Hello! I'm LibertyFreedom.

Ever wondered how to create stunning oil paintings using Clip Studio Paint?

In this tutorial article, I'll guide you through the important knowledge you need to know to get started as a beginner.

In this oil painting tutorial, I only use three oil painting brushes: the "Oil Paint Brush," , a duplicated "Oil Paint Brush" but with different texture settings and the "Real Oil Brush", a custom-made alternative I downloaded from Clip Studio Asset.

You can find both brushes via the following links:

Understanding The Important Settings and Functionality of Digital Oil Brushes in Clip Studio Paint

Texture (Wet brush and Dry brush)

In the realm of traditional oil painting, texture plays a pivotal role. The two commonly used techniques are the wet brush method, which results in less texture, and the dry brush method that offers more texture.

A wet brush technique involves mixing pigments with a higher amount of diluents like water. This composition results in a smoother paint yielding less texture in its application. Conversely, the dry brush technique incorporates less diluent with the pigments. Subsequently, the paint application is rougher, creating a more textured visual effect. Translating these methods into digital painting using Clip Studio Paint involves utilizing the oil brushes found under the 'Thick Paint' category.

Each brush in this class possesses unique textures observable in the 'Texture' section of the sub-tool detail panel. Clip Studio Paint gives you the liberty to alter this texture by applying different paper material textures.

By simply go to [Material] panel, type 'canvas' or 'oil' in the search box and you can find various paper textures at your disposal. Furthermore, Clip Studio Assets offers more variation of downloadable new paper textures.

What is important is the Texture density and Scale ratio setting.

For mimicking a dry paint effect digitally, enhance the texture by increasing the value of scale ratio and texture density.For mimicking a wet paint effect digitally, keep the value of scale ratio and texture density low.

By default, the "Oil paint" brush is a wetter brush(less textured). If you want a dryer version of the same brush(more textured), you can duplicate the sub-tool and adjust the texture setting.

In this tutorial, I opt for the 'Oil Paint' brush (with its default setting) as my wet brush of choice. As for my dry brush, I also use the same "Oil paint" brush but with higher texture density value. Additionally, I also use "Real oil" brush( downloaded from Clip Studio Asset ) as my second dry brush.

Aside from the texture difference, what is special about "Real oil" brush is that if you are using the foreground color, the background color will create some strands and lines in a way that mimics a real oil brush. This is good for detailing the painting. Pick a similar darker tone for the background color so that the strands feel natural, otherwise the strands will stand out clearly.

On the other hand, if you choose background color to paint, it will just be a normal texture brush without the interplay with foreground color. (no strands).

.

 

 

“Real oil” brush is an advanced brush so it might not be suitable for beginners to use since you need to pick two suitable colors to paint.

In this tutorial, we just nees the texture only, so be sure to choose the background color to paint.

Color Mixing

Take note "Color Mixing" only affects the color on the same layer.

This feature significantly enhances the blending and mixing of colors, mimicking the effect of traditional thick paint or "impasto" in a digital environment.

Using the same color, if you lightly apply the initial few brush strokes onto another color on your canvas, the resulting hue becomes a desaturated and lighter version of your selected color. This effect recreates the subtle blending that occurs when oil colors mix on a real-life palette or canvas.

The power of this function lies in its depth of control. If you continue to apply multiple brush strokes onto the same area, the color gradually intensifies and moves closer to your originally selected hue. This behavior uniquely replicates the layering attributes of thick oil paint, providing an effortless blending experience.

 

 

You can find this feature under the 'Ink' panel within the 'Sub Tool Detail' settings. Adjusting these parameters will directly affect the appearance of your painted color. For instance, if you reduce these values, your color will appear lighter and more desaturated. This means that if you're aiming for the original hue, you'll have to repaint the spot multiple times to build up the intensity or saturation.

On the other hand, increasing these values will raise the saturation and lightness value's minimum limit. This means that using a higher density or greater amount of paint will yield a color mix closer to your initial color choice, without the need to paint the same spot multiple times, which is what we do not really need in oil painting.

