to do this we must go to “Choose a plan” on the aforementioned home screen or to the following route while inside the canvas:
Menu > App Settings > Buy app/change edition or plan.
In either method all available plans will appear, most of them have a free trial.
IMPORTANT: All plans, except the smartphone plan, have 3 months of free trial. At the end of the three months the first payment will be automatically charged.
If you want to know more about the usage plans, check the official page:
• CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION
To cancel the monthly subscription you must go to the section: Account > Manage plans. In the window that appears we will have our active subscriptions, we choose CLIP STUDIO PAINT, in the new window we will click to cancel subscription.
3. Initial screen
We will start by getting to know the main interface, from which we can access our works, our account, materials, tutorials, etc.
• NEW CANVAS
Here are the settings to create a new canvas. By default it comes with canvas prototypes for webtoon, comics, animation. By accessing the “Advanced settings” or “Custom size” section, we can produce our own measurements of the canvas.
In “Create from image” allows you to open an image from the camera, gallery or file. The measurements of the image will be those taken by the canvas. Ideal for importing paper sketches that we want to digitize.
• PROJECTS/KEEP DRAWING
In this section we have the projects that are on our device, and those uploaded to the cloud. In the initial menu you will find the device projects, while to see the jobs in the cloud you have to go to: “Manage works” within the projects icon.
NOTE: Below in the start menu there will be a section for news, community questions, official tutorials and TIPS.
• DOWNLOAD PROJECTS FROM THE CLOUD*
To download a project from the cloud to the device, you need to go to the “Cloud” section; We will locate the project, then we will click on the slider icon on the side of the cloud; The download will begin (we can see the process in: Menu > Data transfer). Once finished, the project will appear in the section: “In this app”.
NOTE: To upload or download a project from the cloud, it is necessary to have a user account in CLIP STUDIO. Signing up is completely free.
If we keep one of the works selected, a series of options will be displayed that allow us to open the work, edit the name, share the file, synchronization, favorites, etc.
• ACCOUNT/ MENU
Here we have our account options, where we receive notifications, see our cloud storage and the plans we have.
In menu we can manage our works, see the loading process of data transfers, remote control mode, help and settings, as well as direct access to the different sections of the official pages.
If you want to know how “Remote Control Mode” works, I recommend watching the following official tutorial.
• INTERFACE COLOR CHANGE
The interface by nature will be presented the first time we open it in a light color, but this may be a color mode that is annoying at night, which is why we have the dark mode.
To change the color you have to go to the following route: Settings > Dark mode.
NOTE: The application will allow you to download additional materials, here in settings you can decide if you want them to be downloaded when you start the application.
• DOWNLOAD MATERIALS
One of the ways to download materials is to go to: Menu > CLIP STUDIO ASSETS. There we look at materials, brushes and download them. Now, in the “Data transfer” option you can view the download process, stop it or pause it. Finally, in “Manage materials” there are the downloaded files and those that come by default.
NOTE: To use CLIP STUDIO ASSETS, it is necessary to have a user account in CLIP STUDIO. Signing up is completely free.
4. Easy mode
The CLIP STUDIO PAINT app has two models for the drawing interface: the study mode which has all the functions of the program and the simple mode which is a simplified interface with the most essential functions for the illustration. In my point of view, an ergonomic simplification, ideal for small screens. You can switch between both modes; I will address that at the end of this section.
NOTE: Since the update where this mode was implemented, the drawing interface starts with easy mode by default, unless you save the process while in studio mode, in which case, the next time you open that project will open in studio mode.
► Tools menu
When creating a new canvas, it throws up this nice interface, stylized for the dimensions of a cell phone. If we click on the brush icon at the bottom, the tools menu will be displayed. Here we will find the essential tools such as: Transformation, eyedropper, brush, lasso, liquefy, eraser, fill and shape.
FACT: I will be using the clear version of the interface. Later I will show how to change it from this screen, another alternative to the previous one shown.
The first icon on the toolbar is a shortcut that allows you to quickly switch between the eraser and the brush. Ideal for correcting errors in less time.
• BRUSH
To change the brush we will click on its respective icon or by clicking on the icon with two brushes in the center of the menu. A list will be displayed with the brushes and their categories.
• ADD BRUSHES
To download new brushes we will click on the “+” symbol at the top. We will choose the option: Search for new brushes. The Clip Studio ASSETS page will open, the service that allows you to search for materials to download. Once the download is complete, the brushes will appear in the “Download” category.
• BRUSH SETTINGS
To modify the brush settings you have to click on the arrow on the side. Here we control aspects such as color mixing, density and watercolor border.
