Video version:

Text version:

Ever wondered how manga and webtoon artists draw intricate hairstyles week after week?

 

The secret isn’t magic—it’s the power of custom brushes in Clip Studio Paint!

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make your own brushes that create 3D-like stylized strands and fully shaded and outlined locks to fit your style and save you tons of time!

This tutorial is somewhat of a follow-up or a bonus tips for my previous Hair tutorial—tips and tricks for easy drawing hair in any style are covered there:

After you have tried your hand at creating your own brushes, links for free download of the brushes created in this tutorial await at the end of this article! :)

 

 

🟧 Pseudo 3D Hair Brush

Let’s begin with the simpler type, which I like to call the Pseudo 3D brush because it creates shaded strands that look dimensional with minimal effort:

🟨 Complex Hair Strand Brush

These brushes are excellent not just for concepts, but also for blocking in the base of painted hair—short or long, curly or straight:

🟨 Add Color Variation with Color Jitter

🟨 Save Your Brush

When you’re done tweaking, to keep your new brush safe from crashes or sudden shutdowns:

 

1️⃣ Right-click your brush in the Sub tool palette ①

2️⃣ Select Save as Default ②

🟨 Adding Outlines

🟧 Webtoon Hair Brush

Let’s go further and create a brush that draws entire locks of hair with outlines and shading. These are fantastic for speeding up your workflow when working on webtoons or manga!

🟨 Blocking in and Line Art

🟨 Coloring

🟨 Creating the Brush

🟨 Using Hair Strand Brushes

Check out my Hair Drawing tutorial for more on these effects:

🟧 Conclusion

Creating your own hair brushes in CSP is easier than it looks. With just a bit of setup, you can create amazing, stylized hair brushes that look detailed and polished while saving time!

 

Whether you're working on a tight schedule or just want to explore new techniques, custom brushes are your best ally.

✨ Brushes from this tutorial for download ✨

Find out more about drawing hair in my other hair tutorial!

---

🌟⭐✨ If you enjoyed this tip, it will make me happy if you give a like so that I know I’m doing things right, eventually leave a comment on what you liked or didn’t and where I could improve. Suggestions for what I should cover in the future are also welcome! ✨⭐🌟