Clip Studio Paint

Name: Clip Studio Paint
Rating: 3.6 (11 reviews)

140 likes

Professional software for comic and manga creation, optimized with panel layouts, perspective rulers, sketching, inking, toning, vector support, and 3D model import, suitable for artists seeking advanced drawing and coloring tools.

Cost / License

Pay once or Subscription
Proprietary

Application typeApplication types

Origin

Japan

Platforms

Mac
Windows
Android
iPhone
Chrome OS
Android Tablet
iPad
Samsung Galaxy Store

Alternatives

140likes

115alternatives

7articles

Properties

Optimal performance
Customizable
Lightweight

Features

Support for Layers
Texture for brushes
Pressure Sensitivity
Open PSD files
Tablet support
Built-in 3D model viewer
Drawing Tablet Support
Keyframe Animation
Custom Brushes
Cloud Sync
Smooth lines
Vectorgraphic support
Track everything
Add-ons
Vector strokes
Natural media painting
Texture painting
User story mapping

Comments and Reviews

Comment summary: Clip Studio Paint is praised for its powerful brush engine, clean interface, and advanced features for illustration and animation. Users highlight its high-quality asset store and compatibility with various creative works. However, criticisms include its restrictive licensing scheme and transition to a subscription model, which some users find unfavorable. Despite minor issues like LCD screen synchronization, Clip Studio Paint remains a strong contender for artists seeking versatile software.

Top Positive Comment

Wynter Smith

★★★★★

Dec 16, 2021

Clip Studio Paint has been the best software for doing illustrations and comic production that I've been able to find. I've used Photoshop, Illustrator, Affinity Photo, FireAlpaca, Krita and Procreate, and they've all had a bunch of problems that made it very frustrating to use them. Clip Studio isn't perfect, but I don't find myself fighting with the software constantly. It's very powerful, and the dedicated comic tools and the 3D model integration are VERY useful. The fact that they offer perpetual licenses alongside subscriptions is a major bonus for people like me who prefer to own software and pay again only when we need an upgrade.

Top Negative Comment

Taurolyon

★★★★★

Aug 25, 2022

EditedAug 30, 2022

Clip Studio is an amazing software. However, they chose to take it from one-time purchase to a subscription basis. I hate it when software studios do this. I'd rather pay for a new version every couple years and enjoy continued, uninterrupted use. I would then buy a new version when I WANT to.

Rather, the company FORCES you to pay for software that I might not entirely need or want; but if I don't, I can't use it.

Seriously, ClipStudio - don't force your customers around. No one likes bullies.

nttldnknwn

★★★★★

Apr 19, 2025

I have experience using this software for about 2-3 years.

Overall, my impressions are mixed.

Performance-wise, Clip Studio Paint is faster than Photoshop, but slower than Krita.
The software itself, its interface, and settings seem quite user-friendly, similar to Photoshop, and better than Krita's.
The brush engine felt better than Photoshop's, but worse than Krita's Pixel Engine. Generally, the feel when applying lines and strokes seems less natural – less like traditional media – than in Krita. But again, the brush customization process itself is easier and more comfortable due to a better interface design compared to Krita.
Photo manipulation capabilities – various filters and such are present, but they are very basic; Photoshop and Krita handle these better and offer more options. However, the basic functionality is there, and considering Clip Studio Paint is software for digital drawing and painting, not image editing, it seems perfectly adequate.
One thing I didn't like is that Clip Studio Paint comes with a lot of pre-installed content by default that is completely unnecessary for drawing and painting. You have to manually "declutter" the software to get rid of it all.
Over 2-3 years of almost daily use, I didn't encounter any bugs, but I haven't run into them in Photoshop either, whereas I did find a couple in Krita.
Contacting the developers for feature requests is very inconveniently set up, and you really don't get the feeling that user suggestions are taken into account by the developers.
Clip Studio Paint features realistic color mixing (Mixbox). I don't know if Photoshop has it now, but it seems Krita still doesn't.
Clip Studio Paint, like Photoshop, lacks native Linux support. Krita has it.
One of the most critical drawbacks of Clip Studio Paint is its development direction. The software is increasingly incorporating unnecessary 3D functionality that artists don't need, which is largely inferior in absolutely every aspect even to Blender's capabilities, should anyone actually need it. And instead of adding features truly necessary for 2D artists, the software gets stuffed more and more with 3D functionality.
The latest Clip Studio Paint updates can't even be called proper updates – nothing significant or genuinely good is being added, yet the developers market them as full updates and demand separate payment for them.