• STABILIZER
Within the list of brushes, in the upper right part there are three points, pressing them displays a box with the following text: Change all stabilization settings/start and end, if we press it the stabilizer menu will open.
With this tool you can obtain continuous lines without so many tremors.
• CENTER ICON
The central icon has the function of displaying the tool properties, these settings change depending on the tool. For example, if the selected tool is fill, it shows the fill settings, if it is the brush, the brush settings.
► Brush size and opacity
Simple, two bars appear at the bottom, the top bar corresponds to the brush size, while the second corresponds to the opacity. Some uses that we can give to opacity are to create different textures with the same brush and mix colors.
► Color circle
At the bottom we have a colored circle, when you click the chromatic circle will appear. We also have the color set and the color slider at the bottom. At the top is the main color, the secondary color and the transparency.
DATA: With the circle we choose the colors, and inside, with the square we choose the luminosity and saturation of the color.
To import or create a color set we have to click on the three lines on the left, and then on the “+” sign. If we choose “Search for new sets”, it will redirect us to the page Clip Studio ASSETS, we download the set and that's it.
If, on the other hand, we choose “New set of colors” a new set will be created where we can pour our own colors. If we hold down on a palette, a menu will be displayed where we find the options to: duplicate set, delete and change name. To add you just have to click on the plus symbol.
If you want to know more about the use of color sets and the slider, below is the entry to a TIPS I made talking about color palettes:
► Layers
First, if we open a work with layers not supported by simple mode, the message will appear: “It contains layers incompatible with simple mode, change to studio mode.” You can ignore this message and continue in simple mode or continue in study mode. What you have to take into consideration is that there are layers that the simple mode does not accept. Let's see which ones:
** All Tonal Correction Layers
** Layer Masks
** Vector layers
** Primitives
You can continue editing, but the layers that are not allowed will be locked as seen in the image on the right. To edit these locked layers you just have to switch to studio mode.
• LAYER PALETTE
Clicking on the icon at the bottom right will display the layers palette. If you slide the palette to the left, you can see the details of the name. With the “+” icon you can add a new layer. The folder icon on the side generates new folders where layers can be stored.
FACT: The initial layer of white works as the base color of the canvas. You can change the color, but it cannot be drawn or moved.
If we hold down the “+” icon, a menu will appear where the images are imported from our device, or the camera, in addition to creating new raster layers, layers folder, paper and combined layer.
If you want to know the difference between a raster layer and a vector layer, I recommend reading the following:
• SORT LAYERS
To move the layers and put them inside the folders it is as easy as holding down the thumbnail and moving it over other layers or over a folder, in this case if the folder turns blue it means that if we release the layer it will dock inside the folder .
• EDIT LAYER
If we click twice on the thumbnail of a layer, a menu will appear where we control the layer's visibility, deletion, opacity, etc. If we click on the three dots at the end of the floating menu, the complete options to edit the layer will be displayed, such as: combination mode, border, snap to bottom layer, etc. Also, to change the name of the layer you must click on the name in the drop-down menu.
NOTE: The same layer settings can also be used for folders.
Finally, the default paper layer is white, but we can change its color by holding down the thumbnail and choosing the corresponding option “Change paper color.”
► Materials
One of the best things that CLIP STUDIO PAINT has in my opinion are the materials, you can download hundreds completely free, although some are paid, it is worth clarifying. Among the materials that we can download we have:
*•** Patterns
** 3D Models
** Gradient Maps
• Brushes
• Etc.
To download them we will go to the image icon at the top right. Then to the downloads section, in the new menu that will appear we will click on the “+” icon. The Clip Studio ASSETS page will open. We download as we have seen before.
• IMPORT MATERIALS INTO CANVAS
To import the material to the canvas you just have to click on the thumbnail. If it is an image, with the blue handles you can modify the size, position and angle. A palette with transformation options will appear at the bottom. Tap to show full settings.
With 3D models it is the same process, to edit you have to go to: “Object settings”, here you can control the camera, the light source, the pose and the body. We can download more from Clip Studio ASSETS.
► Flip Horizontal/Canvas Adjustment/Preferences
In the upper right part we will find three points, in them is flip horizontally: as its name indicates, it flips the canvas. Ideal for checking proportions. It usually happens that when we draw some proportions they do not look good when we turn the canvas, so it is advisable to turn it constantly.
Canvas Settings allows you to change the size of the canvas, start recording the timelapse and resize.
