'Photoshop vs Clip Studio Paint' Which is the BEST Art Software for PC/MAC? -- Cyan Orange Duels

Welcome to another Cyan Orange Duel!

In this episode two titans of the digital art battle to find which one is the BEST Art Software for PC/Mac! Join us in this review/comparison between these two digital art masters to find out what makes them great or not so great as art tools.

CONTENT

1. Intro --- 0:00
2. Presentation of the Opponents:
Photoshop ---- 0:35
Clip Studio Paint ---- 1:00
3. Design Battle ---- 1:26
Interface --- 1:35
Visual Design ---- 4:17
4. Art Battle --- 5:53
Brushes & Art Tools --- 6:10
Layers & Blending Modes --- 8:36
Animation ---- 9:22
Superpowers of each Software --- 10:06
5. Performance Battle --- 11:31
6. Price Battle --- 12:43
7. Winner of the Duel --- 14:19

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[dbookpro]

"Photoshop is expensive"
Me with a eyepatch and a hook for a hand: 😈

[polygons]

This video is from 2019, but for people that land here now (and what I say below will not be current in 2022, lol), just wanted to mention a few things that are not so anymore (most in favor of Clip Studio, I mostly use it now, although I am a trained professional with Photoshop). My main point is that both softwares are great, but for illustration, painting and comic, Clip Studio is making more and more sense as time goes by, and not just because of the PS's subscription model :

- About performance (besides that Photoshop can run a bit slow in more humble machines, and it is a memory - RAM and disk- hog), with the many layers example, maybe you might have not had the bar progress dialog (when hitting 60+ layers) if deactivated automatic saving, which is ON by default. It's surely just saving constantly (and this is not great if what you have is a SSD, even if u don't see the bar, for lifespan of the SSD concerns) a large file to disk (so, depends on the speed of your disk!) while you only need that when you want to save (PS takes a LOONG time to save, even longer). Of course, Clip does this to prevent human error, but a trained artist typically can disable this in preferences, and so work more fluidly with large files.
- Photoshop has, since CC 2018, if I don't remember now badly, "Smoothing" of the line (a bit confusing with other matters they already called smoothing, but hey), which works as a line stabilizer, and you can set the amount of it in the top bar, usually. It works BETTER than the external program (Lazy Nezumi) that you mentioned. But of course, Lazy nezumi provides with a lot more functionality than just line stabilizing. These days I prefer that this functionality would be built-in in the software (is a reality in most apps: Krita, Affinity Photo, Clip Studio, Photoshop, etc. But Nezumi is a great tool.
- Interface: Clip Studio does now (surely not possible in 2019) allow to set the dark interface. Recent updates have improved a lot the interface, making it more modern. IMO, indeed here Clip Studio wins by far (but it will be improbable to hear it from people used to Photoshop, I know as I was one of these cases. So, mostly "better" or "more slick", in the end means for most people "more similar to Photoshop", while Photoshop's approach to an UI is not particularly ideal, far from it. Indeed, Clip is way more configurable, as an UI. I can set the tool bar to be literally whatever I want and make each tool react with different behaviors, mixing them with many tools. I can create new tools, add them to both the side and top menu tools bars drag and drop (ctrl + dragging) tools from one bard to another, etc, etc. The flexibility is immense, but a bit hidden until you deal quite with the software. Mostly, until you make an actual real project with it. Even more when it becomes your bread and butter.
- Art department: Clip wins for a much more natural response of the pen with it. And a line smoothing which does not get "in the way". Its flat oil brush and the capabilities for mixing in adding paint quantity, extending color and other features make it absolutely nice for a traditional touch illustration style. Its inking tools are amazing, specially if using vector layers, allowing a more controllable and faster inking than with Photoshop. The reason why many comic artists and line art illustrators using to have to run illustrator for this task was due to features only being posible with vectors in Illustrator, while inking. Now they have it all in one in Clip.
- Totally agree with the price matter. Clip is much cheaper, and most artists can choose the right time for them (ie: when they are less broke ;) ) to make a permanent license purchase.

The perfect combo is purchasing as well Affinity Photo (and Affinity Designer if working a lot in graphic design and vectors), so to use it for other more image editing based tasks, as even while an illustrator can fully depend only in Clip Studio, from time to time you might need one of the features Photoshop or Affinity Photo have (also because several illustrators do occasionally graphic design work). Like clip, Affinity Photo is a permanent purchase, of the same price (at this time, dunno in 2035) of Clip Studio Paint Pro. So, you are done and set (for art and more graphic editing tasks) with 100 bucks for a bunch of years. Usually most artists will upgrade Affinity Photo every 5 years or so, though, to get new features and improvements. But they provide a ton of upgrades for free, mostly only major integer numbers need a paid version (2.0, 3.0...) and between those, seems to happen a several years of free updates, so, great deal. As you can also work with outdated Affinity apps. Serif nor Celsys lock you down in any way, like other companies do.