This is because oil painting is a form of thick painting for realistic painting. It involves a lot of desaturated tones(greys) and shapes communicating with each other. Thus you have to spend time to paint in a lot of brush strokes to make the paintings realistic or at least believable.

 

 

Color Mixing Exercise

Here's a simplified exercise designed to familiarize you with "Color Mixing" during digital painting using thick paint brushes. I'll share six crucial points that you should bear in mind when employing "Color Mixing" technique. For this exercise, I'll use "Oil Paint", a wet brush, to paint a sphere using only two tones - a darker one and a lighter one.

1. Start by forming the sphere with the darker tone. It's key to understand that when you paint on the canvas, the applied paint is at 100% intensity. Each stroke maintains the original color, until overlapped with another color. Remember, color mixing only applies when one color is painted over another, and this interaction occurs only within the same layer. Hence, painting on multiple layers will not facilitate color mixing.

2. Now, select a lighter tone to illustrate the light on the sphere. By default, the paint amount is set at 61%, meaning that the maximum visibility of your initial stroke is 61%, with 49% visibility of the underlying color. The intensity also correlates with pen pressure -applying light pressure results in less than 61% opacity, while applying more pressure gives closer to 61% opacity. However, you cannot achieve 100% opacity, as the maximum is set to 61%.

Therefore, your initial stroke is always a desaturated and darker variant of your chosen color since it blends with the color beneath.

3. If you want to apply the pure chosen color without mixing, simply paint over the same area back and forth multiple times. So in this case, we need to paint the same area multiple times since we want the light tone to stand out.

4.let's say we want to get the mid tone of the sphere. To get the mid tone between the light and the shadow, just use the light tone to paint over the shadow area a couple of times to achieve the desired middle tone. One stroke lean towards the dark tone and multiple strokes bring you closer to the original color. Be aware not to paint too much otherwise you will get to the original light tone.

 

 

5.Once the mid-tone is achieved, simply press the 'Alt' key to select it, which can then be used to refine the shape or brush strokes.

 

 

You can repeat the same steps to create as many in-between tones as you want.

6. If you want the edges to be smooth, you can use "Painterly blender" tool to smudge the edges. However, you don't need to use too much smudging in oil painting as it will wash out the texture, brush strokes, and the shape language of your painting, giving it more of a watercolor feel.

By getting familiar with color mixing, you can create multiple in-between tones for more detailed shading and can fine-tune the shapes or brush strokes. Directly selecting colors from the color wheel and blending can produce similar results. However, the color mixing method offers better control over color saturation and stroke application. It also streamlines the painting process as you don't need to constantly switch tools or pick new colors, which makes the overall experience smoother.

Edges

To softer edges and a smooth gradient effect, use "Painterly blender" sub- tool. This functions as a smudge tool, allowing you to seamlessly meld colors, thereby softening the edges of your painting.

To get lost edges, where the boundary between elements becomes indistinct, use "Blur" sub-tool to blur the edges.

To get a sharp edge, where the boundary between elements is clearly defined, use lasso tool to make a selection of that area.

Once the area is selected, simply paint within the selection to get a precise, sharp edge.

Color jitter

To achieve lifelike colors and realism in your oil paintings, you will need to add some nuanced color variation within each value. The world presents us with a myriad of different colors so if you only use just one color for each value your work will look monochromatic and graphical .

In Clip Studio Paint, you can use the "Color Jitter" feature, accessible through the "Sub Tool Detail" panel, to introduce these nuanced color variations.

 

 

"Color Jitter" can randomize the Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity for each stroke you make. For instance, if you increase the hue value to around 6-10 while keeping the saturation and luminosity value low,you'll observe subtle shifts in color. you can see there is some greyish colors shifting when you use the same color to paint.

From the picture above, despite painting with the same greyish blue, you'll notice undertones of green and purple appearing, giving the illusion of cool and warm grey nuances in the blue tones. This feature is incredibly useful and convenient as it eliminates the constant need to manually mix colors to capture these color nuances.

If you prefer to discover these greys by mixing colors manually, you can turn off "Color Jitter."

