The artist`s macOS software for drawing and painting!

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Clip Studio Paint EX for Mac

April, 27th 2025 - 417 MB - Trial

Free Download

Security Status

Latest Version

Clip Studio Paint EX 4.0.3 LATEST
Review by

Sophia Jones
Operating System

macOS 13.0 Ventura or later
User Rating

Click to vote
Author / Product

CELSYS, Inc / External Link
Filename

CSP_403m_app.pkg

Clip Studio Paint for Mac is a fully-featured drawing application specifically optimized to enable manga and comic artists to easily realize their inspiration and quickly design, evolve, and finalize their illustrations with the help of streamlined tools and effects.

Built on top of the popular Clip Studio Paint for macOS platform, this standalone digital drawing application manages to collect all the necessary tools that are regularly used by illustrators from all over the world, enabling them to effortlessly focus on the drawing of comic, manga, illustrations, graphic novels and stylized environments without encountering issues with the user interface, tools, services, and other roadblocks.

As a stark difference to many other similar offerings, Clip Studio Paint EX is fully focused on enabling both new and seasoned users to get immersed in the process of drawing and finalizing illustrations.

This is achieved with the help of a streamlined interface, fully customizable layout of the editing tools, and a wide array of paintbrushes and coloring tools that make drawing a breeze. Users can even create their own unique bushes that can help them achieve the final image design with ease.

The process of drawing can be done with both mouse and touch inputs on Mac, and if you are feeling inspired on the go, you can even find this exact app available on Apple’s iPad platform.

Once finished with the drawing, coloring, compositing, and making final touches, users can access a comprehensive Export tool that will prepare their painting for use in your specific projects, saving to long-term storage, immediate sharing on social networks, and more.

Features and Highlights

The industry-leading suite of tools for comic and manga illustrators.
Sketch, ink, color, and publish your new comic with ease.
Take advantage of the large toolset to capture every detail imagined in your mind.
Support for all types of input, including Wacom tablets with 8192 levels of pen pressure.
Integrated tools for separating comic panels, adding speech balloons, effect lines, special rules, and much more.
Guidance perspective rules for creating of the accurate background art.
Customizable 3D figures for easier character drawing.
Customizable and user-friendly interface.
Available for FREE via a 30-day Trial period.

Installation and Use

Once up and running, you will notice at first glance that the user interface of Clip Studio Paint EX resembles many other similar apps. In the center you get large canvas where you can start drawing, and on the sides are either tool pickers, or specific properties for handling every element of your image.

The app is optimized for comic and manga designers and illustrators, promoting their most commonly used tools to prominent positions where you can access them quickly.

What`s New

Easily attach hats, shoes, and more to 3D models and move them all together using hierarchical settings
Adjust the upper and lower arms, as well as the upper and lower legs, individually. You can also change body shape by adjusting hip height and shoulder thickness
Improved operability of 3D drawing figures (pose symmetry)
Integration with 3D Pose Site POSEMANIACS
Import in VRM formats
Support for 3D Objects with Shape Keys
Import normal maps
Select multiple grid points and increase the number of divisions for more control during Mesh Transformation
Color Match allows you to intuitively change colors by setting images and gradations for target colors
New Filters added! Make your work shine online with the Retro Film Filter, or get a hand-drawn feel with the Pencil Drawing Filter
You can now use a font ideal for comics, manga, and webtoons that incorporates artist feedback and was developed jointly with Iwata Co., Ltd.
Arrange text more freely with justify, alignment, kerning, and circular layouts
Font search
Save your frequently used settings as presets and use them to export your work
Set an image of your choice as a watermark when exporting images and timelapses
You can now import and export in WebP format, the lightweight file format used for web pages

User Interface

Clip Studio Paint's user interface is designed to be both powerful and intuitive.

The workspace is highly customizable, allowing users to arrange tools and panels according to their workflow. Key features of the UI include:

Dockable Panels: Panels can be docked, floated, or hidden to maximize workspace.
Custom Shortcuts: Users can assign custom keyboard shortcuts to streamline their workflow.
Brush Preview: A brush preview window shows how the selected brush will look on the canvas, helping artists choose the right tool for the job.
Material Library: The material library provides quick access to a vast collection of textures, patterns, and 3D models.

