My Favourite Art Program
July 21, 2025

My Favourite Art Program

Percival Fitzmaurice | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Clip Studio Paint Ex

Overall Satisfaction with Clip Studio Paint

I really love how many tools and options that their suite has, and how much I can customize the layout of the program to suit my ever-changing needs. The option for cloud back-ups offers such a feeling of reassurance, knowing my work will still be there if something happens to my machine or my drives. I also love how community oriented it is, with the ability to buy or even obtain free materials, brushes and more from other creative or generous users. I use this app to create all of my work and commissions; without this tool, I would be producing lower quality work and likely hurting my business.

Pros

  • Handles huge files with grace, and auto-saves back-ups while you draw.
  • Can export into any other image file format, making for easy program transfers.
  • Offers animation abilities, posable 3D models as references, mange/comic tools, and so many other options.

Cons

  • The UI is absolutely not user friendly out of the box, and there are an overwhelming number of keybinds and options.
  • Some huge files, while saveable, take about 3 minutes.
  • Limited cloud space even though you pay for a license.
  • I think that the initial price was incredibly steep, but I managed to get it on discount. As a starting artist, this was a hard blow to take at the start, especially before these subscription options existed.
  • After years of use I have more than paid off the cost I sunk into Clip Studio Paint EX.
  • I see myself making marked profits by continuing to use the program, even with the new subscription service rather than a perpetual lisence.
I think that once one gets the hang of how to navigate and use Clip Studio Paint, they will find that it has so much more to offer than one might expect when looking at it for the first time. There are hidden gems all throughout this program, and they are all there to make your creative experience all the more streamlined and natural.
I have used a handful of other free art programs, including MediBang Paint, and while they are all good, and I'm sure perfect in the hands of the right artist, I feel as though they simply do not offer the number of options necessary for my needs. They feel very limited and stale; customization is limited and their UI's are outdated. Clip Studio Paint is modern and sleek, highly customizable, and offers far more tools than the other options around it.

Do you think Clip Studio Paint delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Clip Studio Paint's feature set?

Yes

Did Clip Studio Paint live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Clip Studio Paint go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Clip Studio Paint again?

Yes

I cannot really imagine a situation other than creating custom 3D models in which Clip Studio Paint would ever be inappropriate; it offers tools for art such as: 2D, pixel/voxel work, vectors, painting/drawing, comics, animations and more. The only place that Clip Studio Paint does not shine is in the creation of 3D models, but I think that that is fair given that it's competitor, Photoshop, also cannot do this; this was never a tool meant for 3D model design or creation, but the fact that you can import models and that there is a library of free and paid posable models native to the app is rather impressive.

Upgrading Clip Studio Paint

Yes - It was incredibly hard for me to get the newest version of Clip Studio Paint EX; everything was vague and unclear, and entirely frustrating. Their links led me on a mad goose chase, an endless ouroboros of clicking the same thing and hoping for something new; in one are, it would say that I could have the newest version of the license for X price, but when I clicked the link, I was sent to a much, much more expensive Y price -- and neither X nor Y price was anywhere close to what I paid for my perpetual license (a concept that now seems obsolete unless I am unable to afford v.4 (or any newer releases).
  • I was able to utilize the 3D model function to finish a commission that I was badly stuck on.
  • There is a time recording/speedpaint function now, which is great for both pricing my art and for content creation.

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