Change Canvas Size: Here we can change the size, for example, add more space to what we already have, as well as flip and invert the canvas. If we click on the chain and a diagonal appears it means it is disabled, but if it is not then the aspect ratio will be maintained.
Resize all: Used to change the scale while maintaining a proportion. Although, if we already have something drawn and we resize it above the original scale, we will lose information, which will cause the strokes to lose quality. If we change the units to “mm” then the “Resolution” option will be activated.
Lastly, preferences mostly has settings for touch gestures, but what we will keep in mind now is that here we can also switch to “Dark Mode”.
► Touch gestures (Highly recommended)
Gesture settings are found in the preferences section. These help optimize the process, saving us steps. Among the touch gestures we find:
NOTE: Touch gestures can also be used in studio mode.
Draw with your finger: If this option is disabled, the application will only recognize actions made with the touch pen; Does not work with styluses.
Redo with three fingers and undo by tapping with two fingers, in addition, you can also undo and redo using the arrows at the top.
Move canvas by swiping with two fingers/rotate canvas with two fingers.
Edropper when holding down: If we keep one finger pressed on the part of the canvas where we want to obtain the color, the eyedropper circle will appear, we can move it around the canvas.
► Save/export and studio mode
The mobile version automatically saves every so often, also when we leave the canvas using the arrow at the top left the process saves automatically.
NOTE: The data is saved within the app.
To share or save on the device we will have to go to the three points that are in the upper right, there the options will appear: “Export image” and “Export timelapse”. A window will appear where You can choose to save between (PNG, JPG or PDS). At the end we will share.
For the timelapse it is the same procedure, in the window that appears we can choose the duration, proportions, resolution and if we want it to have the CLIP STUDIO PAINT logo.
• UPLOAD TO THE CLOUD*
To upload a file to the cloud, first in the “This app” section (1) from the main screen we will choose the work and click on the slider (2), a message will appear to confirm if we want to upload it, we will accept (3). Once loaded the cloud icon will turn blue (4).
Finally, study mode is found in the last option in the three dots section, in the upper right. A message will appear to confirm if we want to switch to studio mode. We confirm and that's it.
5. Studio mode
Now we will take a quick tour of the studio mode, due to the magnitude of the functions it has, I will only give small explanations of each section. In section 6 (Tips for drawing on a cell phone) I will post entries to other tutorials of mine where I talk about specific functions that it is essential to know to give a good finish to our illustrations.
NOTE: In studio mode it is possible to use all the functions available for PCs and tablets.
► Interface
The studio mode interface is divided into four sections: (1) Menu, (2) Edit Bar, (3) Palette Bar, (4) Bar command.
This is the default configuration, the advantage of this app is that you can customize the workspace. If you want to know how, I recommend reading this official tutorial:
• MENU
Here we will find editing tools such as filters, tonal correction, rules, animation, selection, etc. In addition, there is the option that allows us to return to simple mode.
If we click on any of the options, it will direct us to the directly corresponding aggregate of functions. For example, if we access “Layer” we will see the layer options, such as: New layer, Tonal correction layer, ruler/vignette, layer adjustments, etc.
• EDIT BAR
In this bar you will find the tools section, the opacity and size of the brushes, selection and color icons.
(1) This icon serves the same as in simple mode, it allows you to quickly switch between the eraser and the brush.
(2) If we press the brush icon, the tools panel will be displayed. Here we find: Select, brushes, liquify, fill, rubber, gradients, rulers, text, vignettes, etc.
(3) Here we have the opacity (%) and brush size (px) bars.
• ADD BRUSHES/MATERIALS
In essence, the same process is followed as before. We click on “Add subtools” (1), the materials panel will open, there will be the downloaded materials as we saw in the first section of the tutorial. If we want to download them from here, then we will click on “Search for subtools in ASSETS” (2). We download it, select the material and click on “Add to palette” *(3) **.*
NOTE: This process is followed to download any material.
• PALLET BAR
The palettes that we will find in this section are: Quick access, Layers, layer properties, tool properties, color circle, materials, etc.
To display them you just have to click on the icon. With the (1) pin located at the top right we can anchor the palette so that it does not disappear when clicking on the canvas. With the center line (2), if we slide it up, the size of the panel is modulated.
To remove or add palettes that are not visible, such as the timeline palette if we are doing an animation or the subview palette (a palette that I highly recommend having), you have to press and hold anywhere on the palette bar. and click on “Palette bar settings”.
In the menu that will appear with all the palettes we can select or remove the ones we like or not, once finished we accept.
