Hello!

I am Plushelisa, an amateur manga creator who has been published in Japan (:

In the digital age, many traditional manga artists are moving towards digital means. And what better way than Clip Studio Paint to make this transition!

Having always been passionate about drawing, I started drawing manga 2 years ago. Before drawing manga, I was a fervent supporter of traditional drawing, but after having tasted the joys of digital, I can no longer do without it!

In this article, I will give you tips to get used to digital manga as quickly as possible and to be able to create incredible works thanks to this tool!

I/ First steps on digital

1. Familiarize yourself with this new tool

An important thing to do when transitioning from traditional to digital is to familiarize yourself with this new tool that is Clip Studio Paint. When I switched to digital a few years ago, it took me a while to get used to the interface as well as the feeling of drawing on a tablet. You will definitely miss the comfort of paper at first! To get used to digital drawing (whether on a tablet or computer), I advise you to first get your hand used to drawing on this new tool. To do this, draw a large number of lines, then circles, trying to be as precise as possible. The feeling may be strange at first, but you will quickly get used to it, you will see!

 

When I started drawing on a tablet, my lines were quite clumsy, but over time I managed to draw with more confidence and precision. Now, I can't do without digital drawing.

Here is a comparison between my line drawing when I started on Clip Studio Paint and now:

2. Find your pen

What would a mangaka be without his pen? The pen, which we will call here "Pen", is an essential tool. On paper, you probably had a favorite pen, the one you were most comfortable with drawing. When I went digital, I first had trouble finding the pen that suited me, with which I was as comfortable as on paper.

So I advise you to wipe as many pens as possible on Clip Studio Paint to find the one that suits you!

Clip Studio Paint has a large catalog of pre-installed pens that mimic manga pens. However, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, additional pens created by Clip Studio Paint users are available on [Assets].

To download pens on Assets, click [Add a secondary tool] then [Search for materials on Assets]:

This will take you to the Clip Studio Assets webpage:

When you find a pen you like, click on [Download]:

You will be redirected to Clip Studio Paint. Then click on [Add Sub Tool] again. The last thing you downloaded will be the pen you just added from Assets.

Click on [Add to Palette]:

And there you have it, you can now use it!

I advise you to test a large number of pens before choosing the one you will use. I spent a week testing many pens before finding the one that suited me!

 

If even by browsing the range of pens present in Assets, you do not find anything that you do not like, you can always modify a pen by changing its parameters.

To do this, click on the icon to display the details of the pen:

A window will open with different categories. You can now change the shape of the pen, its strokes, its texture as you wish...

3. Create a project

Now that you've found the pen you're comfortable with, let's get down to business!

The first step to creating your digital manga is to create the file in which you're going to draw.

To do this, go to [File] then [New]:

Then select [BD] and [B4 size]:

(B4 format is the one most often used for commercial publication)

Check the [Multiple Pages] box:

(Here I chose 38 pages, but you are free to choose the number of pages you want.)

Important: Select for the binding position [Right binding] and for the starting page [From the left]:

This will make the first page of your manga on the left and the reading direction right to left, like in Japanese manga.

 

Click [OK] and this is what you should see:

And there you have it, your pages are ready for creating your manga!

4. Lost funds

It also seems important to me to make a point about the markers present on the manga pages.

Here is how a B4 page looks on Clip Studio Paint:

You will notice the presence of markings. These are markers that are important to understand because they are very important, especially when printing your pages.

 

When I started drawing manga digitally, I didn't know what these markings were and it caused me problems!

 

So here is what you need to know:

Green area: This is where the text bubbles and all the important information will be placed.

 

Pink area: Do not draw anything that is very important in this area, because when printing, depending on whether the page is on the right or left, this part may not be visible because of the binding.

 

Red area: This area will be cut off when printing. However, it is important that you draw up to the crosses to avoid white spaces if the cut at the time of printing is a little offset.

 

 

Here's how your pages should be organized:

II/ Creation of your Manga

1. From storyboard to inking

Now, the steps are the same as when you were working on paper, that is: storyboard, sketch, ink and screen. The only difference here is that everything is simplified!

Below is my step-by-step creation process:

2. Tips and tricks

Drawing on Clip Studio Paint offers many advantages that will greatly facilitate your creative process!

Here are some tips and tricks that will be very useful to you.

 

Mirror vision:

Many mangakas look at their drawing in a mirror to see the mistakes they have missed. Now that you draw digitally you can do it very easily!

Click on [Rotate on the horizontal axis of symmetry]:

Types of screens:

Screens are very often used in traditional manga to add different gray values to the drawing. Traditional screens are often difficult to find outside Japan and quite expensive. But now that you have gone digital, you will no longer have these problems!

Indeed, on Clip Studio Paint you can very easily add screens to your works.

Here is how to do it:

After inking your drawing, create a new layer by clicking on [New pixel layer]:

This new layer should be placed under the inking layer.

Then click on [Layer Properties] then [Frame]:

Choose the gray intensity you want in the color wheel and you can start adding tones to your drawing:

You can also choose the screen ruling level and the shape of the dots:

You will no longer need to buy different sheets of frames to obtain varied patterns because everything is present in Clip Studio Paint!

 

Adding texts:

When you draw in a traditional way, you have to scan your manga page and then add the texts using software. Clip Studio Paint will simplify the task for you, because it allows you to directly add texts in a very simple way.

Click on [Text] then click on the place where you want to add text:

You can now add dialogs to your bubbles.

By clicking on the pencil icon, a window will appear:

This allows you to change the text settings as you wish, whether it is the font, size or color.

 

Visualization in bound format:

Clip Studio Paint offers a feature that I particularly like: the 3D preview of the binding.

In the page manager, click on the book icon:

Creating the 3D preview can take a few minutes.

When the upload is complete, you will be able to view your manga in 3D bound format:

3. Exporting your manga

If you want to print your manga, I advise you to follow these steps!

To export your manga, click on [File] then [Export multiple pages] and [Export in batches…]:

In [Page Range] select [All] and check the [Split Double Pages] box:

For the file format, I recommend you to select [TIFF]. The TIFF format is perfect if you intend to print your manga because it does not alter the quality of the images:

In the export settings, check [Text] and [Crop marks]. As seen previously, crop marks tell the printer where the paper will be cut.

The export can then take a few minutes.

Once the file is exported, you just have to save it and your manga is ready to be printed!

Conclusion

In this article, we were able to see the essential points to know when switching to digital manga:

• Get used to drawing on a screen

• Find the pen that suits you

• Open a project on Clip Studio Paint

• Add frames

• Add texts

• Export for printing

 

Making the transition from traditional to digital is not always easy at first. But you will gain experience and in no time Clip Studio Paint will have become your best friend!

 

I hope I was able to enlighten you on certain points if you were hesitant to switch to digital.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article to the end!

 

You can find me on social networks where I regularly post my drawings:

Instagram: @Plushelisa

Twitter: @Plushelisa

YouTube: @Plushelisa