How to Make a Comic! (with Clip Studio Paint!)

[@alistairmooncrest5018]

(Wanted to say, thank you to whoever gifted me a channel membership! You are very generous, and it was a lovely surprise. Take care!) Congratulations on the sponsorship!! I appreciate this video a lot, as I have only ever hand-drawn my comic ideas. Getting into animation, but didn't know where I would start making a digital comic, or what was a route for it. I write scenes and have a lot of notes, but it's very helpful to have an engaging step-by-step guide.

[@ArthurPhoenix]

Oh, wow. Me too. Sweet. Star's got a *big* secret fan, it seems. Thanks a bunch, whoever you are!

[@calomel4647]

I clicked this video because your avatar looked kinda like the style of this one Webtoon I follow religiously called Castoff and I was intrigued. The intro process panel off to the right was looking suspiciously familiar... and my brain screeched to a halt and imploded at :45. Well gosh darn it, what a small Internet! Love your video, thank you so much for this! ♥

[@Mothsaam]

I love how rough your thumbnails are! I've seen some thumbnails that are way too polished. You're right that if you get too precious with them you won't wanna change them.

[@nomoretwitterhandles]

Remember, if someone tries to tell you "tracing is cheating", gently remind them that the most famous cartoon Disney movies were rotoscoped, which quite literally means they traced human movements (via actors) frame-by-frame in order to get the animation so smooth and realistic. This was BEFORE modern animation software, btw. The only time tracing is actually bad is if you are stealing another artist's work and claiming it as your own (especially bad if you try to sell it). Using free assets to trace over is like using royalty-free music for a video; you're not stealing because this was made for you to use. It's not cheating either, because you're not trying to get ahead--comics are made to tell a visual story, not to show off how good you are at drawing a background. In fact, my favorite manga of all time used presets as far back as the late 90s, and other times there were no backgrounds at all (other than a sparkle or gradient sheet). You do not need perfect, handmade backgrounds to tell a good story. That's why novels exist in the first place lol. Thank you so much for strongly urging this point. The (general) art community has been in shambles for several years now, and it's sad to see people clowning on assets because it's "lazy", though many great artists I follow use assets. Tools aren't made for us to be lazier; they're just something that help us get the job done faster. If you're building an actual house, the last thing you wanna do is build the entire thing without tools.

[@ookami5329]

also some paintings of old were traced using early projector technology.

[@manuelfriend4060]

You are one of the most useful "comic basics" sources on KZbin. A lot of channels just cover story, convengions, etc, without ever going into the actual technical details.

[@georgiecastilla28]

Star, doing the lettering before sketching has ben a GAME CHANGER for me, honestly! Thank you for the tip.

[@Jack1994hoo]

Every time I watch one of your videos, I end up telling to myself "Why am I learning this NOW?!! You know how much time I've wasted before I knew I could do this??" Thanks a lot! its very informative

[@sierabryant4887]

i get excited every time i see an artist shut down the tracing myth

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

Honestly this is off topic but I wanna say this. I have shit mental health and a shit focusing thing (AKA I’m unable to just focus on one thing, I can always feel my skin the sound everything) but when I watch certain things it’s like my issues almost fully disappear. I’ve only done this a few times but most times when it happens I’m watching Star. SO FUCKING THANK YOU STAR!!!!

[@malubarroso]

Congrats on the sponsorship and thank you so much for the paint bucket tip! It's going to be a lifesaver to my future digital art!

[@nomoretwitterhandles]

Separate comment so this information sticks out: Here's how I do flats to save me a bunch of time!! 1) Use the wand tool to select the area OUTSIDE of your drawing 2) Inverse selection (now the selected area is your entire drawing) 3) Fill in the selection with one color* 4) Clip a new layer to the base color and add flats as necessary (*If you'd rather go right in with the flats, that's fine! I prefer using a base color to be an underpainting OR to make sure there are no gaps.) Personally I do still prefer coloring without the fill tool as my style is very intricate, but the inverse-selection method has saved me SO much time. If anyone else prefers not to use the fill tool, please try this out!!!