Overall, the software serves its purpose – it's perfectly suitable for digital drawing and painting. But I see absolutely no reason why I should buy it instead of supporting the Krita developers, who, at least, aren't stuffing software for digital drawing and painting with 3D editor features instead of introducing genuinely meaningful and needed updates. And if one wants to support the digital drawing and painting software industry, I think it would be much more sensible to support Rebelle rather than Clip Studio Paint.

It's sad that software with such good potential is heading in such an... utterly unnecessary direction.

celsomeone on internet

CommentApr 20, 2025

someone on internet

Replying to @nttldnknwn

Regarding development direction, CSP is more focused on illustration and comic industry in Asia.

CSP is trying to be one app for all, exactly the same as Krita.

For pre-installed content, that's depends on people needs. Because CSP is Japanese software, it tend to focus on common Japanese illustrator and comic artist workflow. And so far, people are loving it. I've seen Chinese and Korean artist are totally okay with that as well.

3D editor is heavily used among manga and webtoon artist, I've seen people on the industry heavily using them for background asset or heavy referencing. Even Krita dev are considering to add them as well; they closely follow CSP development. (I recommend to check their Krita forum :) )

For feature request, while it's not perfect, I once requested for .WEBP support, and they actually deliver it on the next major version.

Some features that Krita does not have (that I personally use):

Flexible multi document layout (already made feature request on Krita forum, it's one of the most voted so far, but hindered by QT Framework.)
Comic and webtoon layout, not as advance as CSP.
3D environment (yes, it's actually being used by significant amount of people, usually in comic making, or heavy perspective illustration).

nttldnknwn

CommentApr 22, 2025

Yes, you are probably right.

My main problem was that I was expecting something from the software that it was not originally created for.

karabut-viktor

★★★★★

Sep 19, 2023

Bought "Lifetime" license just month before they switched to subscription model. Feel scummed.

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.

katherineg7210

★★★★★

Jan 12, 2023

quick note: It should be noted that Clip Studio can be used for free after the 30 days trial although you are unable to save the image as a file.

My opinion: I've used it for approximately 4 years and I absolutely love it! I've tried photoshop, kirita, medibang, ibispaint, and I think Clip Studio is far superior due to its brush customization, 3D modeller program and online shop - where you get access to free high-quality brushes.

Tip to new artists that haven't used Kirita/Photoshop prior to installing Clip Studio (not related to this review): Please watch YouTube videos about how to use Clip Studio!! They give a wonderful overview of all the features.

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.

Anipe

★★★★★

Apr 22, 2022

Its amazing! Really cheap and easy to get due to hardware bundles, lots of features for the average artist and advanced artist even in it's base editor and tons of features for animators in other distributions!

RinRin

★★★★★

Dec 9, 2021

I've used Photoshop and Gimp before I used Manga Studio/Clip Studio Paint Pro. ...I find CSPP far superior to them both.

7 of 17 comments

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Install from the command line

winget install -e --id Celsys.ClipStudioPaint
brew install --cask clip-studio-paint

Be careful what you paste into a terminal. Check what a command installs before running it.

What is Clip Studio Paint?

Clip Studio Paint, previously Manga Studio or ComicStudio in Japan, is a family of software applications for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows used for the digital creation of comics and manga.

It delivers powerful cutting edge drawing and coloring tools, making it essential for professional comic and manga artists.

Although it has features in common with general-purpose graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint's tool set is focused and optimized for use in creating comics and manga. It has tools for creating panel layouts, perspective rulers, sketching, inking, applying tones and textures, coloring, and creating word balloons and captions. It supports creation of bitmap and vector art, and importing 3D models. It supports input by a mouse or a graphics tablet.