My Favorite Brushes + download (Patreon)

So, in making this post, I was amazed at how many dozens (hundreds?) of brushes I have -- but the truth is, these 4 brushes are what I use for 95% of the work I do. (They're all for Clip Studio Paint, dunno if they work in any other programs.)

The Line Drawing Pen has been my primary line art brush for years now. It has almost zero available settings -- you can select the size and that's it. And that's just the way I like it! No stabilization, no auto tapering or anything. What I get out of it depends entirely on what I put into it. Just a brush that's responsive, has a little crunchy texture to it, and can go from thin to thick easily.

The 6B Real Pencil is my go-to for sketching out the first draft of a piece. My primary medium up until college WAS pencil (actual physical pencil) so it's something I feel really comfortable with.

The default G-Pen is a brush I've used since the first day I got Clip Studio. In the very beginning I also used it for my line art, but it's a little too sharp/smooth for my tastes in that regard. Having some texture makes line art more forgiving and also makes it feel more organic (to me, at least). Nowadays, it's my go-to for cel shading and slapping down the flat colors on pieces, where that sharpness works better.

The ZH NT Dynamic 5B is the newest brush I've fallen in love with (I used it for the recent Lucina and Ramlethal pieces). It works great for both sketching and lining -- there's a ton of texture and grit and it's very responsive and flexible. I think it'll even work for rendering if I aim more for crosshatching and blending over cel shading. It fills a niche that the other brushes don't, and I think that's why I keep coming back to it.

To be clear: I did not personally create any of these brushes. I have made my own brushes before, but for highly specific uses (like a unique repeating pattern or texture). As for where I got them, I dunno. They're probably from the Clip Studio Asset Downloader, but I can't guarantee it -- I've definitely found random brushes on DeviantArt pages and whatnot in the past.

As for what I use besides these, the default airbrush in CSP gets a fair amount of use, along with various blending tools. I have a couple droplet/spray brushes I find useful. But all that stuff is dependent on the specific piece. If I need something I don't have, I jump into the Clip Studio Asset thing and look for something that'll work.

On the most basic level, these 4 can absolutely get me from blank canvas to finished piece all on their own. Even just the Line Drawing Pen by itself is good enough. It's fun to try new brushes, but all the brushes in the world cannot make you a better artist. Just find something you personally vibe with and get cracking!