[@abbigailllanas4975]

Some thing thing I have discovered is customizing color sets - I have a color set for each of my characters so I don’t need to use the eye dropper tool or a reference. All you do is in clip studio, click window , color set ,then click the little wrench 🔧 on the side and it will take you to a screen that says edit color sets you can click create new set and name it what ever you want !! I hope this helps!😊

[@VILovestein]

Thank you again Star for another great video. Also Star is right, tracing is not cheating. It helps as an aid to get the feel for drawing and planning a scene or pose. Even famous artist used visual aid devices to help them draw such as the camera lucida.

[@StellaDaBest]

Omg im literally planning a comic rn and was watching your videos on 10 things not/do in your webcomic!! This is so useful!!!

[@matthewpaul6904]

Its really good!! I never would've guessed the whole doing your dialogue first!

[@lauraoliveira2639]

Just a note as a designer, if you ever plan to have your comic printed as a book, make sure that when you color your flats you don’t leave any white space under the lineart. In comic book printing, the flats are laid out first before the black ink of the lineart, and when pages shift during printing the white blanks under the line art can show up. It’s better to take care while you’re drawing than have to go back to every page and fix the issue, just thought I’d let everybody here know!

[@n11lou2]

@@lauraoliveira2639 That‘s so thoughtful! I never heard of that before. Thank you! ❤️

[@silly_littlguy]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IVE REWATCHED ALL YOUR COMIC VIDEOS LIKE A BAJILLION TIMES AND THIS IS SO HELPFUL 😭😭

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

Do I use Clip Studio? Haha! No. Do I have a drawing tablet? If an iPad counts as one. Am I going to watch this video the whole way through? Heck yeah I am! Am I going to listen to everything and try to remember it? First part yes, second part no..! Is seeing Star’s process gonna be fun? YESSSS!!! (Also the tips will be kinda useful for some things that aren’t Clip Studio only [AKA you can do them not on Clip Studio] so I’ll try and remember those)

[@zerenacruel]

@ShelbyLikesStuff hey! I just wanted to comment and let you know ClipStudio has a version for Ipad. I recently got one and it's a god send!

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

@@zerenacruel nah, already use Procreate! But thanks!

[@vinling2767]

Wow.. just. Wow. You are a cure to production art and honestly have become my hero as I was called crazy for trying to make bucket fill work. I was a heretic. They threw crumpled up paperwork at me. A thousand thank yous for the unmeasurable amount of time all these tips shave off. I literally said "she should write a book," right when you mentioned it. Lol. I have a lot of tech stuff to learn but all these things are better than the 4 years I spent in UA. I will be bendging all of your tips and tricks as well as buying your book. Tysm. I am so grateful.

[@mia_seym]

This was so helpful as like a crash course of digital painting. Thank you so much!!! And thank you Clip Studio for being Star's first sponsor!

[@noone8785]

I only found your channel a few days ago. As someone who hopes to actually have a web comic some day I've found this and every video of yours on the topic to be invaluable

[@NatureWasntHere]

Can't Wait for chapter 12 also I love this video its so good! Also I have taken so many notes form this! Thank You Star! Edit: Also castoff made me want to create my own comic so with all these tips Im gonna make a fantasy comic like yours!

[@SymonKeener]

For the 3D models, get creative! I used to build my landscapes in Minecraft and smooth them out as I drew over them. Now I usually use the sims 4 since it's has more details and mods to choose from. You don't need much more than an idea and a sandbox game.

[@glasperle77]

a tip for 14:30, if you use vector layer you can use the inks normally as normal brushes but you can click fill to vector line. that way you can even fill clean super super thin lines, and even lines witih different brushes with rough or semi transparency like pencil

[@medli20]

Thanks for making this video! It's cool to see how other people make comics. I work mostly in Photoshop (been thinking of switching over, but I'm just too accustomed to PS at this point RIP) so while a lot of the CSP-specific tips aren't necessarily applicable to my own workflow, it did give me some ideas of things I could try and adapt myself. Having text presets for dialogue and such is such a good idea and I wish I'd tried that out sooner!

