How to Crop an Image in Clip Studio Paint
When you’re using a photo editing application, it’s easy to crop a picture.
But in a tool like Clip Studio Paint, how to crop an image may not seem so obvious.
You have to think of it in a slightly different way.
You’re not cropping your art. You’re cropping the canvas your art is drawn on. Cut off the canvas and you’ll cut off the area your drawing has to sit on..
There is an easy way to do it, and then there’s a harder way that I’ll walk you through because you might really like numbers.
The Easy Way
Go the Selection Tool –> Rectangle.
With any luck, the selection tool is on that stack of tools that, by default, line the left edge of your screen. This is the one that looks like a dashed line in the shape of a square.
Then, go to Edit -> Crop
That will crop your canvas to the rectangular area you chose.
The good news is, all of your drawing is still there, even though the window into it — or the canvas it’s layered on top of — has been cut down to this size. If you choose the Move Layer tool (which looks like four arrows pointing north, south, east, and west), you can move your layers around and still see all the art that’s effectively off the canvas now.
In theory, you could transform the entire layer and shrink it down to fit on the new canvas if you wanted.
But what if you want to expand your canvas? If your drawing has grown bigger than you thought and you need more room so nobody’s hand or foot gets cut off along the edges, how can you make it grow?
There’s a different way to do that. It looks more gnarly than it really is, but it’ll also work when you’re trying to shrink the canvas. Let me show you
The Hard Way (Numbers!)
This is the way to grow your canvas, but it’s also the best way to go when you know the specific size you want your canvas to be (larger or smaller), whether it’s in pixels or inches.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy as drawing a rectangle over the portion of the canvas that you want to keep. You need to do it with numbers. It’ll take some rough guesswork and lots of corrections, but it is possible.
Go to Edit -> Change Canvas Size
This window pops up:
This might be a little confusing at first, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
That “Reference Point” Tic Tac Toe board is the most important part of this window, because that’s where Clip Studio Paint decides where to take away from or add to the canvas based on the new numbers you input in the Width and Height fields.
The reference point (some other applications might call this kind of thing an anchor point) is where the current canvas gets pinned down, whatever shape or layout it is. By default, that starts in the center. When you lower the number in the width field, half of the difference will be taken away from the left side on the image, and half on the right. When you lower the number in the height field, half of that difference will be removed from the top, and half from the bottom.
If you want the difference in numbers to be taken from only one side of the image, then you need to set the reference point to the opposite side of that tic tac toe board. So if you want to remove 100 pixels from the width on the left, then you need to choose the reference point on the right. That will anchor your image to the right and remove the pixels from the opposite side, away from the anchor.
If you change the number to be a larger one, the new pixels will also be added to the opposite side. If you pin the image to the right and increase the width by 100 pixels, CSP will add those 100 pixels to the left side of the image.
Tool Tips and Tricks
If you’ve tried this yourself by now, you’ve also seen one very helpful user interface trick that I haven’t mentioned yet. As you type in a new number in one of those fields, CSP starts to highlight the new canvas. As you continue to type the number in, it updates with every keystroke. You’re still guessing at what the proper number should be, but CSP is very helpful in showing you how close you are. You can adjust accordingly.
The chevrons to the right of the Height and Width field do bring up a slider you can use instead of typing in new numbers. It will change the highlighted portion of the canvas to match where the slider is at all times. I find this tool less useful, though, because the slider is very small. You can make huge changes to the canvas size with the slightest touch of the scrubber there. It maxes out at 50,000 pixels in either direction. My original image is not even a tenth of that number, which throws off the scale. I suppose if you work at a much larger size, this slider might make more sense. But if you’re trying to cut down a canvas from 2500 pixels to 2000 pixels, good luck.
Next to the slider, though, is another series of chevrons: two single chevrons pointing up and down, and two double sets pointing up and down. The single chevron adjust the canvas a pixel at a time. The double chevrons adjust it by 100 px with every click. That might be more useful. I tend to avoid it because it’s such a tiny button to have to try to press.
Around the Tic Tac Toe Board
Logically, everything works from there. I’ll spell it out. I started here with a solid blue canvas at 2500 x 2500 pixels. In each of these examples, I extended the canvas out to 2800 x 2800, but with a different reference point each time.
If you’re on an iPad or a desktop display, things will be wide enough that these screen shots will format in a 3 x 3 grid. Each screenshot is placed where the reference point used in it is. If you’re on mobile, just look at the modal window in the screenshot to see where the reference point is.
Or, to explain it in english:
The left anchor point changes the canvas width off to the right, while the height will change equally on both the top and bottom.
The right anchor point changes the canvas width off to the left, while the height will change equally on both the top and bottom.
The bottom anchor point impacts the top of the canvas in height, while the width changes equally on the left and right.
The top anchor point impacts the bottom for the canvas in height, while the width changes equally on the left and right.