 

 

Always maintain low values for Saturation and Luminosity to sustain a consistent value range. Should saturation and luminosity shift drastically, the value could break, leading to a chaotic painting wherein the lightness and shadow aspects lose coherence.

In my personal approach, I typically adjust the hue value to fall within the range of 6-10 (default setting is 4), while keeping the saturation and luminosity indices at 1-3.

 

Now that we've covered key settings for digital oil brushes, delved into the use of the "Color Mixing" mode, and controlled edges with the blend and lasso tools, we're ready to put these skills into practice. Let's apply our newfound knowledge to create a simple apple, rendered in an oil painting style in Clip Studio Paint.

 

 

Digital Oil painting: Apple

Step 1: Sketch

You can use any brush of preference to draw the sketch but it is important for the lines to be less opaque. Aim to produce simple, less opaque lines without too much detailed linework as this sketch will eventually be layered with paint. As long as your sketch is clear enough to serve as an understandable guide for the final painting, you are good to proceed to the next step.

Utilizing a typical pen tool with sharp edges and full black can make the sketch feel too final. To maintain a more fluid approach, I recommend using a softer tool like the "Airbrush" sub-tool, combined with a greyish tone for the sketching stage.

Once your sketch is complete, you can use "liquify" tool to adjust the silhouette and proportions. In my case, I wasn't completely satisfied with my initial sketch, but rather than erasing and starting afresh, I simply used the "Push" mode of the "Liquify" tool to expand the silhouette of the central apple. Then, by switching to "Expand" mode, I was easily able to enlarge the leaves. This approach gives you the flexibility to refine your initial concept without having to begin from scratch each time.

Step 2:Cross Contour lines

A valuable practice for beginners to visualize objects in 3D form is to draw "Cross Contour lines." This technique helps you understand the 3D structure of objects, allowing you to determine where to paint light and shadows correctly once the direction of the light source is decided.

 

 

Furthermore ,when painting the apple later, try to align your brush strokes with the direction of the contour lines. This technique enhances the sense of form and depth in your artwork.

Step 3: Background

Start by painting the background first. Although we are working in a digital medium and could use the Fill Paint Bucket tool, our intention is to follow traditional methods to avoid a flat appearance.

Begin with a wetter brush (less texture density) to build the base color and establish the direction of the brush strokes for the background. In this example, I use "Oil paint" brush to paint slantly with mid cyan tone in the middle. Then I paint in a warmer shadow and a cooler darker tone surrounded the mid cyan tone.

 

 

Next, mix the colors by picking either one side of the colors and paint in the other side to get the mixed colors. You can try painting in different directions for the background but I would like to keep all my brush strokes following the same direction in this example.

You can also introduce other colors to mix in if you want to.In this case, I blend a desaturated greenish and orangish color with the cyan.

Once you are satisfied with the colors, switch to dry brushes to add more details, creating a variety of textures and edge hardness.

In my case, I used two dry brushes . One is the duplicated "Oil paint" brush I created earlier with higher texture density and scale ratio value and the other one is the "real oil" brush downloaded from clip studio asset. You can use more different textures of dry brushes if you prefer.

Vary the size of the brush when painting, making some strokes big, some medium, and some small.

Also use "Painterly Blend" sub-tool to smudge some of the hard edges.

Step 4: Light Direction and Color Palette

Before painting, we have to decide where the light is coming from. In this case, I’ve chosen the light to come from slightly to the right of straight ahead.

Once the light direction is set, create a color palette so you don’t have to worry about color choices later.

It’s important to understand the ambient color and light color in the scene, as they affect the local tone of the objects. Here, the ambient color is a slightly warm reddish, and the light is a normal white.

Create a new layer and start by finding the shadow color, then the mid-tone, and light tone for the apple, leaves, and tablecloth.

Although you can make a color palette in the "Color Mixing" panel (found under the "Window" menu), I recommend doing it on a new layer.

This allows you to use [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity] and [Color Balance] (Ctrl+U or Ctrl+B) to conveniently adjust the colors.

