0 Comments Art Review: Manga Studio

Program - Manga Studio 4 (Smith Micro Software Inc. \ CELSYS Inc.)
Tested version - v4.0 EX

Price - Manga Studio is discontinued.
Notes - CLIP STUDIO PAINT was formerly resold as Manga Studio by Smith Micro, statement here as a physical disc box. It is now being dropped once supply is sold-out.
Systems - Windows 7/8.1/10, Mac OS X, iPad
Official website - http://my.smithmicro.com/manga-studio-ex-5.html

Raster or Vector - Primarily raster; however, many things are (or can be) done in editable vector format too.

* I write this review for anyone who decides to purchase Manga Studio second-hand from eBay, Amazon, or such (As I did version 3 originally, before buying MS 4 then CSP directly).

Manga Studio 3 and 4 are similar in appearance, but obviously have differences (what I can not recall as I haven't used version 3 for a longtime).

Manga Studio 5 is identical to the current CLIP STUDIO PAINT with a different about menu being branded as Manga Studio. Smith Micro is currently only currently selling CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX on disc, with a limited supply.

For anyone with Manga Studio 5, or looking for the new version which is simply CLIP STUDIO PAINT now, see my CLIP STUDIO PAINT review. It is a much vastly improved program than any Manga Studio version.

Ease Of Use - Relatively easy to get started, and uses some basic Photoshop shortcuts. Had a large fan base of users, and years since release, making it easier to customize and learn the more advanced features (that is if the data is still easy to find). I can not find the manual or help online, as it seems everything on their website redirects to the software change.

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 - Rather quick response, but seems to run a bit slow (likely due to age of software and compatibility issues as it was released in 2008). I word it slow as it is not necessarily what I would call lag, but is not as fluid as it should be.

Page Options - Maximum size is 16.535" x 16.535" at 600 dpi, and 16.535" x 16.535" at 300 dpi, which is rather limiting. The maximum resolution of 1200 DPI. Adjustable page crop/frame and bleed options are shown when starting a new story (project).

The page color is not defined other than "Color", with a option for 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 -

• Open - CPG (Page files), CST (Manga Studio Story files)
• Import - DXF (AutoCAD DXF), LWO (LightWave Object), OBJ (Wavefront), LWS (LightWave Scene), CSO (Manga Studio 3D Object), STC (Shade To Manga Studio, Manga Studio 3D Dialog), SHD (Shade), BMP DIB (Bitmap), JPG  JPE JPEG (JPEG), PNG, PSD (Photoshop Document), TIF (TIFF), TGA (TarGA), CLK (Layer Link file), TXT (Text)
• Save - CST (Manga Studio Story files)
• Export - BMP (Bitmap), JPG (JPEG), PNG, PSD (Photoshop Document), TIF (TIFF), TGA (TarGA), PDF (Portable Document Format), EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), TXT (Text)

Plug-in Support - None.

Customizable Shortcuts and Menus- Yes keyboard shortcuts, and menu items to make a Custom Tool Palette.

Layer Options - Opacity adjustment, New layer, New layer folder, Delete layer, Lock layer, Duplicate layers, Change layer type, Merge with lower layer, and Tone display settings. It does not offer the typical clip, mask, or multiple blending options found in many layer tools.

Color Selection - Once the Color window is turned on (key F9) there are many more color functions available (the ones in the Beginner's Assistant window is awful). Color sliders, palettes (can create new custom ones), and numerical input. If a selected color is clicked twice it brings up a more precise window input.

Brush Options - In the Beginner's Assistant (left image) opacity is all that can be changed. In the Tool Options menu adjustments are in millimeters only. The Size, Opacity, Stroke-in, Stroke-out, Correction amount (works with graphics tablet or mouse), and options (icon buttons) to vary depending on speed.

The Vector tab has no changeable options, and Shape tab has Shape, Thickness, Direction, and Anti-aliasing. There are though no options for textures, randomness/jitter, stroke, hardness, gaps, etc.

Common Necessities - Other tools that are primarily tools, and is surprising lacking in some software making it necessary to include them briefly.

Paint Fill - Options are numerous and include Opacity, Do not change alpha, Expand/Reduce area (with size from  -1.00 mm to 1.00 mm), Add adjoining pixels, and Anti-aliasing. The Browse tab offers more options for fill to Browse All layers/Selected Layers/Layers in the folder (with Do not browse Sketch/Text options), Paint to vector center line, Close Gap (0.00 mm to 1.00 mm), Color Tolerance.
Eraser - Options include Size, Thickness, Direction, Anti-aliasing, and Shape.
Image Zoom - Onscreen buttons for Fit to window, Actual pixels, Print size, and the current amount display (that can be modified by typing or dragging). Zoom range 0.8% to 794.3%
View Rotate - Referred to as View Angle or simply Angle in most things. Multiple onscreen buttons, menu controls, and can be rotated at any angle in whole numbers.
Selection Tools - Rectangle marquee, Ellipse, Lasso, and Polyline variations. The Auto Select (Magic wand) is great and has options to apply based on multiple layers (or exclude), Close gaps, and Color tolerance.

Text/Font Options - The first option is Use Style, which allows you to save common font settings to reuse later. The options are Font, Character spacing (kerning), Size, Line spacing/Alignment (leading) in points or Specify in percentage, style options (Bold face, Italic face, Outline (Small), Outline (Large), Underline, Strikethrough), Align (Top, Center, Bottom), Text/BG Color, Vertical Text, Outline (and amount).

Drawing Aids - Ruler types Straight Lines, Perspectives/Vanishing Points, Starbursts/Focus lines, Speed lines, Parallel, and Curves/Circles. 3D positionable models (drawing mannequin) completely adjustable, 3D Objects, Grid, Page ruler, Guides, Vector Word Balloons/Thought Bubbles/etc, Vector Cartoon/Comic/Manga Panels/Borders, and more.

Extras - Multiple page support (EX only), Tone/Halftone (monochrome dots/lines) presets and a generator, Actions (like Photoshop Action) that records mouse movements/clicks plus keyboard keys and can play them back for custom commands, and more.

Pros -

• No monthly subscription costs
• True Tone/Halftone (monochrome dots/lines) support with a full fledged generator to manually fill anything
• The EX version can make laying out multiple page printed materials easier, but not needed unless you are printing at home
• Great tools that can take your art to the next level

Cons -

• A steep learning curve that the Beginner's Assistant actually seems to cause more problems with.
• Lots of floating option windows that can quickly get out of control covering work, and seem to randomly appear. * Fixed in CLIP STUDIO PAINT.
• 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 Actions) beforehand to eliminate most of that).
• Nearly all settings are in millimeters and can not be changed to pixels, points, or inches.
• Without being limited to, or changing to RGB or CMYK mode, the colors may be incorrect - and I am not sure how standard the colors are for print work. Then again if you haven't calibrated your monitor with a calibration device it will not be correct anyway.
• It is really showing it's age. It is no longer updated, and as such will only run into compatibility issues (not to mention errors and crashes due to it).

Recommended Use - For anyone that can get it free or nearly free, it works great for raster art (comics, manga, or cartoons). I'd highly recommend skipping however unless you need it to convert old Manga Studio project files or something.