The center anchor point always extends or shrinks evenly in both directions for height and width.
The top left corner changes the canvas width to the right and the height at the bottom.
The top right corner changes the canvas width to the left and the height at the bottom.
How to resize an image in clip studio paint
Beside above, how do I stretch an image in clip studio paint? Dragging a handle while holding down Ctrl + Alt keys allows you to scale up/down the image from the center point.
Also know, how do you select and resize in clip studio?
- 1First select a layer on the [Layer] palette.
- 2Using the selection tool, create a selection.
- 3Select the method of transformation from the [Edit] menu > [Transform].
- 4Drag either the bounding box guide lines or handles to transform the image.
In this regard, how do I shrink a drawing in clip studio paint? 1Using a selection tool, create a selection. 2Select the [Select] menu > [Shrink Selected Area]. 3In the dialog box that appears, adjust the [Shrinking width] and [Shrinking type], then click [OK]. 4The selected area will shrink by the specified width.
Also the question is, where is the transform tool in clip studio paint? It is a very common tool, very useful and easy to use! You can access it by either selecting the layer or layers you want to transform or make a selection of a specific part of your drawing. After that, you can go to ‘Edit -> Transform -> Free Transform’. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut by pressing ‘Ctrl+T’.Selecting [Edit] menu > [Transform] > [Flip Horizontal] flips the image around the center point (+).
How do you change the size of an image without losing quality in clip studio?
How do I make an image smaller without losing quality clip studio? Resizing without losing quality: To resize an image, you go to Edit > Change Image Resolution. Where you see “Interpolation method” there is a dropdown with different options. Bilinear and bicubic have better color accuracy but duller edges.
How do I select an image in clip studio paint?
Is there a liquify tool in clip studio paint?
No Liquify Option In Clip Studio Paint… Unfortunately, so far, there is no Liquify option as in photoshop to transform your tools like a liquid. … But, nevertheless, you can still do quite a lot of editing in Clip Studio and have great results.
What is shrink selection?
This command reduces the size of a selection area by an arbitrary number of pixels either measured from the inside of a selection or the border.
How do I resize a clip?
- Hold down Shift while dragging a handle to resize without changing the original image ratio.
- To resize with the center as the reference point, hold down Alt while dragging the handles.
How do I resize an image?
- Open your image file then click on Edit in the menu.
- Choose and click Resize.
- Adjust the values as you see fit.
How do you make Clip Art smaller?
To resize an image place your cursor exactly on one of the four white boxes at one of the corners of the image. Your cursor will turn into a two headed diagonal arrow. When you see this, click and drag toward the center of an image to make it smaller, or away from the center of the image to make it larger.
Why is my clip studio paint lagging?
Display connection (Windows) A delay can occur in Clip Studio Paint if you have more than one display monitor (including graphics tablets), and they are each connected to different graphic boards in your PC. Check that the display connections are connected to the graphics board and check in the delay still occurs.
How do I change the size of an illustration?
I want to change the size of an illustration I drew with Clip Studio Paint, how can I do that?
Answer
Image size can be changed upon export or by using the Change Image Resolution function.
How to change the size when exporting
If you change the size during export, it will adjust the size of the image after output, so you can keep the original file.
1. Select the File menu > Export (Single Layer) > and select the export format.
2. Specify the destination and click Save to show the Export settings dialog box.
3. Select Output Size > Specify output size and set Height and Width.
How To Free Transform In Clip Studio Paint (Step By Step)
Free Transform in Clip Studio Paint is very simple. With it, you can scale your image, rotate it, flip your selection horizontally or vertically and even distort it a bit! I don’t use it for very complex actions, but I still use the Free Transform mode a lot! Constantly I need to make small selections of my drawings so resize them or rotate them to a position where it makes more sense.
How can you Free Transform a selection in Clip Studio Paint? Simply go to ‘Edit -> Transform -> Free Transform or press ‘Ctrl+T’ on your keyboard. You’re now ready to make any change you need to make!
You might notice though, that once you enter this mode, some options and settings will appear and there’s more to Free Transform than it looks at first glance. Let’s see in detail all the ways you can resize, rotate and even distort your images and how!
Table Of Contents
How To Free Transform In Clip Studio Paint
I use Free Transform a lot while working. Mostly very simple things. Resizing the whole work or just parts of it, flipping things around and very rarely distorting things a bit.
It is a very common tool, very useful, and easy to use!
You can access it by either selecting the layer or layers you want to transform or make a selection of a specific part of your drawing. After that, you can go to ‘Edit -> Transform -> Free Transform’. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut by pressing ‘Ctrl + Shift + T’.
Scaling and Rotating With Free Transform
Once you enter in Free Transform mode, a frame will appear around your selection. The points around this frame can be used to scale up and down your drawing or to rotate it. Just hover the mouse above these and then click and move.