[@OpalZenna-lune30]

I agree! This will help me and my friends improve in our comic making and inspire us to keep pushing towards our stories! I really want to see what tips I can use and share with others! Thanks for making this video, Star ⭐✨!

[@BabyyHikari]

Starting my first comic and channel so this helped a ton! Thank you Ms. Star for your service🫡

[@pandanugget2343]

You know, I never really relized how much my creative writing class would actually help me understand half this. Such a course can prepare you how to write a script(or screenplay). It's so refreshing to know how to do it already, and not having to learn something new while doing something else entirely new like working with comic layout and thumbnailing small scenes.

[@smolpupperproductions]

I NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE FILL DUST TOOL!? I am a major fan of the fill bucket, but i usually just fill in the specs manually, and i tend to miss quite a few!! this is a GAMECHANGER OML

[@ParisDaNerd]

I want to personally thank you for making these awes-mazing videos for making webcomics and for making such a handy guidebook for beginners and intermediate creator alike. I've been using your book to help me make the latest chapter of my comic I've been doing for 3 year and it has made the process SO MUCH LESS time-consuming and fun. Hopefully, this chapter will be done before the end of the year- and I cant wait to share it with everyone!

[@catsupy]

I'd like to add! I used to use the Sims to make environments/houses! I know a lot of people have the free dl of The Sims 4, and it's super useful for making refs! Of course, you can't get the environments exact unless you're basing your in-comic places on the game's pre-made assets. But it's great for setting up spaces and perspectives!

[@stencilfox5]

This is absolutely very , very honestly helpful I'm not going to lie I actually put my comic on hiatus to refresh and take my time to make a bunch of pages since I was set back due to a change of style and schedule- this and many of your videos since I've found you have been amazingly helpful and you're the go to artist for comics that I take all the notes and work with them and they feel do-able unlike many others who give tutorials they often fall into modern romance with no backgrounds and your fantasy environments and characters design and art style is very unique and I know I'm gushing alot here but your words are something that I wish I had learned when I first got my iPad years ago, I may use procreate and my iPad but honestly all your tips work splendedly with any program aside from the custom brushes, but I'm one of the few who loves testing many brushes from painterly to stamps for short cuts , I recall seeing your video about using tools to save time and was relieved it wasn't seen as a bad thing becuase so many times I was told everything had to be from scratch and the hard way , I am so happy to support your comics and videos and hope that your Channel and comics get all the love it deserves 😊

[@TheCherryClown]

Crazy, I really needed to learn this

[@Fortnotic]

literally, star, u are my entire insperation. would never have even found my love for webcomics if i hadnt started castoff, now im in the works of one myself!!!! thanks for this video, it has really helped get me started. hope to make something amazing other people can love as much as i do!

[@porimationsrevived135]

I will never forget when you drew the pointing down pose for your character and specifically stated that its use will only be when u talk about the links in the description, I don’t know why but I find it funny you made a pose for this specifically lol. I love your videos! :D

[@pencilwren]

I think I’m addicted to castoff. Read the whole thing start to finish in one day.

[@TheCopperDoll]

Currently learning how to use CSP for my own comic and this is so helpful! Thank you for this info 🙏

[@Marsh-mo9ml]

The new page is so pretty!! And also leaves me with quite a few questions 😅 so I'm really excited now!

[@meta-less]

It will be 2am when this releases but I WILL be watching

[@MAXIMThefirstandlast]

YES!!!!!!! THANK YOU FINALLY A LESSON FROM THE GREAT MASTER HIMSELF!!!

[@UmbreonMessiah]

So happy you get to keep doing what you love!

[@MC-dm9gs]

Thank you. I loved the panel border hack, sooo much better than multiple folders for each panel. Great tutorial.