For instance, if you’re unsure about the color choice for the tablecloth, use the lasso tool to select the tablecloth colors, then press Ctrl+U and adjust the sliders to explore different possibilities.

Similarly, you can select let’s say the green mid-tone and shadow tone, press Ctrl+B (Color Balance), and move the slider towards red to mix some red into the shadow greens, reflecting the reddish ambient color.

Once satisfied with the colors in the palette, you can start painting the objects. I personally prefer to mix the colors together to create more in-between tones in my palette, giving me a richer range of hues to work with.

 

 

Step 5: Shadow, Darker Shadow and Mid Tone

Place the sketch layer on top, set the layer mode to Multiply, and reduce the opacity to a suitable level. There are two approaches to painting: starting with soft edges and lighter tones, or starting with hard edges and darker tones. I prefer to start with hard edges and darker tones.

Blocking Shadows:

-Create two new layers above the background layer: one for the tablecloth and one for the apples.

-Use a wet brush, such as the "Oil Paint" brush or any wet brush of your choice, to block in the shadow color of each object.

-Remember to pick the shadow tone from the color palette we made earlier.

 

 

Mid tones:

Once the shadows are blocked in, lock the pixel layers and start painting the mid tones on the same layer so that color mixing can work.

-Table cloth: pick the mid tone from the palette and paint the upper surface.

Apples:

-pick the mid tone from the palette and paint on the right side as the light source is on the right.

Leaves:

-pick the mid tone from the palette and paint a flat mid tone first to indicate where the light hit the leaf.

Ensure your brush strokes follow the direction of the contour lines to give a sense of form to the apple.

 

 

Darker shadow:

-To paint the cavity of the apple, pick a darker red shadow tone.

-To achieve hard edges, use the lasso tool to make a selection and then paint within the

Darker mid tone:

-use a darker mid tone to paint the leaf surface.

-Ensure the darker mid tone value is not darker than the shadow tone.

-Notice that my brush strokes mimic the direction of leaf growth, extending from the stem towards the tips.

 

 

Adding Saturation:

-Pick a slightly lighter and more saturated red mid tone from the palette.

-Paint it on top of the previous mid tone to add more saturation to the apples.

-The left apple remains in shadow, so avoid using saturated colors there.

 

Step 6:Cast Shadow, Core Shadow and Reflected Light

Cast Shadow of the Leaf:

-Pick the darkest red tone from the palette.

-Use the lasso tool to draw the cast shadow of the leaf and fill it in with the darkest red tone.

Cast Shadow of the Apple:

Repeat the same steps like before.

-On the tablecloth layer, paint the apple’s cast shadow using the darkest red tone.

-Use the lasso tool to draw the cast shadow selection. Since the light is coming from the left, the cast shadow should be extended to the left.

 

 

-Note that the edge of the cast shadow is not always hard because the apple has a rounded form.

-Deselect the selection and use the "Blur" tool to soften the bottom part of the edges, enhancing the rounded appearance.

-Blur the left side of the cast shadow to show that it is further away from the light source.(The further the cast shadow is from the object, the blurrier it gets.)

Core Shadow:

-Pick the second dark red tone from the palette and paint the core shadow of the apple. -Follow the contour line to paint your brush strokes.

Reflected Light:

-Use a darker mid tone to paint the reflected light around the left bottom of the shadow.

Step 7: Light Tone and Highlight

Apple:

Light Tone:

-Pick the light orangish tone from the palette to paint in the mid tone area.

-Pick the lighter yellowish tone from the palette to paint in the light orangish area.

- Keep the contrast lower for the right apple since it is not the focal point

 

 

Highlight:

-Add a bit of highlight to the light yellowish area

-Use the Blur sub tool to softly blend the edges.

-For the right apple, avoid highlighting to maintain lower value contrast since it's not the focal point.

-No need to apply light tone or highlight to the left apple since it is hidden in shadow.

Avoid excessive use of blending tools , otherwise the brush stroke and texture will be washed out and the painting will look like watercolor. Keep most edges relatively hard first, we will smooth out some of the hard edges later.