Subscription models might sound great for getting companies as clients, but for the freelancer, not good. Specially if all the software becomes subscription based. Is not just 60 dollars monthly here, everything would add up (happily, it seems people is reacting to this strongly, so I believe that with some companies, permanent licenses are here to stay. Also because is a huge sells value, being the dominant suites subscription based). Luckily, graphic open source software is of great quality, lately (finally). Now Krita is very competent for digital painting and line art (not far from Clip Studio), Blender is an absolute wonder for 3D art, Inkscape has some lacks, but combined with Scribus and Gimp, and of course, Krita, you get a graphics making nice combo. (Besides all this, you have other photo editing tools just as powerful, like Photoline (for image edioting, not for painting), and you can get entire graphic design suites like Corel Draw (700$ permanent, or subscription), or Xara Designer Pro (a multi functional tool in one software). But personally not very fan of these. Clip Studio or Krita + Affinity Photo (serif.com ) or Photoline ( pl32.com ) do really make the job. And then for pure graphic design (in those matters not being the ground of raster- Photoshop) you have Affinity Designer. Or Inkscape + Scribus. (Until Inkscape gets some solid CMYK support, I'd be recommending Affinity Designer better).

For what I do, illustration, painting and comic, Clip Studio wins, there's no real contest :). And this while I have always worked as a concept artist, in-game graphics artist, painter and more things (ie, graphic design), with Photoshop, sin its versions 2.x (the actual 2.x, not CS2 !). Meaning I am VERY comfortable drawing and painting with photoshop, but for that, Clip Studio is clearly superior.

[lawrencescales]

I was an avid photoshop user for years, but the subscription payment plan was such a turn off I switched. I bought CSP on Black Friday for 25 bucks. As others have said... I’m not renting software, I want to own it.

[chuckgibson]

Used Photoshop for years. Clip Studio Paint beats it hands down. The perspective ruler feature ALONE is worth the price of the software.

[thsudy]

I don't draw. I just like watching random videos of product comparison

[MaiHead]

i'm a concept artist and an illustrator and i use both of these softwares. in addition to maya and zbrush of course.
but i do think that if i had to choose, i'd go with clip.

[abbywho]

Thing is, photoshop is more taught to people. I learned it through school and stuff like that. For clip studio, you really need to get to know it because theres a lot of tools at your disposal. Clip studio is also more customizable and you can really make it your own. Either way paying for the software once instead of a subscription is way better. Clip studio is definitely better for art than Photoshop

[bxnbxnn]

My art school is paying for Photoshop, and highly recommends it as a drawing software.. I’m graduating soon and I definitely don’t have to money to continue my subscription. CSP sounds like a good alternative, but idk

[msee]

Clip also has the ability to save in .psd format also in preferences you can change to the dark configuration. Photoshop has been around a long while but surely rests on its laurels. Clip studio paint is improving all the time and soon will equal photoshop in all departments and eventually overtake unless adobe pull their finger out.

[CaptainYS]

It's now default in clip studio to have a dark interface

[KuttyJoe]

Clip Studio is an amazing program. It specializes in drawing and manga creation. Lately they added the animation stuff. Photoshop on the other hand is more of a workhorse software that can do everything imaginable. Clip Studio probably has the better drawing tools and by far the deepest customization. Photoshop is overall the more complete program.

[johnnyn]

CSP is the software for drawing, comics and illustration in general. It beats from far any software.

[chewingpeppers]

7:28 this feature was literally the cherry on top to convince me, I GOT SO EXCITED ABOUT THE COLOR TRANSITION

[Schizm]

"controversial" opinion here. Apart from idiotic subsciption model - Photoshop sill is IMO the best program for concept artists. For illustrators? Sure, CSP and Sketchbook might be just as good if not better but Phothoshop wins in the conceptual art due to the fact that... well.. it has everything.

...But MY GOD I hate that subscription model...

[clownsnail]

Just wanna clarify something really quick: The vector layer in Clip Studio Paint does not allow you to use the gradient tool, the bucket tool or the blend tool because the Vector layer was made mainly for line art- and I don't know anyone, or have seen anyone use any of those tools in their line art before. if someone WAS to use any of those in a vector layer (for some reason) you could switch it to a regular layer by clicking on it with the right mouse button and selecting the Convert layer option (or H). So in my honest opinion, Clip Studio won the "Superpowers of each software" round.



(i wrote all of this to give my opinion and to prove my point? Yes... But I hope it helps people who just got Clip Studio too <3)

BY THE WAY if you're planning on getting photoshop because of the 3D modeling stuff, Don't. there are great professional 3D software of which are ✨Free✨, such as Blender (the one I use), Sketch Up, Sculptris Etc...

[watchvids]

This is such a great comprehensive overview, no matter which program you end up choosing. Really great video. 👍

[iceyskiez]

CSP user here, I came here to see if Photoshop was worth it because I'm really jealous of the color dodge brush (often used by Ross Draws), liquify tool, touch-up filters, and general interface design. At only $10 a month (unless I'm wrong, cause that's the price I see in the photography package) the color dodge and liquify tools alone seem worth it, even though I would very much rather not have subscription apps.

I think these two programs would be delightful used together, and this video has been helpful really highlighting that to me; thank you for making it! Photoshop is definitely on my list to get now ^^

[Merisu_Sheep]

For those who think CSP is just for drawing comics I know several artist who use it for grand illustrations. HyannaNatsue Rosuuri [she did in 2016 though that might've changed] NekoRina and others

[kristu]

I’ve used PS professionally for 20 years. I’ve also done 3D in it’s entirely for the same time, also professionally. I recently discovered CSP and fell in love with it instantly. Only for the graphic design PS is better. Bye bye Photoshop, comparing to Clip you suck.

[dmitriystarostin]

Clip Studio also has ability to work with 3D objects, so it doesn’t make Photoshop special in it, no?