[@theclownlyimp]

I love the idea of using 3D model backgrounds as a reference! I'm gonna have to focus on writing for a while and chill out on trying to jump straight into the drawing process 😅

[@WPatrickOfficial]

Incredible. So few people dive into THIS much detail. Loved it, thank you!

[@marzibeast]

I didn’t realize I had a membership! Thank you lovely person who did! ❤ very helpful video!

[@ferret1337]

wanted to give my thanks, I just recently purchased clip and I am happy with the product. this is a fantastic tutorial

[@rubenferreira5914]

Your videos have been a major help in my journey to make my first comic and this one is no different! Thank you so much for all the help and inspiration, you're awesome!! ❤

[@zerenacruel]

This video makes me believe I can make my own comic 😅

[@jibrilthethingart]

You…. You have no idea how much this helps me😭

[@shikiira4185]

Could you do a breakdown on how you create your props in blender? I've tried many tutorials and all of them just seem so daunting I get confused so fast about how to do even the simplest of things.

[@EWBugz]

I love watching your videos. Groovin' on the tip about remove dust, that will save me so much time. I also do a lot of work in Blender. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

[@mikubrot]

those remove dust and line tricks I genuinely didn't know! ty

[@moldy_spinach]

OMG! Thank you, thank you, THANK you! I really needed that tip for the fill tool because I'm just getting into digital art and I was so confused why it wasn't working right! ❤

[@AirBowDoesStuff]

I've been think of making a comic, this will br so helpful!!!

[@goosefootler4921]

seeing your process is really helpful in guiding me in the right direction for a productive workflow of my own, so thanks for making this video!

[@emilyharper5383]

10:07 Just want to say. If you don't have blender or can't really do any 3D modeling yourself: The Sims 4 is completely free right now and if you need specific items you can find free CC online! You can enter a free camera mode and it's how I have been doing my Animatic!

[@Sammy_47]

Thanks for sharing your process; it was very interesting to see how the story is made. I never been great at coloring; it's always stumped me because I don't know how to lay down colors or where to put them....especially when it comes to coloring a scene.

[@rosiisartistic]

Yay! Going to watch this a soon as possible

[@Rycila]

I found this so helpful, I’ve been following your channel and watching so many of your tutorials, (I’m currently drafting a comic right now) and your channel my go to place when I have questions. Your advice is always so helpful! Keep up your fantastic art!

[@kirby_six]

honestly, knowing that I'm ALLOWED to use my own models to help with backgrounds takes a HUGE weight off my shoulders, thank you for that! i had a kinda specific question about drawing the characters themselves if that's alright: do you use pose references for your characters when drawing comic pages? one of the big reasons doing stuff like comics seems so daunting to me is because I'm really reliant on references when drawing humans, and finding specific poses for what i need can be really hard sometimes. doing the poses myself seems to be the most effective method I've used so far but i was wondering if there was anything that you do for castoff to get poses or if drawing repetitive and/or simple poses without reference just comes with practice. i love the way you teach! thank you!

[@MexikanPanda]

You’re a great inspiration to this old black hole, Star

[@senpi-chiptunes]

I never thought of making a separate tool for comic text settings, or using remove dust to fill in the uncolored bits. Thank you!

[@-themightymittens-]

I'm waiting to get a drawing tablet so eventually I can begin on my first webcomic! I enjoyed watching your process, even though I'm too broke for CSP, I'm sure a lot of this can translate to GIMP or Krita lol Edit: ive started using medibang too

[@jleahy]

Yo also like, thank you so much that you mentioned the lettering section! it's such a great show of if a creator really cares about their work when you see the quality of their lettering and it's great to see your process!!

