Clip Studio Paint Arrives on iOS... Is This True Love I'm Feeling?
If you're not an artist, (particularly an artist involved in the creation of comics and sequential art) then much of the following may be rather esoteric and of little interest. If that's the case then let me summarize the main bullet points here.
- I have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad!
- I have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad!
- I have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad!
If you get the feeling that this article will be less of a review and more of an enthusiastic rant... you may be right.
If you get the feeling that I may be somewhat aroused when talking about Clip Studio Paint on iOS... I'll neither confirm nor deny. (However my iPad Pro and I may have a wedding registry started at Crate & Barrel. Feel free to contribute...)
Clip Studio Paint was released for iOS just a few short days ago. For years the software (formerly known as Manga Studio... yeah, that was a better name) has been available as a desktop application that has really been a pro quality illustration and comic creation tool, possibly as popular and widely used within the comic community as the ubiquitous Photoshop. This was partly due to affordability, but also greatly due to a feature set that is uniquely geared towards the creation of comics.
This release could not have come at a better time for me personally. My Cintiq drawing tablet recently passed away, shifting my working habits almost entirely to my iPad Pro. While it had some great native apps I've been learning, most notably Procreate, I was definitely missing Clip Studio and looking at plopping down good money for the Astropad software, which allows an iPad to be used as a desktop linked graphics tablet. Now I don't have to... because... drumroll please
- I have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad!
Let's tackle the negative first. As you can see by the current 3.5 rating in the app store screenshot above, there are some criticisms to be had... 2 main ones. The first is that there is little to no support for convenient file sharing systems such as Apple's own Files app, or services such as DropBox. The existing solutions such as transferring files via iTunes or the apps own cloud storage solution are kludgy and restrictive. Hopefully these features will be added in future updates.
The second thing that some folks are raking Clip Studio over the coals for is the decision to go with a subscription model. The app is currently priced at $8.99 per month, although users who download and sign up before December 20th 2017 receive six months free before billing begins. Many people just hate subscription software on principle, others think the price is too high. I for one have no qualms with either and will be a supportive subscriber for sure!
Let me reiterate...
- I have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad!
I'm reiterating that for a reason... because I really have Clip Studio Paint on my iPad. The developer Celsys did not go the standard route of making a mobile app version of their software. Rather, this implementation is pretty much a full port of the desktop software.
This is definitely not touch friendly. However anyone using this software will assuredly have an Apple Pencil or other high quality stylus in hand. I haven't had any trouble running the interface with the tip of the Apple Pencil.
Clip Studio Paint has always had a steep learning curve, so so documentation and a bit of kludgy interface. That's all here. Luckily there is a large community and tons of video tutorials and information to be found online. The nice thing about a direct port is the fact that it is all still applicable on iOS. And the plus side of the steep learning curve and kludgy interface is the fact that it holds tons of raw power and useful tools within it.
One of the first great tools geared towards comic creation is story mode. Clip Studio is capable of building a collection of pages, each an individual file but with the ability to view them all within the program like layout thumbnails. These thumbnails update dynamically as the linked canvases are edited. Pages can be added, deleted, and reordered at will. It's a tremendous help when planning and laying out storylines.
Once you get to working on those pages, another powerful tool will present itself. Clip Studio has a great panel creation tool. As individual panels are drawn, it dynamically creates new layers and masks off everything not in the panel so that the artist can focus on one panel at a time.
When you're ready to dig into each panel... the features just keep piling on. Clip Studio Paint has fantastic 3d capabilities and probably the best perspective tools available today. 3d objects can be imported, even including figures which are fully poseable within the software itself.
Like with most 3d figure software, the posing can be somewhat, ahem finicky. Some rather insane yoga routines can be created, either intentionally, or more frustratingly... accidentally. Fortunately a variety of pre made poses are included with more user generated content available online. Posing need not be perfect. These figures are a modern day equivalent of the classic wooden artist's mannequin. They should be used for layout and proportion, but will of course be completely redrawn by most artists. As such the included poses with a few minor tweaks will be sufficient for an incredibly wide variety of pages and stories and are vastly useful. Where these figures really start to shine is in their combination with Clip Studio's amazing perspective rulers.
Here's a scene I mocked up in Clip Studio Paint. When the first 3d figure or object is inserted, it generates a corresponding perspective grid. Each figure or object placed after locks to the same grid ensuring perfect perspective. I bid a fond farewell to hours spent trying (and often failing) to figure out proper vanishing points, eye level lines, and foreshortening. When it comes time to start drawing your environments you can choose to lock each pencil or pen stroke to snap to the proper perspective.
And I haven't even gotten into those drawing tools! Just the layout and planning! In the little bit I've played around so far, the brushes have been every bit as good as the desktop version... and that means they're excellent. Many comic artists consider Clip Studios inking abilities to be the best in the business. I'm so happy to be using the pre made G-Pen tool once more. It creates some of the most gorgeous ink lines...
Coloring, lettering, it's all here. Everything needed to make professional comics. I have a ton more to learn, this program has so much depth that I've never touched in the years I've used it. There are even some quality animation resources. What I know for sure is that Clip Studio Paint on my iPad has basically taken three or four pieces worth of software in my workflow and combined them all in a package that I can take anywhere.
I'll do my best to delve into more information and tutorials in the future. Feel free to ask any questions if you're a fellow comic art enthusiast who is looking for a bit of software love! For now I just had to make it known to other comic artists that...
I use this program on an old Microsoft Surface Pro and it works great. Sounds like it would be perfect for iPad too!
It is a great program isn’t it? The Surface definitely has a leg up in running actual desktop software, I’m happy the iOS version went the route it did instead of a watered down mobile app.
I actually had never much utilized the 3d features because they lagged almost to the point of being unusable on my aging Mac Mini. This makes me realize how much power the iPad Pro has under the hood. So far it’s handled resolutions, layers, and functions that would grind me to a halt on the Mini.
Haha your joy is infectious man! It's always a great feeling when you have shiny new tools!
New tools always hold the potential promise of helping to realize the vision you can't quite get out of your head onto paper. I don't consider myself naturally gifted at all, so I'll use any trick or edge I can to get the story onto the page.
Natural gifts are bs! Doing what you love over and over again until you're great at it is how its done!
Man I can relate so much to this post! Haha
I'm always getting the side-eye from people when I'm raving about Clip Studio. I teach at an art school and I'm always suggesting it to my students but I think that they are struggling enough just to learn photoshop and they're hesitant to get into this because of the learning curve. Oh well. They don't know what they are missing!