Friday, October 13, 2017

Days Gone 4 - A Short Complaint About Manga Studio (Clip Studio Paint)

This short story is the first long project I've created in Manga Studio 5 (aka Clip Studio Paint). I've got t admit, I'm finding the new story features to be a bit frustrating. Things that should be easy are actually quite difficult.

For example, I have a layout where I want three equal-sized panels at the bottom of the page with a standard border gutter between them. There's not a single layout in the Frame Materials that has this (in fact, I think someone could clean-up if they made a really GOOD package of frames with lots of options -- but considering how hard it is to bulk load materials, that wouldn't be a good product unless it came with an installer).

Now, MS/CSP does have a split panel option that you can use. And it does the job. You draw one panel and it will split it into three. BUT... and this is a BIG but... it doesn't automatically add the gutters. And there is no way to automatically distribute the three panels horizontally (like you can in InDesign and even PowerPoint). It's little shortcomings like this (and the ability to enter numeric values for the size of the vector frames) that makes this feel more like an advanced hobbyist software rather than a professional-grade tool.

Now, I know a lot of this could just be that I'm not really that familiar with digging deeper into the interface to find the tools I need (and while searching, I did find some really cool new features in the Rulers section, that I will definitely be using soon). But, that's not all of it. I have been a graphics professional for decades and I know the types of tools and features to expect in modern, pro-level software. So far, although Manga Studio / Clip Studio Paint has a LOT to offer, it has a lot of shortcomings.

NEXT TIME: Documenting My Working Environment

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