[@placeholderdoe]

Congrats on the sponsor! You really deserve it

[@davideostudio2664]

I’m currently working on a webcomic that I hope will be out by either next year or 2025, depending on my schedule called The Chimera Galaxy. I already have trailer comics up with one more to go and then I’ll be ready to work on the official comic

[@MorpheousXO]

On the CSP brushes, I actually like the Mapping Pen for inking. Not sure why, but I find the lines it makes a bit better than the standard g-pen, for me.

[@laureldreams4108]

You'r videos always inspire me to keep working on my Comic/Manga ideas. I just need to finally figure out how to start scripting, like I have general ideas for the plot but I never really know how to begin with that. You don't have to do this BUT! If you feel like a small tutorial going a bit more in depth on scripting could be a good idea it would help a lot! Your art is really inspiring and I began to read castoff a while ago. I have to continue reading it, but class has me so busy right now,,

[@madmorpheusgaming]

Seeing how the sausage is made (so to speak) really makes me wanna finally start making my own that I've been putting off.

[@sonwukong7602]

As usual it's well explained and love the "cheating" part "chu chuu". It break some cliché and thanks to show your process.

[@LittleGoldRose]

Thank You so much for this Educational Video! I’ve been wanting to start work on my own Webcomic Series, but I haven’t known how to start. This gives me a good, clear Idea on what to do! Especially since I’m also using Clip Studio. I still have a long way to go though. I’ve only recently gotten into Digital Art from Traditional. But I’m excited too learn how to Improve! Again Thank You so much for this! And I hope you have a Fantastic day! 💛😻💛😻💛😻💛

[@hayhay509]

I used to make web comics all the time when i was a kid. its why i wanted to go to art school and get trained to be in the industry! i've been struggling to get my comic off the ground and have been binge watching your videos about it. Its a story about a bunch of table top characters and how they are coping with the fact their games ended prematurely. i have it scripted out up to the second chapter but i just can't get myself to put ink to digital canvas, i'm just so worried about things i don't care about like if my comic will get attention or if anyone will read it. when i was younger that was so far from my mind but i guess growing up made it a concern. your videos have helped motivate me to do *SOMETHING* which is the most progress i've made in the two years i've been working on the comic XD

[@dawnvee3796]

Thank you so much for this! I draw digitally with different software so CSP dosen't always translate into Krita, but this is still helpful as I've drawn traditionally for a long time. Hot tip: if anyone here does traditional, use cheap paper for thumbnails, and save old clothing tags - you can trace them and use them to create unique panels. Also, if you color with watercolors, pick the color of your lighting before the rest of the colors and put a thin layer of it on first - it will tie in all the other colors you plan to use. And if you're using fountain pens - WAIT FOR THE INK TO DRY BEFORE PAINTING!

[@Simon-et4hu]

Very cool! Thanks for showing us your process :) I loved the palettes that you make in advance with the tiny characters half lit and half shade ^^. Also it’s cool how you make your colors evolve between pages and chapters! I recommend to everyone to go into the pages archive of Castoff and WITNESS THE RAINBOOOOW… of awesomeness 🌈

[@meladaptiveTragedies]

I don't normally give likes or dislikes, but this was so helpful, I just had to like

[@chestnut_dude]

Your the person who made me want to become a comic author again

[@chestnut_dude]

*you're

[@aPhrogg]

Thank you for the tutorial star! :)

[@rainfox2490]

The comic im planning is called The Wishing Pond! Thank you for all the videos!! They have been extremely handy!!

[@MeloditeCat]

Definitely saving this to my playlist for learning art stuff

[@MikiChanCatGirl]

This really makes me want to start my comic again. It seems so much simpler here than all the extra steps I was putting in. Thanks for sharing the process.

[@TheComiKen]

I've been drawing comics for a while, and I got several super helpful time-saving tips from this! Thanks!🙏

[@ChidoriAlchemist]

I wish I would have seen this video about eight years ago when I started my webcomic! It's long finished now after 250+ pages, but man, this is helpful information I wish I would have realized at the start of it (especially entering the text sooner rather than later)! Great job!!

