Creating a Custom Brush Pack for Digital Art
Sponsored by Honkai Impact Third
Honkai Impact Third has just released its latest version, 6.1, which features a new character, themed events, and three stunning outfits. The game tells the story of the Valkyries fighting against the honkai energy that erodes the world. One of the main characters, Lee Sushiang, is a swordswoman who was born 500 years ago and was cryogenically frozen. Designing her intricate details took a long time, and the result is three beautiful outfits available in the new version. What's more, the Honkai Impact Third art collection is coming, and can be obtained for free by downloading the game and entering a gift code.
Now, let's dive into the world of digital art and explore how to create a custom brush pack for Clip Studio Paint.
Creating a Custom Brush Tip
To start, create a small canvas (200x200 pixels) in Clip Studio Paint. Design the tip of the brush, considering texture and roughness to make it look more like a real art tool. Set the color space to black and white, making white transparent and black any color chosen from the wheel. Register the brush tip as a material, checking the "Use for brush tip shape" box and saving it with a tag under the brush category.
Registering the Brush Tip
To register the brush tip, go to Edit > Register Material > Image. Name the brush tip specifically, check the "Use for brush tip shape" box, and save it in the brush folder with a tag to easily find it later.
Testing and Customizing the Brush
Open a new file to test the brush. Open the gear icon for the new brush and make a copy of the basic brush. Click the wrench icon to access various customization options. Experiment with different sliders and settings to achieve the desired brush behavior. Adjust the brush size and response to pen pressure to achieve the desired line weight variation.
Creating Digital Brushes in Clip Studio
Let's explore some of the custom brushes created in Clip Studio Paint.
Magpie Ink Pen
The Magpie Ink Pen was created by adjusting the brush size slider and testing with different lines (squiggly, hatching, etc.). The goal was to imitate a real pen feel. The settings used were default anti-aliasing and randomness. The result is a textured, pen-like feel.
Pixelated Pen
The Pixelated Pen was duplicated from the Magpie Ink Pen brush. The anti-aliasing was changed to pixelated, and the randomness slider was increased for a choppier line. The result is a crunchy, sharp, and pixelated look.
Soft Serve Blender
A new brush tip was created – a soft, irregular blob. Little sections were carved out and blurred to create a soft, sponge-like texture. The brush tip was saved and switched with the default. Important: don't forget to tag the brush to avoid losing it. The settings used were played with opacity, paint amount, density, and color stretch to achieve a blender effect. The goal was to create a blender that can be used to merge colors and create a soft, blended look.
Future Brush: Pencily Brush
The goal is to create a pencily brush with a fun, unique idea. The creator wants to design a pencil brush with a "cloven hoof" shape to give it a unique edge and make it look cool.
Creating a Custom Pencil Brush in Clip Studio
Inspiration and Concept
The creator wanted to design a pencil brush with a unique edge, making it look cool and resembling a real pencil with a delicate and small shape.
Designing the Brush
A texture from Clip Studio's built-in textures was added to give the brush a more pencil-like appearance. The opacity of the brush was set to be determined by pen pressure, allowing for varying line weights and gray tones. The randomness slider was adjusted to make the brush look more like powdery graphite. The creator experimented with drawing with the brush to ensure it felt natural and fun to use.
Creating a Hatching Brush
The hatching brush was designed to stamp out small lines of hatching, reducing repetitive stress and time. The creator struggled to make the brush not look too dark and repetitive, and had to make the gaps between the lines large. The key to making the brush work was adding randomness to the direction and angle of the lines, making it look more like hand-drawn hatching. The creator had to adjust the tiling of the brush to prevent it from becoming a "black blob of fuzziness."
Testing the Brushes
The creator will be testing the new brush pack by creating an entire illustration using only the new brushes. The first test was done with the pencil brush, using a dark blue color to mimic sketching with a dark blue pencil. The creator found the pencil brush easy to use and liked the way it looked, but might make some adjustments to make it more versatile.
Digital Drawing Process with Custom Brushes
Inking and Line Art
Two inking brushes were used, settling on the "Crunchy Pixels" brush, which is trickier to use but suits personal style. Compared to a smoother brush, the Crunchy Pixels brush produces a more jagged line art, but can be adjusted for less randomness. It works well for hand-drawn, hatching, and textured areas.
Filling and Coloring
Clip Studio's fill bucket tool was used, which handles jagged line art well. The Magpie Ink Pen was employed for color fills, especially in areas that require extra help. The Magpie Ink Pen adds texture, making the drawing look more hand-drawn and paper-like.
Hatching and Shading
A hatching brush was used to add depth and detail, which can save time and create a more detailed look.