When you’re able to rotate the selection a curved arrow with two ends will appear. To resize, it shows a straight arrow. Very simple and similar to other drawing software!
Careful with resizing though! If you’re using raster layers, you’ll lose quality as you scale things. For example, if you’re trying to scale it up, you’ll notice the selection will start to look fuzzy and distorted. If it’s a very small resize of the selection, it won’t be noticeable. But if you’re doing so, better use vector layers (here’s how), so you won’t lose any quality in your drawings!
I always use vector layers for my line art so that I can resize them if I ever need to. That way I’m never worried about having to redo my lines because they lost quality.
Skew And Distort
Even though Clip Studio doesn’t have a clear option to skew and distort a selection in the menu, you can do it while in Free Transform mode.
Simply hover the mouse over the points that show around the frame. Press ‘Ctrl’ and a small white arrow will appear. Click the Left Button of your mouse while pressing Ctrl and you can now skew and distort your image! You can do this with either of the points and move everything around as you wish.
Free Transform Menu
Now, when you enter in Free Transform mode, you’ll notice a new tab to the left. This tab has a few options that you can use. For example, let’s say you need to rotate the selection you just made.
There are different ways to rotate. What I mean by this is that you can choose where the center of your rotation will be. It can be in the center of the drawing, top left, top right and so on. Depending on what you choose, the rotation will behave differently.
You can also select the scale ratio you want and even type in the rotation angle you need! At the top bar of the Free Transform window, there are also some useful buttons.
The first one will reset the transformations you made. The two that follow serve to flip your selection and then you can confirm or cancel the transformation.
If you end up doing something you don’t want to, let’s say you scaled the drawing up but decided it was too much, you can hit Ctrl+Z to undo your last move. You don’t need to cancel the whole transformation. Here are 30 other Clip Studio Paint Shortcuts To Create Art Quicker!
This is very useful because sometimes we’ve done quite a few changes and then misclick something by accident. If we cancel the transformation, it will cancel everything we did so far and now we have to repeat everything all over. Instead, just go one or more steps back with the ‘Undo’ shortcut and you’re good!
When you’re done with your changes, select the confirmation button on the tab to your left or simply press ‘Enter’. Your selection is now transformed!
Sometimes Clip Studio might take some time to apply the changes you’ve made. Don’t worry though, most of the time it will pull through it. This happens because the selection you’ve made is very big and the software takes a bit more time to process it!
How To Flip Your Selection In Clip Studio Paint
There are different ways to flip your work or selection in Clip Studio. You can do it through Free Transform. Simply press ‘Ctrl + Shift + T’ and then you have two buttons on the Free Transform tab: one will flip the selection horizontally, the second vertically. Choose the one you want and when you’re done, press enter.
You can also go to ‘Edit -> Rotate/Invert Canvas -> Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical’ to flip the whole canvas. Notice that you have other options in here as well, such as rotate by 90 degrees, 180 degrees, etc. You can do these simple rotations through this menu as well!
I want to take the time here to give a very quick tip: If you’re in Free Transform mode and want to rotate your selection by 90 degrees, press ‘Shift+LeftMouseButton’ and move the mouse around. This will rotate your drawing from 90 to 90 degrees, perfectly!
Flipping the whole canvas or a simple selection is very useful, especially if you’re drawing the human figure. While working, we flip our work to be sure the proportions are right and that everything makes sense, even seeing it from a different perspective
Scale The Horizontal And Vertical Ratio In Free Transform
As I mentioned before you can scale your selection by controlling its horizontal and vertical ratio on the Free Transform menu.
This means that instead of scaling using the frame around the selection, you can use these two bars. The first bar is signaled with a ‘W’, when moving the bar around you’ll notice that the width size is changing. The second, marked with an ‘H’ scales the height of the selection.
Personally, I feel it’s very weird to scale something using these bars. I prefer to have more control over it by moving my selection around. But, as always, everyone has their own preferences and both ways work!
Notice the option right below these bars. You can enable the ‘Keep ratio of the original image’ and now, if you scale the width of the image, the height will scale accordingly. This way you’ll avoid any kind of distortion in your selection!
If you have this option enabled and decide to use your mouse on the selection to scale it, the same will happen, maintaining the original ratio of the image. If you have the ‘Keep ratio of the original image’ disabled, you can also press ‘Shift+LeftButtonMouse’ when resizing and it has the same effect!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you liquify in Clip Studio Paint? No. Currently, there is no tool or option to liquify in Clip Studio Paint, but you can do a similar process by using the Mesh Transformation option which I cover here.
How do you rotate the canvas in Clip Studio Paint? As mentioned above you can go to ‘Edit -> Rotate/Invert canvas’ and choose one of the options. Alternatively, you can also use the rotate tool by pressing ‘R’ on your keyboard and rotate the canvas at will!