(C) 2024 MARZA ANIMATION PLANET INC.

Compatible with CLIP STUDIO PAINT Ver.2.3.2

*This article is in Japanese. Sites in languages other than Japanese are machine translated.

Let's create a storyboard using CLIP STUDIO PAINT's animation features! This is a training course on storyboard production.

[1]Environment settings

Let's set the recommended environment for storyboard work.

 

1. Press [File] → [Preferences].

*For the iPad version of "CLIP STUDIO PAINT", select [Preferences] from the [Menu bar] → [CLIP STUDIO PAINT] icon.

2. Select [Animation] from the items on the left.

Set [Cel pasting method] to [Paste to selected layer], [Add cel specification when adding layer] [Delete cel specification when deleting/moving layer] ] Check the box. When the settings are complete, press [OK].

[2] Create new folder

Let's create a new folder and get ready to draw.

 

1. Select [New] from [File].

2. Set the following items in [New Window]. This time, configure the settings as follows.

 

File name: Any name (this time we will name it “Seq01” as sequence 1)

Standard size: Width/1920 Height/1080 Resolution/144

Frame rate: 24fps

Playback time: 1+0[seconds + frames]

When you have finished entering the settings for each item, press "OK".

 

3. Select [Window] → [Timeline] to display the [Timeline Palette].

The [Timeline Palette] is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

4. Let's [Save] here once. Please specify the save destination as desired.

[3]Draw a picture

Let's actually draw a picture.

 

1. Draw a picture freely using the pen tool.

2. Click [New Animation Cell] on [Timeline Palette] to create the second sheet of paper.

3. If you use [Onion skin], you can make the first picture transparent.

4. Let's create the second picture.

5. You can easily check the front and back pictures by moving the red band left and right.

If you want to check the previous and next pictures from the keyboard, use [Shortcut settings].

Press [File] → [Shortcut key settings].

Set [Select previous cel][Select next cel] in [Track editing] of [Animation] to any shortcut. (Here, I set it to "," and ".")

After setting, press "OK" at the top right of the window and you will be able to check the forward and backward movement using the keyboard.

 

6. Continue drawing a series of pictures.

Even if it is a different cut, just draw it in the same [animation folder].

Insert cells between cells

To insert a picture between existing pictures, you need to reserve a frame for the insertion on the [Timeline].

 

Click and drag the cel name on the [Timeline] to adjust the frame interval. By moving the "3" cell one frame to the right, "2" has become two frames long.

If you add a picture with [New Animation Cel], you can insert a cel in between.

Rename cell

If you insert a picture between "2" and "3", the cell name will be a combination of alphanumeric characters such as "2a" and "2b". If you want to arrange them in numerical order, perform [Animation] → [Track Edit] → "Normalize in Timeline Order\".

Cell names can be automatically renamed in numerical order.

[Advanced] Create folders and increase layers

If you want to increase the number of layers when drawing, create a folder for each cell.

 

1. Select the cels you want to folder from [Layer Palette].

2. Right-click to open the menu and press [Create folder and insert layer].

3.The selected cells (layers) are now organized into folders. You can add a layer to the folder by pressing [New Raster Layer] at the top of [Layer Palette]. Add more layers as needed.

If you want to combine the contents of the created folder into one layer, select the folder and right-click to open the menu and press [Merge selected layers].

Layers within the folder are now merged. Let's organize the added layers as appropriate and work on them.

POINT!

If you create a folder with the desired layer structure when you first start working, the layer structure will be inherited when you add cels using [New animation cel]. If you have a fixed layer structure that you always use when working, please take advantage of this function.

Copy and Paste

You can copy and paste the drawn picture to another layer by using "Ctrl + C" and "Ctrl + V".

However, please note that if [Paste to selected layer] is selected in [Preferences], a new layer will be created when pasting.

Delete cell

If there is a cel you want to delete, select the layer you want to delete from [Layer Palette] and press [Layer] Delete.

POINT!

If [Delete cel specification when deleting/moving layer] is checked in [Preferences], the cel specification on the timeline will be deleted at the same time when the cel is deleted.

If it is not checked, the [cell specification] will remain even if you [delete layer]. If you want to delete a cel specification, select the cel on the [Timeline] and press [Delete cel specification].

[Advanced] Cell specification

Basically, in [CLIP STUDIO PAINT], cells cannot be drawn or displayed unless they are placed on the [Timeline].

If the layer displayed in [Layer Palette] is not specified on [Timeline], press [Specify cel] on [Timeline] and place it from the [Layer Selection] window. Select a cell.

"2" has been [cell specified] on [timeline].

[Cell specification] is also effective when you want to place the same cell repeatedly.

[4] Adjust timing

Once you have all the pictures, let's set the timing.

 

1.Select the cell and adjust the overall frame interval.

 

 

Multiple selection of cells

By selecting multiple frames (select by dragging), you can move multiple cells on the timeline at once.

POINT!

When moving a cell, be careful not to drag it to a location where a cell has already been specified, as this will overwrite the cell specification.

2.When checking the number of frames, perform [playback] as appropriate and check the balance of the overall movement.

Hide timeline

If the data becomes heavy, press the button at the bottom of the screen during playback to hide the [Timeline]. When drawing, you can also hide the [Timeline] to make it faster.

3.Repeat this process to draw short, continuous pictures.

Playback settings

We recommend checking [Render before playback starts] from [Animation] → [Playback Settings] to avoid playback delays.

[5] Export

Create [movie export] and [sequential number export].

 

 

Export movie

1.Press [File] → [Export animation] → [Export movie].

You will be asked to specify a folder to save the file, so set the save destination to your desired location. Also specify the file type (mp4/mov, AVI) at this time.

2. Check the items in [Movie export settings].

For [width][height], [standard size] when creating [new folder] is applied. Please enter any number for [Frame rate]. Press [OK] to export the movie.

Export sequential numbers

Export sequential numbers.

 

1. Select [File] → [Export animation] → [Output animation cels].

2. Set the [Animation cel output]. The following are recommended settings. For the output range, if you select [Drawing frame], the area within the blue frame will be exported.

3.Press [OK] and the images will be exported in consecutive numbers.

summary

By using the above functions in combination, you can create long storyboards. You can make your work even more efficient by setting shortcuts and customizing your workspace. Find your own way and have fun using the software.

 

 

Production: Marza Animation Planet Co., Ltd.