When you’re an absolute beginner or even an experiences artist, Clip Studio’s 3D Tools can truly help you to both practice and save time in your drawings.

 

So here are some tips on how you can use 3D Tools to guide you as you draw your lines

Set up 3D Models

First thing is to set up your models.

 

Recommend purchashing EX to obtain the all sides view feature. This feature allows you to edit your models without having to rotate your image.

Basics

Before proceeding, let’s recap some line art basic principles.

 

Choosing a brush is up to you, there are many different textures to choose from so it’s a matter of finding out which works best for you. Personally, I use the Rough pencil in its default settings.

Now that you have your preferred brush, it’s time to practice your lines. For this you will edit the stabilization setting.

 

As you can see below, I’ve draw over two straight lines. The line on the left was drawn with the stabilization setting at 10 while the one on the right is at 100.

Now, while I have a more practiced hand, if you look closely you will see that the one with less stabilization looks slightly less straight than the other.

 

When starting, I recommend using the stabilization tool to help you practice. But even as your line art improves, I recommed using it to draw longer lines or more circular ones, like the ones below. The left is also with stabilization 10 and the right with 100, while the one on the right hasn’t fully followed the reference, it is still more round.

Now, you may ask, how do you get better at line art?

 

The best way to draw your lines is with rapid movements. As you practice, try using more rapid and confident strokes. While it may take several tries, as the one below on the left took me, you can see it is a little straighter than the previous example. It also looks smoother and has a sharper tail end, which is something I like.

Draw Around the Model

Rough Sketch

The first step is to make a rough sketch, this is to give you an idea of how the clothes and hair will fit them.

Use thick lines to get a clear outline, don’t worry about making it messy.

 

Slowly start workshopping it using your reference images. Erase and redraw as needed.

Refine

Once you have your rough sketch, it’s time to start refining the features, primarily the face. This is why it’s good to have seperate layers for the hair, face, and clothes.

Use short brush strokes when both erasing and drawing, as well as your transform tools, even the smallest shift can change the expression.

Before:

After:

For areas that won’t be a center focus or that you’re still not sure how to do, you don’t need a clear sketch. You can always draw it later.

Use Vector Layers

For the clothes, use vectory layers since they require longer lines.

 

They are especially helpful because they allow you to erase paths up to an intersection.

Before:

After:

Use texture brushes when needed, though, these don’t work very well in vector layers.

Most hair doesn’t require a clear outline, you just need to know the style and general direction of each section.

Use soft, curved strokes for the bangs and crown.

 

If you see the video you will notice I’m using a raster layer for the hair, this is because I have more practice, use a vector layer if you’re a beginner.

If you did decide to use a raster layer, I recommend rasterizing the rest of your vector layers to make it easier to erase any overlapping lines.

Add Texture

You will notice that the image looks a little flat, so we’re going to add texture using thin lines to give the impression of folds in the clothes.

Before:

After:

Retouch

This is something that you will be doing throughout the entire process.

 

At several points, take a step back from the drawing and then come back after a while, this will help you see where you can make adjustments.

Trace your models

You may be tempted to use the extract line feature, if it’s available, but tracing your models makes the look smoother and ensures some fo the texture doesn’t get erased.

 

It also helps you practice.

It also allows you to add your own spin to the model.

Add texture to the models

And you're done!

Now all that’s left is to hope it looks just as good in color ToT

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