Auto Action in Clip Studio Paint: Creating RGB Channels
Clip Studio Paint is a powerful digital painting and comic illustration tool that offers a wide range of features to enhance your workflow. One of its most useful features is Auto Action, which allows you to record and playback actions, automating repetitive tasks and streamlining your workflow. In this article, we'll focus on using Auto Action to create RGB channels out of an image, a technique that's particularly useful for photo manipulation and photobashing.
Accessing Auto Action Window
To access the Auto Action window in Clip Studio Paint, go to Window > Auto Action. You can move the window to a convenient location, such as the layer panel, but be cautious not to accidentally delete it.
Auto Action Modes
The Auto Action window has two modes: Regular Mode and Button Mode. In Regular Mode, you can view, edit, and play back auto actions. In Button Mode, auto actions are turned into buttons that can be clicked to perform the action. Note that you cannot edit or create new auto actions in Button Mode, and you cannot right-click in this mode. To switch back to Regular Mode, click the icon and uncheck Button Mode.
Understanding Auto Actions
Auto actions are similar to macro recorders. When an auto action is performed, pressing Undo will only undo the last action in the sequence, not the entire auto action. In Edit Mode, secondary checkboxes are used for dialog boxes that pop up during auto actions. Checking a box will pause the auto action, allowing you to tweak settings before continuing.
Creating RGB Channels with Auto Action
RGB channels are useful for getting accurate selections, which can be useful for photo manipulation and photobashing. Although Clip Studio Paint doesn't have a built-in channels feature, we can create one using Auto Action. Let's demonstrate this by selecting the sky from a picture of Kyoto.
The auto action creates three channels (red, green, and blue) that give information about the image. These channels can be used to make accurate selections by adjusting levels and contrast.
Using Channels for Selection
To use the channels for selection, adjust the levels and contrast in the blue channel to isolate the sky. Fine-tune with a brush in overlay mode to remove noise. Use the lasso tool and alt-delete to fill with a selected color. Finally, convert brightness to opacity and create a selection from the layer.
Benefits of Using RGB Channels
Using RGB channels offers several benefits, including:
- Accurate selections, especially for complex images
- Useful for photo manipulation, concept art, matte painting, and general art creation
- Enables easy replacement of sky or other elements in an image
- Can be used to bring in elements from other photos or illustrations
Example Illustrations
For example, you can use RGB channels to replace trees in a zodiac illustration with others from a different photo. You can also bring in lanterns from another photo and adjust them to fit an Asian cityscape illustration.
Using Auto Actions to Create RGB Channels
You can download an auto action to create RGB channels for free from the Clip Studio Paint asset store. Alternatively, you can create it manually by recording actions in Clip Studio Paint. The manual process involves creating separate channels for red, green, and blue, and then combining them.
Manual Process of Creating RGB Channels
To create RGB channels manually, start with an image and open the auto actions menu. Create a new auto action set and name it (e.g., "Red Channel"). Record the following actions:
- Rename the selected layer
- Duplicate the layer and go into levels adjustment
- Turn green and blue outputs to zero to create a red and black layer
- Duplicate the layer twice and adjust hue/saturation/luminosity for green and blue channels
- Turn blending mode to screen for green and blue layers
- Merge layers and rename the resulting layer to "Red Channel"
Repeat the process for green and blue channels.
Tips and Variations
Some tips and variations to keep in mind:
- Use the "Magic Wand" or "Color Gamut Select" tools for quick selections, but they may not be as accurate as using RGB channels
- You can edit the auto action to include merging visible layers to a new layer before creating the RGB channels
- You can use the auto action to create RGB channels for the entire image, not just a single layer
Creating RGB Channel Separation in Photoshop
If you prefer working in Photoshop, you can create RGB channel separation using the following steps:
Step 1: Creating the Red Channel
- Duplicate the original layer
- Rename the layer to "Layer" (or any desired name)
- Use Ctrl+L for levels adjustment
- Set red to 120 and blue to -120
- Screen and merge the layers
- Rename the layer to "Red Channel"
Step 2: Creating the Green Channel
- Duplicate the original layer
- Rename the layer to "Layer" (or any desired name)
- Use Ctrl+L for levels adjustment
- Set red and blue to 0, and green to 120
- Screen and merge the layers
- Rename the layer to "Green Channel"
Alternative Method for Creating the Green and Blue Channels
You can copy the actions from the Red Channel creation, edit the levels adjustment to set the correct colors to 0 and 120, and rename the layer to the desired color channel (e.g., "Green Channel" or "Blue Channel").
Creating the Blue Channel
- Duplicate the original layer
- Rename the layer to "Layer" (or any desired name)
- Use Ctrl+L for levels adjustment
- Set red to -120 and blue to 120
- Screen and merge the layers
- Rename the layer to "Blue Channel"
By using Auto Action in Clip Studio Paint or Photoshop, you can easily create RGB channels and make accurate selections for photo manipulation and photobashing. This powerful technique can enhance your workflow and take your artwork to the next level.