Some notes from Clip Studio Paint free tutorial by Reuben Lara.

Video

Notes

Basic workspace functions

  • Reset the workspace:
    • Window > Workspace > Reset to default
  • Moving palettes around
  • Collapse and expand palettes
    • Double arrow collapses completely
      • Tab toggles collapse all
    • Single arrow collapses to icon
      • in icon mode, you can configure to display the palette as tab or popup (right click on an icon)
  • Hide title bar:
    • Shift + Tab

Document navigation

  • Pan
    • Spacebar
  • Zoom
    • macOS: Option (Alt) + Spacebar
    • windows: Ctrl + Spacebar
  • Rotate:
    • Shift + Spacebar
  • Reset rotate:
    • Shift + Spacebar + double-click
  • Toggle scrollbars and navigation controls under canvas:
    • View > Scroll Bar
  • Fit to screen:
    • macOS: Cmd + 0
    • windows: Ctrl + 0

Brush management palettes

  • Quick Access:
    • Lists of favorite brushes / tools
    • Change set order:
      • Cmd + drag (configurable from palette menu)
    • Add tools:
      • drag and drop
    • Add quick items:
      • Palette Menu > Quick Access Settings…
      • Right click > Popup Menu > Quick Access Settings…
    • Add current color:
      • Right click > Popup Menu > Add drawing color
  • Sub Tool:
    • List of all tools
  • Tool property:
    • Some settings of selected tool
  • Sub Tool Detail:
    • All settings of selected tool
    • Reset all settings to default
      • Reset brush to initial settings
    • Register settings to default
      • Sets the current settings as default
    • Lock Sub Tool and do not save changes
      • Reverts brush to same settings each time it is reselected

How brushes work

  • Size:
    • Onscreen controls:
      • Tools property palette [Brush Size slider]
      • Brush size palette [pick a size]
    • Keyboard shortcuts:
      • Smaller:
        • [
        • macOS: Opt + Cmd + drag left
        • windows: Alt + Ctrl + drag left
      • Bigger:
        • ]
        • macOS: Opt + Cmd + drag right
        • windows: Alt + Ctrl + drag right
  • Opacity:
    • Onscreen controls:
      • Tool property palette [Opacity slider]
    • Keyboard shortcuts:
      • Map 1-10 to 10%-100% as shortcuts via Shortcut Settings > Options > Tool property palette > Ink
      • as 0 is already mapped by default, I’ve mapped the opacity to Shift + 1-10
  • Texture:
    • Affected by Brush tip and Canvas texture
    • Register a custom brush texture:
      • Create new image (for example: 300 x 300 pixels) in a new grayscale document
        • If you use a color document, the color of the brush will always be that from the brush tip (good for a pencil that should always be red, for example)
        • you can change the mode via Edit > Canvas Properties…
      • Select all
      • Edit > Register Material > Image…
        • Make sure Use for brush tip shape is selected
        • Preferred save location: All materials > Image material > Brush or create a custom folder for your brushes
        • Add meaningful keywords (they’ll be shown in the material selection dialog)
  • Paint with transparency
    • Onscreen controls:
      • Click the Transparency swatch in the color picker
    • Keyword shortcuts:
      • Press C to toggle between painting with opacity and transparency
    • The level of opacity/transparency is not changed when toggling the paint mode
  • Temporary tool switching
    • *Press and hold any tool shortcut
    • Assign your own shortcuts to your favorite brushes

Selecting & Transforming

  • Selecting:
    • Default shortcut: M
    • Add to selection: Shift
    • Remove from selection:
      • macOS: Opt
      • windows: Alt
  • Selection Launcher
    • can add custom shortcuts
    • toggle it: View > Selection Launcher
  • Transforming:
    • macOS: Cmd + T
    • windows: Ctrl + T
    • To Skew or Distort:
      • Invoke Transform, then hold down Cmd/Ctrl and drag a side handle to skew or a corner handle to distort
    • works on all selected layers
  • Lasso fill
    • makes a selection, fills with color and deselects it
    • by default under Figure > Direct draw
    • can use C to toggle between filling and erasing with the lasso fill
  • Selection layers (Save a selection)
    • Selection area > Convert to selection layer

Layers

  • Lock transparent pixel
    • Only makes marks where there are existing pixels
  • Clip at layer bellow
    • Only shows marks where current layer overlaps the parent layer
  • Layer Masks
    • Paint with opacity to show
    • Paint with transparency to hide
  • Correction layers
    • Non-destructive tonal adjustment
  • Vector layers
    • Register each brush stroke as a vector path that you can continue to adjust
    • Edit a path
      • Correct Line > Control Point or Operation > Object
    • Make it bolder or thinner
      • Correct Line > Adjust line width
    • Simplify a path
      • Correct Line > Simplify vector line
    • Cleanly erase to intersections
      • Eraser > Vector
  • Change layer color
    • temporarily change the color of a layer or layers from a layer group

Flip canvas

  • View > Rotate/Invert > Flip Horizontal
  • Assign your own shortcut to it or add it to the quick access panel

Tips

  • Make a background transparent
    • Edit > Convert brightness to opacity
  • Clear layer or selection
    • Edit > Delete
    • Backspace
    • add Delete icon to quick access panel
  • Fill layer or selection
    • Edit > Fill
    • Opt + Backspace