 

 

Leaves:

Brightness Adjustment

-In my case, I want to preserve existing brush strokes without painting light tone on top again, so I create a layer and change the layer mode to "Color dodge".

-Clip to the layer below and paint in to lighten the right leaf and part of left leave.

-If the effect is too bright, you can press ctrl+u to lower down the luminosity/brightness. Alternatively, you can also lower down the value of layer opacity.

-Once you are satisfied with the result, merge the layers together so that color mixing works when you paint on top of it.

 

 

-To show that it is closer to the light source, paint in a lighter tone to the right leaf.

 

 

Brunch:

-As for the branch, we don't need to use many tones since it is small in size. Painting in a light tone to show some changes in planes of the form is sufficient.

Tablecloth:

- Paint in some light tone on the right side of the tablecloth surface.

 

 

-To make the table look like it is covered with a thin cloth , use " Painterly Blend" sub-tool to smudge the lighter areas into the shadow areas.

-To smudge longer , increase the Color stretch and brush density value from the tool property.

-Pick the colors from the transitional area and other tones to refine the table cloth folds.

 

 

-Use the lasso tool again to make selections to ensure that the hard edge of the cast shadow remains unaffected.

-Lastly, paint in lighter tones to indicate where the light hits.

 

 

Step 8: Detailing the Focal Point and adding more color variation

Now, we focus on adding more detail to the painting. We don't need to paint the details throughout the whole painting, we just have to paint more details at the focal point so that there is a contrast between the focal point and relaxed areas . In this painting, the relaxed areas are the smaller apples and the shadow portion of the center apple. The focal point is where the light hits the center apple and the right leaf.

 

 

When I refer to 'details,' I mean using a dryer brush to introduce more textured details, incorporating different saturated colors, and emphasizing harder edges at the focal point.

Sometimes detailing can ruin the painting or end up something we don't really want. So to avoid that, it is best to duplicate the same layer again as a backup.

Remember, creating a new layer and paint on top won't work because 'Color Mixing' only applies to colors on the same layer.

For detailing, I use the 'Real Oil' brush as my dry brush of choice.

-Zoom into the canvas

-Reduce the brush size

-Pick the light tone colors

-Apply smaller brush strokes to enhance the light-toned areas with more texture and brush strokes.

 

 

For aesthetic art purposes, other then red tone which is the apple itself, consider incorporating environmental colors like those from the background and leaves into the apple.

-I mix in some saturated greens and blues into the light-toned focal point.

 

 

-For shadows and cast shadows , I mix in some desaturated greenish and blueish greys.

 

 

Step9: Final Checking and Blurring Hard Edges

Do a final checking of the whole painting and see if something is missing or you can make it better.

In my case, I noticed I forgot to paint the cast shadow of the branch, so I added it in. I also felt the apple could benefit from a more saturated red, but wasn't entirely sure. As a precaution, I duplicated the layer and experimented with adding highly saturated red tones to the mid tones. The result was satisfactory.

Once satisfied with the painting, it's time to soften some of the hard edges. So again, duplicate the layer for backup, hide that backup layer and we can use the "Blur" tool to blur the hard edges in the shadow areas.

Step 10: Overlay Texture

To give the painting a more traditional feel, we can overlay a texture layer.

-Open the [Material] panel

-Go to "Monochromatic pattern"

-Type "oil" or “canvas” in the search bar.

-Choose one of the oil texture patterns that suits your preference, drag it onto the canvas,

-Adjust its size to fit the canvas dimensions.

 

 

-Navigate to the 'Layer property' panel and select 'Overlay texture'.

-If the texture is too heavy , you can reduce the layer opacity or the texture strength from the “Layer Property” panel.

 

 

-If you prefer to erase some of the texture, use layer masking.

-Use "Soft" eraser tool to gently erase some the portions that you want to reduce the texture intensity.

- If any mistakes occur during this process,simply switch to a 'Soft Airbrush' and paint to restore the texture as needed.

Thanks for tuning in! I hope the tips I shared are helpful in your art journey.

See you in the next tip.