Tested version - v1.7.3 PRO
Price - 30-day trial, $49.99 Pro version, $219 EX version, version comparisons
Notes - Internet required to download asset materials, and to apply updates. Formerly resold as Manga Studio by Smith Micro, statement here.
Systems - Windows 7/8.1/10, Mac OS X 10.10, iPad
Official website - http://www.clipstudio.net/en
Raster or Vector - Primarily raster; however, many things are (or can be) done in editable vector format too.
Ease Of Use - Easy to get started, and uses some basic Photoshop shortcuts. Online manual, help/tutorials/videos, and a Ask "forum" as well. Unofficially many from the SmithMicro (Manga Studio/CSP) closed forum have moved to the CSP forum at Renderosity.
It also has a large fan base of users, asset developers, and more making it easier to customize and learn the more advanced features. A search online will turn up many tutorials, videos, and help from multiple sites.
Have a look at the video by Hananon Artworks of a speed painting in CSP. Hananon uses many aspects (3D models, textures, references, etc), and with defined periods of sketching, inking, then painting as it progresses.
All software is subjective to hardware installed, so with that in mind here is my current workhorse PC (A updated HP Z200 Workstation) specs I used for testing with all updated drivers...
CPU - Intel Core i5 CPU 660 @ 3.33GHz (2 Cores, 4 Threads)
Memory - 12 GB DDR3 total
Graphics - EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti SC (Superclocked GM107) 1 GB (DDR5 memory)
Space - 2.5 TB hard drive disk space
System - Windows 8.1 Pro
Program Speed - Quick and responsive with no lag with 30 plus layers, using many different types of materials, effects, and 3D models.
Noticeable Lag - When working on tabloid sized artwork (11"x17" at 350 DPI) it does have slight lag during zoom in/out only. Otherwise, even working with the largest 2000 pixel brush offers a split-second delay at most for me.
The other time lag appears is during the default 15-minute auto-save function - during which time the program nearly stops everything as it saves. The auto-save can be adjusted or turned off as well thankfully to stop interruptions.
The page can be setup for Color, Gray (Grayscale), and Monochrome (Bitmap). In the preferences the colors for RGB and CMYK can be altered, but how it works for print work I do not know.
File Formats -
- Import/Open - CLIP (CLIP STUDIO Format), LIP (CLIP STUDIO PAINT), BMP (Bitmap), JPG (JPEG), PNG, TIF (TIFF), TGA (TarGA), IPV (ibisPaint work files), XPG (IllustStudio), CPG (ComicStudio page file), PSB (Photoshop Big Document), PSD (Photoshop Document)
- Export/Save - CLIP (CLIP STUDIO Format), BMP (Bitmap), JPG (JPEG), PNG, TIF (TIFF), TGA (TarGA), PSB (Photoshop Big Document), PSD (Photoshop Document)
Plug-in Support - No. Only in the EX version is there any rumored limited support of DLL plug-ins.
The brushes are great for any style from traditional mediums (oil painting, watercolor, markers, colored pencils, etc) to digital styles.
Honestly there is no real reason to purchase a separate dedicated paint program (or any other program for art) if you own CSP. In that regard depending on your needs brushes can be found online at numerous places from free to paid ones.
The best brushes I've found for Copic markers and crosshatching are from Brian Allen's brush set. For inking and painting the brushes from Ray's Frenden brush set is second to none. However due to the huge number of brushes (over 670 combined) from both of those packs I bought, I have yet to use very many the last few weeks. 😄 I imagine there are many more gems in those brush packs for me to find - and I recommend them both!
* Even if your not interested in the brushes, check out the numerous samples of artwork created with the brushes on the linked pages, for a wide range of styles that was created in CSP. The artwork says more than I can about CSP.
Common Necessities - Other tools that are primarily tools, and is surprising lacking in some software making it necessary to include them briefly.
Paint Fill - Refer edited layer only (standard fill), Refer other layers (great for gap free fill with outline on a above layer), Close and fill, Paint unfilled area. Options include Follow adjacent pixel, Close gap amount, Color margin, Area scaling (removes outline gap automatically), Multiple referring, Opacity, Anti-aliasing, and more in the sub tools.
Eraser - Types include Hard eraser, Soft eraser, Block, Vector, Multiple layers (just what it sounds like), and Snap eraser. Options include Brush size, Anti-aliasing, Vector eraser, and Stabilization (Graphics tablet only) - lots more options in the sub tools.
Image Zoom - Onscreen buttons, shortcut controls, menu controls, Zoom to page, Zoom to content, etc. It includes zoom in/out on the mouse scroll wheel, and if you use the zoom tool a click and drag does it one go. Zoom range 0.8% to 3200%
View Rotate - Multiple onscreen buttons, keyboard shortcut controls, menu controls, and can be rotated at any angle - even down to a decimal (manually if wanted).
Selection Tools - Standard rectangle marquee, ellipse, lasso, and Polyline variations. The Auto Select (Magic wand) is the best I've seen with many options including Refer edited layer only to select, Refer other layers to select, Selection for referred layers, and lots of options for gaps, color, scaling, etc.
There are two special standouts besides the spacing options for text.
The first is when entering/editing text a option becomes available labeled Text list and clicking that will display all the font's characters. So you do not have to worry about trying to enter Unicode/ALT keycodes to enter them, or copying them from a text list - they are all shown and once clicked are added to the text.
The other is the ability to create Font lists and easily switch between them. When the Font name is clicked it brings up a list of all the fonts, and at the bottom it says All fonts. Clicking the gear will bring up the Settings of font list and will allow you to create new lists by selecting which fonts to include in them. A huge time saver and will make it easier if you make lists for dialog/sound effects/etc and can click the needed font from the saved list.
Well that is if you have many thousands of software and paid commercial fonts to sort though. 😏
* Previously the best tone option was a Photoshop plug-in that cost $45 for all the options, and when I updated my PC I was required to buy it yet again (those serials are PC and OS specific)... To say the least Clip Studio Paint has saved me money on that aspect alone - and has more tone features, and some in vector, that will work on any PC or OS change too.
Pros -
- Likely the most feature packed artist package available for comics/manga/cartoon work
- Docked tools/windows - I really dislike floating tools, and hate multiple windows.
- Nearly no program lag with mouse or tablet
- I have not experienced a program crash ever since I purchased it on August 11, 2014!
- With so many sub options tucked into parameter windows little can not be customized
- No monthly subscription costs
- The vast amount of tools/drawing aids/options made my transition to primarily a digital artist possible, and without feeling I am missing something with traditional medium (besides regular supply costs).
- True Tone/Halftone support with a full fledged generator, and can be added automatically to fill many objects - or done manually to fill anything.
- Free upgrades once purchased, at least for the same version (1.0 to 1.9). For example I purchased it when it was v1.3.1 and have gotten several free upgrades to v1.7.3 now.
- For creating comics, manga, or cartoons there is nothing else even close to the level of tools/options and goodness packed into CLIP STUDIO PAINT.
- So many features and options making the learning curve a bit steep, or simply feeling overwhelmed
- Hours of tool setting adjustments can leave you with a time crunch on a job/assignment (it is best to spend the time to setup your custom layout/brushes/etc (and Auto Actions) beforehand to eliminate most of that).
This program is a personal favorite, and one I highly recommend for everyone to try.
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