How to Use

Creating a New Project: Open this program and select "New" from the File menu. Choose the type of project you want to create (illustration, comic, animation) and set the canvas size and resolution.

Using Brushes: Select a brush from the toolbar or create a custom brush. Adjust the brush settings such as size, opacity, and blending mode.

Layer Management: Use the Layers panel to create and organize layers. It supports various layer types, including raster, vector, and 3D layers.

Coloring: Choose colors from the color wheel or use the eyedropper tool to select colors from the canvas. Utilize blending modes and gradient maps for advanced coloring effects.

Adding Text: Use the text tool to add dialogue, captions, and other text elements to your project. Customize the font, size, and color as needed.

Animation: For animations, create a timeline and add frames. Use the onion skin feature to see previous and next frames, aiding in the animation process.

FAQ

Can I use Clip Studio Paint for Mac for professional work?
Yes, the program is widely used by professional artists, illustrators, and animators for commercial projects.

What is the difference between Clip Studio Paint Pro and EX?
Clip Studio Paint Pro is geared towards illustrators, while EX includes additional features for comic creation and animation, such as multi-page management and advanced animation tools.

Is Clip Studio Paint available on multiple devices?
Yes, this software is available on Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. Users can sync their work across devices using cloud storage.

Can I import Photoshop files into Clip Studio Paint?
Yes, it supports importing PSD files, allowing for seamless integration with Photoshop projects.

Does Clip Studio Paint have a community for sharing resources?
Yes, Clip Studio Assets is an online community where users can share and download brushes, materials, and other resources.

Alternatives

Adobe Photoshop: A powerful and versatile digital painting software known for its wide range of features and extensive support.

Corel Painter: Offers a natural painting experience with realistic brushstrokes and textures, making it a favorite among traditional artists.

Krita: An open-source painting program that provides professional-grade tools for digital artists, available for free.

Rebelle: Focuses on realistic watercolor and acrylic painting simulations.

Pricing

Clip Studio Paint Pro: $54 for a one-time purchase

Clip Studio Paint EX: $237 for a one-time purchase

System Requirements

OS: macOS 10.13+
Processor: Intel Core i3 or higher
RAM: 2GB or more
Hard Disk: 2GB free space
Graphics: 256MB VRAM or more, OpenGL 2.1 compatible

PROS

Extensive brush customization
Vector layer support
Comprehensive animation tools (EX version)
3D model integration
Timelapse recording feature
Affordable pricing

CONS

Some features locked behind EX version
Occasional performance issues with large files

Also Available: Download Clip Studio Paint EX for Windows

Download Clip Studio Paint EX for Mac Latest Version

Why is this app published on FileHorse? (More info)

What's new in this version:

