Hello! I want to show you how to use selection layers to color a line drawing. I personally use selection layers whenever I have created a very complicated selection (for example with the lasso tool) that took a long time to create and I want to remember so as not to have to select again like that having to spend a lot of time.

But even if I have to select a simple selection over and over again, it helps if I can "save" it on a selection layer so I can quickly select it again with a single double-click.

So selection layers can save a lot of time.

I'll show you the beginning of coloring a line drawing. Let's start!

1. Start: Create lineart and selection layers

I made a line drawing (1). I want to make it so that it looks like the decorations on the gate and above are glowing. In addition, the scene is said to be nighttime.

The scene is just a section of a larger picture (2). However, I only want to color the part that I really need. So I want to be able to select this part of the image again and again so that I only edit this part.

Selection levels are a way to remember a selection, i.e. save it for later use. Since I will have to repeatedly call up the selection of my "working field" on this illustration, I will create a selection layer with this field.

So I select the rectangular selection (3) from the “Selection” tool, and “Add Selection” (4) in the sub-tool settings and the rectangle (5) under “Figure”. Then I drag a selection across the entire window while holding down the left mouse button (6).

With the selection created, I go to the item “Convert to selection layer” (8) in the “Selection” menu (7) at the top of the menu bar and click on it once.

Clip Studio Paint then deselects the selection (9) and transforms it into a bright green layer called "Selection 1" (10), which is set to 50% opacity (11) (basically the program just fills the selection with it). one color). The color of the layer can be edited by double-clicking on the “Layer Color” field (12) under the “Layer Properties”. Poison green is the default.

The layer with the selection can now be hidden (by clicking on the “eye” (13)), because it remains usable even when hidden!

A double click on the “selection layer symbol” (14) reactivates the selection from each layer without the selection layer having to be displayed.

I hide the layer, call it "Everything" because it contains the entire selection of my image, and move it to a new folder by clicking on it and then holding down the mouse button (15) in the small folder icon (16 light blue). in the Layers panel. I will now move all other selection levels into this folder.

I need: a selection layer for the garden landscape in front of the gate, because the lighting conditions will be different there (17). For this I also change the layer color in the layer properties panel, by double-clicking on the color field (18 light blue), because then I can tell the layers apart more easily.

I also want to create another selection that allows me to select (with just a double click) the interior space BEFORE the goal (21 light blue).

To do this, I double-click with the left mouse button on the small symbol of the “Everything” layer (19). The selection is then created and is “saved” on the layer. I now want to subtract the selection for the garden from this selection. So I double-click on the “Selection” symbol of the “Garden” layer while holding down the Alt key (20 ocher). The selection on the “Garden” layer is then subtracted from the selection on the “Everything” layer (21 light blue). I'm now converting this selection back into a selection layer and calling it "Inside."

Alternatively, I can click on the "Everything" layer twice to create the "Everything" selection and then RIGHT click once on the thumbnail (22) of the "Garden" layer. A drop-down menu then opens in which I can also select that the selection of the “Garden” layer is subtracted/deleted from the existing selection (24) via “Selection of layer” (23).

Here I can also choose whether to add the selection of the "Garden" layer to the selection of the "Everything" layer (25 ocher), or whether to select only the part where the selections of both layers overlap (26 light blue ).

Selections from other selection layers can also be added to an existing selection by holding down the Shift key while double-clicking on the layer to be added. To create selections of overlapping areas, double-click by pressing the Shift key and the Alt key at the same time.

I can also select “Create Selection” (27 light blue), then Clip Studio Paint will replace the existing selection with the selection from the new layer. This function can also be carried out in the layers panel by double-clicking on the “selection layer” symbols of the selection layers. Clip Studio Paint always selects the last double-clicked selection.

I still create selection layers for:

- the ground,

- the doors,

- the area above the doors,

- the decorations on the doors,

- and the decorations above the doors.

I create a total of eight selection levels (29).

 

In the end, my illustration with all selection layers displayed (except the “All” layer) looks like this (28):

2. Coloring with selection layers

I hide the part of the graphic that I don't need and start coloring. I set a few flats to get a feel for the colors (double click on the selection layer, apply fill tool to a new layer).

Then there are the decorations on the doors, because they are my source of light. I select them by double-clicking the selection icon (2) of the corresponding selection layer (1).

Then I create a grid layer (3 ocher) above the lineart (4) and fill the selection of decorations with orange on this grid layer. Since the rest of the drawing is very dark, a dark orange will also look very bright.

I then deactivate the layers that had the original lineart of the door decorations so that only the orange on the door is visible (5).

Next I create a new layer (6) above the one the orange is on. I set the layer's mode to "Dodge Appearance" (7 light blue). Then I activate the selection again by double-clicking on the icon of the selection layer with the selection of the lineart of the decorations on the gate (8). Using a light color (9 blue) and a heavily textured brush, I now paint over the selection as I wish, adding bright accents to my decoration (10). I name the layer after the textured brush and also note in the layer name the size of the brush used (11 ocher). I always do this when I use unusual brushes so that I know which brush it was and what size if I need to touch something up later.

Next is the area above the doors.

I create a new layer (12) below the lineart and activate the selection for the area above the door by double-clicking on the selection icon of the selection layer (13 light blue). Then I choose a dark color (14) that is a bit darker than the color of the floor and fill the area above the door by clicking “Fill Area” (15) in the selection launcher.

By double-clicking on the decoration selection layer above the door, I select it (16) and fill it with a blue color. Then I do the same thing as with the decorations on the doors to make them "light up" (that is: I create a new layer (17) above the layer with the blue color (18 light blue), set the mode of new layer on "Dodge Appearance", activate the selection "Deco Door 2" (16) and paint over the selection with a heavily textured brush and a light color (19) until I am satisfied with the result (20)).

I continue to do this:

I use the selection layers to save the selections so I can revisit them at any time. This is a good way to save time, especially for complicated selections, so that I don't have to make the selection again and again, for example with the lasso tool.

 

 

After many more editing steps, which no longer have much to do with the creation and use of new selection layers, my illustration finally looks like this:

Another tip: I can always activate the last selection I made using the Select (21) → Reselect (22) command. But this only works for the last selection that I created. This will be overwritten as soon as I select something else.

I still find the command so practical and use it so often that it has now found a home on my command bar (23).

To store commands on the command bar: click on File (24) → Command bar settings... (25). A very large menu (26) will then appear from which you can select all the commands that Clip Studio Paint has.

If you select “Main Menu” (27) in the drop-down menu at the top and then open “Selection” (28) further down, you will find the “Reselect” (29) command there. If you click on it, you can select “Add” (30) on the right. The command then appears in the command bar with a new icon. You can move the new icon back and forth by clicking on it, holding down the mouse button and also pressing the Ctrl key.

You can also access the command bar settings by right-clicking on the command bar (31). A drop-down menu (32) then appears in which there are further options for setting the command bar. Here you can also set under “Change order” (33) whether you want to move the icons for the commands on the command bar using Ctrl+drag or just by dragging with the mouse (34).

Then thank you very much for your attention!