[@ChidoriAlchemist]

Also! When you said that tracing their environments isn't cheating-- I felt that! You're drawing literally thousands and thousands of images to tell a story. You cannot afford to spend hours and hours perfecting a background when that is literally such a small part (and quite frankly, often overlooked) part of the comic!

[@White_rose_101]

This is so cool and the tips and stuff in this is helping me with making my comic! I had no idea how to do this stuff and I’m so glad I got to see this video and channel!!!

[@CallumQuinnCreates]

Thanks for the video Star, your tutorials are always SUPER helpful! All ya’ll in the comments should totally check out her book if you want to give making comics a try!

[@NioEvelynn]

SOMETHING YOU DID THAT JUST STRAIGHT UP AMAZED ME BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY IN THE VIDEO The layer properties window! Like I honest to god got rid of it from my layout for CSP but seeing how you can add borders to your layers for things like sound effects is something SUPER COOL to someone new to the program like me ;v; I learned SO SO SO much from this video, not just about comic writing and creation but just basic CSP stuff to!!! I feel so inspired now and like a kid in a candy shop looking at all the tools I overlooked or never saw before!

[@kiko2leretour756]

YOU'RE A LIFE SAVER IM JUST A CRANKY LIL ART STUDENT AND I SUCK AT DIGITAL THANK YOOOOOU

[@mgguy5550]

You're literally my art teacher dude. Thank you so much!!! 🤙

[@yevvieart]

hey Star, quick tip: you can set up a shortcut for "anywhere" eyedropper in settings (I have mine at alt+E) making it super quick to take color from any screen, including subview, without having to press any extra UI buttons. it may make it even quicker for ya, worth tryin imo!

[@raxxie]

I started my first comic with a long scroll format on webtoon and the more I watch you, the more I wanna redo it. Even tho I know your rules against it 🤣

[@sabrinav2866]

I want to say thank you. THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!!! I didn't know about the "to darkest pixel" option. I suppose I didn't explore all the options enough 😅 thank you so much for that tidbit, my art should go so much smoother now!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@hypergalaxydraws6258]

I. Need. To make... a comic.... RIGHT NOOOWWW!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL TUTORIAL, STAR! 💖💫✨️

[@wolfsonic9908]

Thank you for this! I was planning on doing a comic for a final project in school, and this helps me IMMENSELY!

[@ojhat]

did not know about the scaling settings or the utility of the dust tool. Those are very helpful to learn about. also, I would think a timer next to the timelapse parts could be interesting for these 0-100% page making videos, as the truth of how much time it takes to work on things really smacks me in the face (3 hours on lineart for an entire page sounds like a dream)

[@neonyami]

This is extremely helpful! It's amazingly helpful to see someone else's flow of work. I'm still a baby to making comics so I don't really have a work flow!

[@hawkfurze]

Great video! I'll definitely keep a lot of this in mind for my own comics!

[@vilet918]

That remove dust feature will be a lifesaver once I can afford clip studio again!

[@scribbles9721]

OMG TY STAR I've always been coming back to your how to paint video on csp and now ever since I started my webcomic I've been wanting a tutorial from YOU AND HERE IT IS TYYYYY

[@dannyxcat]

this is gonna sound so weird but i mean this in the most complimentary way possible and its that you remind me of like Hiccup from httyd but an art streamer ???? idk i might be crazy. its a cool thing trust

[@Musicalheart430]

I get where youre coming from, and if someone said this to me i would take it as the best possible compliment you can give😅

[@desperadodavex51]

This helped me out a lot trying to figure out how to even start a comic. awesome vid!

[@melainekerfaou8418]

Thanks a lot. This is very informative. And you can tell your sponsor they got themselves a new user :)

[@funkythefungusmonkey8442]

I usually draw in ms paint, on windows 10, but seeing the process you go through to layout a panel even in a different program helps a lot!

[@Blewisarts]

I loved every second of this video! So informative and frankly downright inspiring. Using blender 3d models is genius! I'm definitely going to add that to my work flow