All grades:
- When selecting a 3D drawing figure that has 3D texture paint and changing the sex in the Tool Properties palette, a message will now appear to confirm resetting the figure’s 3D painted areas
- (iPad / Android) On tablets, when multiple canvases are open, a message will now display to save the canvases
- (iPad / Android) On tablets, when a canvas is opened by executing Send to Clip Studio SHARE or Send to Clip Studio SHARE (webtoon) from the Clip Studio projects screen, if the canvas is already open then either canvas recovery or an auto-save of the file will be performed.
- When using some effects from the Filter menu > Quick Effects or Simple Mode’s Filters, the color of low opacity areas will now be maintained.
- If you open the Color settings dialog from the Ambient light color setting in the Tool Property palette or Sub Tool Detail palette when a 3D layer is selected, then close the dialog without changing the color, the action will not be recorded in the History palette.
- If you select multiple objects of different colors such as on a vector layer and open the Color settings dialog (such as from the Main color setting) in the Tool Property palette or Sub Tool Detail palette to change the color, the preview will appear in the correct colors if you return them to the previous colors.
- If you open the Color settings dialog and change the color from the Ambient light color setting in the Tool Property palette or Sub Tool Detail palette when a 3D layer is selected, new color will appear correctly in the canvas preview.
- On certain devices, when you open the Color settings dialog from the Sub Tool Detail palette when a 3D layer is selected and then change the size of the Sub Tool Detail palette, the canvas preview will still appear correctly.
- In the sub tools where the Input process is set to Lasso, the creation of areas such as selection areas and fills will now start correctly, even if the operation is performed faster under certain conditions.
- When you use commands under Edit menu > Transform on an image material layer, the bounding box that indicates the transformation area will no longer be extended by 1 pixel at the bottom right.
- In Clip Studio’s Manage materials screen, if you select a material catalog from Downloaded Material Catalogs and then use Get latest information from Assets, the latest information will be downloaded even if there are more materials than the previous download.
- When filters such as Filter > Motion blur are applied to a selection made from Selection > Blur border, the borders of the selection are now shown correctly.
- The Radial blur filter is now applied at the same speed as in Ver. 3.2.3.
- (macOS / iPad) When using Filter > Quick Effects > Artistic or Lens Blur, vertical lines no longer appear on the preview.
- (macOS) Unsaved open canvas files will now be saved through canvas recovery or an auto-save of the file when opening a video file from Create new from movie.
- (iPad) Unsaved open canvas files will now be saved through canvas recovery or an auto-save of the file when opening a video file from Create new from photo library.
- (Android) On tablets, unsaved open canvas files will now be saved through canvas recovery or an auto-save of the file when opening a video file from Create new from device storage.
- (Android) 3D models with lots of vertices and transparent parts can now be imported and displayed correctly on certain devices.
- (Android) On certain devices running Android 14, errors will no longer appear when entering in a text field and the operation can be performed normally.

EX / PRO:
- If the Toggle snapping setting is registered to the Command Bar or the Quick Access palette, the Light table tool will be able to edit objects according to that setting.
- If you delete a control point on a quadratic Bezier curve and there is a symmetrical line across a symmetry ruler, the line will remain symmetrical after the control point is deleted.
- When using Align/Distribute palette commands on an image material layer, the layer will no longer be positioned one pixel off the reference position.
- When editing a cubic Bezier curve where only some control points are across a symmetry ruler, moving or transforming the line with the Object sub tool will not correspond to the other line, but moving the control points will move any symmetrical control points accordingly.
- When selecting a vector or speech bubble with the Object sub tool and dragging the handle at the lower center of the bounding box, a line will no longer appear when moving it left or right to snap.
- When an object is moved by dragging using the Object sub tool or the Edit menu > Transform commands, it no longer snaps to a position slightly off from the snap destination.
- The position of control points near the edge of a line drawn on a vector layer has been adjusted. When a line drawn by Snap to symmetry ruler is moved with the Object sub tool, the symmetrical lines now align correctly.
- You can now snaps objects and control points to rulers and special rulers on layers with Enable keyframes on this layer turned on in a canvas with a timeline.
- When moving and snapping control points or Free Transform handles to the grid of a perspective ruler, they are no longer affected by the display magnification of the canvas.
- Symmetrical vector lines remain linked when moving or transforming with the Object sub tool, even if the Brush Size of one of the vector lines drawn by snapping to a symmetrical ruler is changed.
- When using the Object sub tool to drag and move or transform the bounding box of a speech bubble containing text, the text in the bubble no longer snaps to the previous position.
- When the canvas size has been changed, you can still use the Object tool to drag and move a frame handle with an angle of 135° or more
- When the canvas size has been changed, you can still use the Object tool to drag and transform a frame handle with a diagonal line into a shape that intersects the frame.
- (iPhone / Android) On smartphones, you can use the Color Settings dialog correctly even if it is displayed while the Sub Tool Detail palette is shown from the edit bar.

EX:
- (macOS / iPad / Android) Either canvas recovery or an auto-save of the file is now performed when opening the Story editor
- When the opacity of a 3D layer is lowered, the All sides view palette no longer reflects the opacity of the 3D layer
- When you use Reset transformation in the Watermark Settings dialog, the watermark will be centered on the page even if Batch Export is used for a project including pages of different sizes