My tools – Clip Studio Paint

If you’ve been here before, you may know my preferred digital art program. I have been using Clip Studio Paint (or Manga Studio), since a colleague introduced it to me.  Before then, I’ve been struggling with GIMP, which to be honest, left me with little motivation to actually draw.

I’ve mentioned that I have regularly created art digitally.  Professionally, I’ve used Photoshop, and on my own, GIMP was the available for free. I spent years in a dry spell, caught up in online gaming and life in general, so GIMP was fine.  I wasn’t about to shell out hundreds of dollars for Photoshop (this was before Adobe CS), and I don’t believe in pirating software, especially if I planned at some point to do this professionally.

I’ve since tried to take drawing a little more seriously, so the recommendation for Clip Studio Paint came in at a great time.   If anything, the price point was excellent compared to Photoshop. It was under $50 (I got it on sale for even less) and you get the full software and licence.   I’m not knocking the subscription model at all, but I’m happy I don’t have to worry about paying for my tools in installments. I haven’t had to pay for any updates so far, and the program’s been working fine.

I’m a former professional artist that reverted to an amateur state because of years of no practice. (Kids, I’m a cautionary tale about keeping your talents honed. Don’t ever quit!)  Although I mainly use CSP for drawing and painting, there are other tools, which I’ve used occasionally which has been helpful, such as vector layers, materials, and the perspective ruler.   I’ve been able to add custom brushes, or create some new ones easily.   The interface isn’t sexy, but it’s familiar for those who’ve used the older versions of Photoshop.

I haven’t used Photoshop professionally in years. I understand it’s still the industry standard, yet I don’t feel like I’m missing anything with my personal art when it comes to using CSP.  The tools are intuitive, and it was easy to jump right into it, and when you’re  already struggling with a lot of other little aspects about your process, you never want to worry about the technical parts.

I’ve also used Sketchbook Pro, and I’m currently trying out Krita.  If you’re using CSP, or anything else, please comment and let me know what you like about it and how it helps your process.