• COMMAND BAR
Here we have the commands that we can use, such as: Copy, Paste, Cut, Scale/Rotate, Redo, Undo, Flip Horizontal, etc.
To remove or add other commands we will follow the same steps as before, press and hold anywhere on the bar, and go to: “Command bar adjustment”.
To add we will look for the (1) command, select it, then click on the “+” icon at the top (2).
On the other hand, to delete we choose the command icon at the top (1) and then click on the trash icon (2).
► Save and share
To share on social networks we have to go to the quick access icon (1) which is at the bottom left, in set 1 we find: “Share now” (2) . We choose the social network and that's it.
To save as PNG you just have to click on: “Export to images folder”, icon on the left side of the command bar. It will be saved in the gallery.
6. Tips for drawing on a cell phone
Below I present some personal tips for drawing on a cell phone that I hope will help you in your creative processes.
► Tools
USE A STICKER: Although we can draw with our finger, I recommend using a pencil to avoid hurting our hand using only our fingers. There are many good and inexpensive ones on the market.
• PENCIL/FINGER PRESSURE
To calibrate the pressure when we use a pencil or fingers we must go to the following section within study mode: Menu > App settings > Pencil pressure. A window will appear with a canvas to test and modulate the pressure.
NOTE: Not all phones detect screen sensitivity. If yours has it, great, you now have one more help.
• WHEN YOU DRAW WITH YOUR FINGER
(1) If you do not have or cannot rely on a stylus, then to ensure a comfortable and injury-free work time, I recommend stretching your hand, opening and closing your fist. Otherwise, if you have a stress ball, use it.
(2) Another aspect to consider is that when drawing on such a small screen we need to have the greatest amount of precision, which is why my second piece of advice is: cut your nails.
► Easy mode
At first I recommend using the simple mode to make sketches, lineart and inking; It is more practical to do it in this mode due to the optimized interface that is not as overwhelming as that of the studio mode. For final details and effects, use studio mode.
• CANVAS SIZE AND RESOLUTION
This is a recommendation of the measures that can be used for printing or digitally.
PRINT: If what we want is to print our illustration, then it is advisable to have a resolution of 300 dpi (The dpi is the amount of information that the canvas has) the more information it has, the sharper the image will be. impression. For the size of the canvas, I recommend choosing between A4 (21.00 x 29.70 cm) or A5 (14.80 x 21.00 cm). Although CLIP STUDIO PAINT already has several preset measurements for different needs.
DIGITAL: To show our illustrations on social networks with good quality, it is recommended to have a resolution of 72 dpi. For the size, I recommend having a 2160 x 2700 px canvas as a base. Ideal size so that Instagram does not cut the illustration.
• PAPER SKETCH
If you feel that the proportions do not fit you well due to using such a small space to draw, you can create your sketch on a sheet, take a photo of it and import it into the APP as shown at the beginning. Once on the canvas we lower the opacity of the layer and on a new one we begin to ink.
• REFERENCES
In studio mode we have the subview palette where you can put reference images, but unfortunately not in simple mode, but to solve this small problem what you can do is:
First, import an image from the gallery, for this you have to press and hold the “New layer” icon (+ icon); In the options that appear, go to “Gallery”.
Second, choose an image, it will open in a new layer with the transform functions active; With them we reduce the image and place it in a part where it is not in the way for the moment and we accept. When we need to move the image, we use “Transform” to do so.
• STABILIZER
It usually happens that at first our line is shaky or in other circumstances for some reason when drawing it is difficult to make constant lines. The stability function allows us to make firm strokes regardless of our conditions.
• BOW AND PADDING
Use the lasso and filler pot to quickly paint entire blocks. The process is simple, first we will select the area that we want to paint using the lasso. In the tool properties there are two very useful functions “Add to selection” and “Remove from selection”, these two are used to add or delete to the first selected area.
Second, on a new layer we will use the fill can, we will apply it inside the selected area. With this function you can fill closed spaces and, by modifying some settings, even fill spaces with slight openings. To exit the selection you must press the floating button “Clear selection” at the top.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that with the third icon “Invert selection” we can paint or delete outside the selection we made.
Filling is a very useful tool that you should take into account. If you want to know more, I invite you to read about this tool in the following tutorial where I talk about it:
• MIX COLORS AND DROPPERS
Within the application we have several ways to mix colors. First, within the settings of some brushes we have the “Color Mixing” option, if we have this option active we will use the eyedropper method:
The eyedropper is used to select one of the colors to unify, then we take the brush we are using (it works better with brushes that have a gradient finish) to paint a little over another color. We repeat this action until we are satisfied with the mixture.
