Hello everyone. In this tutorial, I will be sharing how you can draw a delicious stack of pancakes in Clip Studio Paint.

 

Lets get started.

Sketch

Open a new illustration in Clip Studio Paint. Sketch out the composition of your stack of pancakes. Don't forget to draw the plate they are on and some butter at the top of the pancake stack.

 

Tips to make your illustration more appealing include adding a nice background that contrasts with most of the colors of the painting. Personally, I think shades of blue would work nicely. Also, add some fruits to your sketch. Some fruits you may use are sliced bananas, strawberries and berries. You can search up other toppings to add to your pancakes, preferably those of different colors from those of the pancakes. These varying colors will make your illustration more appealing.

 

And lastly, add the syrup pouring down from the top and onto the pancake stack. The syrup that is pouring down should look like a straight line. The width of the line should help convey the consistency of the syrup. For example, if you make the width too big (wide), it conveys that the syrup is really thick and pours out slowly. Conversely, if you make it too small (narrow), it conveys that the syrup is really watery and pours out quickly.

I used a pale blue color for my back ground with RGB coordinates (174, 186, 220) as shown below.

Local Colors

Now it's time to color each component on a separate layer with its local color. This local color is simply the natural color an object has that is not distorted by shadows and highlights.

The first layer should have the plate. Use the Eclipse figure tool with the Line/Fill option set to Fill. The local color of the plate used has RGB coordinates of (206, 213, 221). Afterwards, use the mesh transformation tool to alter the shape of the plate making the bottom edge of the circle more flat. Go to Edit > Transformation > Mesh transformation and select the number of lattice points used for the vertical and horizontal mesh transformation in the tool property box.

The second new layer that you create is for the stack of pancakes. The local color used for the pancakes is found at RGB coordinates (222, 206, 157). When painting the side edges of each pancakes you want to add some bulges on some of them as you would naturally see on a pancake. This is because one side of the pancake is cooked before the other side resulting in layers. The side that is cooked last usually bulges out more that the other side. This is because it is slightly squashed with the spatula when being cooked and spreads out more as it is still liquid.

On the third new layer, draw the berries. The local color used for them is at the RGB coordinates (55, 88, 119).

On another new layer, draw the butter using the local color found at RGB coordinates (232, 222, 186).

 

After that, draw the banana slices on a new layer using the color found at RGB coordinates (223, 212, 171) as their local color.

 

Then create another new layer for the strawberry slices. Their local color is found at the RGB coordinates (222, 16, 0).

 

Then finally, draw the syrup on a new layer using the color found at RGB coordinates (233, 167, 9) as its local color.

Then lock transparent pixels on all the layers so that we don't paint outside of our paintings. You might also want to name your layers.

Shading

Pancakes

 

Select the Brush tool and choose the 'Thick Paint' heading then select the Dry Gouache brush. Make the particle size really small and begin to add some texture to your pancake using a dark color. Use darker colors in the areas away from your main light source. My man light source is coming from the left, so I add darker colors to the left.

Then select the Airbrush tool and select the Spray sub tool. Add textures using light and dark colors repeatedly with different particle sizes. Make sure the bigger particles are more spaced out.

Then go to the Pencil tool and select the Design Pencil sub tool. Use a dark saturated brown or the color found at the RGB coordinates (243, 168, 58) to add some color near the circular edges of the pancakes. Then, select the Tapered pencil sub tool with a darker color and smaller brush size, add more color to the circular edges and center of the top of each pancake. The darker color used has RGB coordinates of (155, 64, 17).

 

Then select the Real Pencil sub tool and go over parts of the circular edges again with a darker color.

Select the Airbrush tool and select the Hard airbrush sub tool. Select a dark color and make the brush size big and darken the area that is away from the main light source. Also, lighten the area facing the main light source using a light brown color.

 

Afterwards, use a dark saturated brown to define the areas in shadow. These include the bottom of each pancake, the layers on the edges and the bulged out parts on the pancake. Also, using black, subtly add darker shadows to the bottom of each pancake.

 

Then use a near white color to define the bulged out parts of the pancakes facing the main light source.

Then, select the Tone Scrapping airbrush sub tool. Make some dots of various sizes on the pancakes using a slightly dark brown color. Use the Hard airbrush sub tool with the brush size rather small, slightly add a lighter color to the side of the circles turned away from the main light source. These are the burst air bubble that you see when you are done cooking your pancake.

Sliced Fruits

 

Then paint the sliced fruits using the Airbrush. Add shadows and highlights based on the direction the main light source is coming from.

Maple Syrup

 

Set the syrup layer's Blending Mode to Multiply and ensure the transparent pixels are still locked. Using a dark brown color, go over the edges of the syrup with the Airbrush.

Using a saturated dark red color, darken the dark bottom edges of the pancake that falls within the syrup using the Airbrush. This is to be done on the same syrup layer.

 

Now create a new layer and clip it to the syrup layer which is below it. Set it's Blending Mode to Add(Glow) and select a light saturated yellow color. Using the Airbrush, lighten the areas that bulge out on the pancakes' surface.

 

Then merge both layers together.

Create a new layer above the previous, and clip it to the layer below. Using a really dark color and the Airbrush with a small brush size, darken the the dark areas of the pancake that are behind the syrup even more while going up the sides a bit.

 

Then merge this layer with layer below.

Create another new layer and select a really light blue color. Then select the Brush tool and select the 'Water color' heading and choose the Transparent Watercolor sub tool. Make the surface of the syrup reflective by adding specs of light to curved surfaces of the syrup. Also add to parts that bulge inward and outwards.

 

Make sure that curved surfaces that are facing the light source more ( located to the left of the syrup) reflective light is more white, while those away from the light source are more yellow and faint.

Then, select a bright saturated yellow color. Using the same Transparent watercolor brush with a small brush size, add color along the edge of the dripping syrup on the side that is away from the light source. Also add to the other side facing the light face but with a little distance away from the edge.

 

Note: The syrup is dripping where the surface of the pancake behind it is further back and so the syrup is dripping from the pancake above instead of dripping along the surface of the pancake behind it. This is seen in the third pancake counting from the top.

After that, add some highlights along the sides of the syrup facing the light source using the same bright saturated yellow color and the Transparent watercolor brush with a small brush size. Then add a few specs inside the syrup itself.

Create a new layer above the Pancake layer and clip it to it. Select the Hard Airbrush sub tool and choose a really dark brown color to add shadows from the syrup onto the pancake. Apply shadows so that the shadows near the syrup are lighter. This adds a glowing effect to the syrup.

Add shadow to the plate making sure that the pancake casts a shadow onto the plate.

 

Create a new layer above the plate and add shadow to all the food items. For the syrup that falls onto the plate, add shadow the same way you added to the syrup. Use a dark saturated yellow to add the shadow first, then select a darker color to add another layer of shadow leaving the area closer to the syrup the saturated dark yellow.

You can give the dark area on the plate some color to make it look more appealing. Then, add shadow below the plate on the layer with the table.

You can go in and add some details if you like. Maybe add a sparkle to reflective areas.

 

 

This is the end of my tutorial. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

Here is my Deviant art account below where you can have a look at my art as I improve my skills.