Another method is to use the mixing brushes found in the “Mix Color” category. With these you will obtain different mixing effects, for example: Blend Color (gives a blur on the edge of what is mixed) , fingertip (provides a dragging effect), blur (this one directly blurs, but not as markedly as the previous one, in addition, the intensity can be modulated), paint mix , wet mix (leaves a water texture) and textured mix.
• USE OF LAYERS
Using layer adjustments allows you to be exact and have everything organized.
(1) Use many layers, for example, one for the sketch, another for the lineart, as many for the color and a last few for the details. Also arranging layers within layer folders helps maintain an easy-to-follow sequence, because who hasn't happened to want to delete a line, but don't know which layer it is on?
(2) Name the layers, for example: Layer > Eye Color.
(3) Use “Lock transparent pixels”, this is a function that allows us to paint without leaving, when activated in that same layer you can only draw on the pixels that have color, the transparent ones are completely ignored . We find this function in the layer options, it is the square icon with a small lock.
(4) Use “Snap to lower layer”, its function is to create a false cutout, that is, what is drawn on it will only be visible with respect to the limits of what is drawn on the layer to which it makes reference (the bottom layer). If you remove the clipping, everything made will become visible, you can also apply multiple clipping layers with respect to the same layer.
• GESTURES TOUCH
Use gestures to rotate, zoom in, zoom out the canvas to find a comfortable drawing position. These gestures save time and effort, highly recommended. Remember that these gestures are explained in the previous section: Simple mode > Touch gestures.
• FLIP HORIZONTALLY
Remember that it is essential to rotate the canvas to correct errors that are not noticeable at first.
• COMBINATION MODES
When we are adding color it is good to use combination modes because they allow us to subtly adjust the tone of the colors.
For example, in the image on the left we find the illustration without using the combination modes, while on the right it does have them. Mostly, I used them to shade (multiplication mode), so the difference would be more noticeable on the neck.
The combination modes are found in groups that are divided into darkening effects, brightness effects, contrast effects and color change effects. Below is an example of how the tone changes depending on the mode.
To learn more, I recommend you visit this tutorial I made where I cover everything necessary about these modes:
• BLEND
The liquefy tool allows you to make corrections, it allows you to modify the shape of the area where we use it. It is a tool that works well when finishing the illustration. With it we can edit, change the position, the size of some parts of the illustration without the need to delete anything, especially if we have already finished it.
The tool properties include: mode and intensity. In mode we find seven options which are: Push, increase, shrink, push left, push right, turn right and turn left.
To learn more I recommend reading this official tutorial:
► Study mode
Finally, we have some tools that we will find in the studio mode that will be used for the post-production of the illustrations.
• TONAL CORRECTION LAYERS
We find the tonal correction layers in the following path: Menu > Layer > New tonal correction layer. In total there are nine layers that we can use.
These layers allow us to edit shadows, midtones and highlights. The ones I recommend the most are: Tone curve, color balance and gradient map.
Let's see an example, on the left we have the illustration without tonal correction layers and on the right with them. We see that the colors are more vivid in the illustration with tonal correction layers.
To edit a correction layer again, we just have to double-click on the thumbnail on the left.
To know how to use, edit and some examples of use of these layers, I leave the entry to these two tutorials where I talk about them:
• FILTERS
Filters are also good for finishing touches. In the mobile version they can be found in: Menu > Filters.
Among all the filters, I highlight the “Blur” filter, ideal for giving motion effects, depth focus, etc. There are also the “Distort” effects, in which I highlight the “Fish-eye” effect, which will result in an effect like the one in the image below.
• TEXTURES
Finally, to add textures to our illustrations we will go to the materials folder (1), once there we will click on the (2) folder where we will look for the textures section (3). We will choose the desired texture, lastly we will drag the image to the canvas (4).
Afterwards, having selected the texture layer, we will go to “Layer Properties” (1), there we will display the icons and select “Overlay Texture” (2). To improve the effect, I recommend lowering the opacity of the layer and/or changing the blending mode (3).
As a result:
Ready, we have already gone through all the essential sections to create our works of art, now it is just a matter of familiarizing yourself with the tools. Finally, I leave the timelapse of an illustration made in the application:
Farewell
I hope that what you see in this tutorial is to your liking and that it is helpful to you. Well, without anything to say, thank you for coming this far! ପ(๑•̀ुᴗ•̀ु) ॣ৳৸ᵃᵑᵏ Ꮍ৹੫ᵎ ॣॣ
We won't see you another time ( •⌄• ू ) ✧
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