Shrinking Massive Clip Studio Paint Pages into One Layer

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In my project to move my Clip Studio Paint files to iCloud so that I can import them into CSP on my iPad, I ran into a big problem. When I tried to upload a file from my desktop computer, I received an error message that said I could not save the rile to a remote device (iCloud) because the file was being used by another service. iCloud was updating the file after a CSP autosave. I would have to wait until iCloud had transferred the autosave version.

On the iPad, I ran into a problem when I tried to download a file: CSP locked up while the file was downloading, sometimes for many minutes. Uploading files from the iPad caused the same lockup.

When I examined the file sizes for my CSP files, the cause of the delays was obvious: the files were enormous. By “enormous”, I mean 458MB. The smaller files ranged from 180MB to 300MB. It would be unreasonable to expect that these files would move quickly from my desktop CSP to iCould to my iPad. It was painful.

To make the process snappier I simply flattened the files. The 458MB file became a 65K file. In fact, all of the flattened files ended up being about 65k. They uploaded quickly, opened quickly, saved quickly, and were available on my iPad in seconds.

The problem with flattening files is that I no longer have the layers necessary for making major changes to the images. To preserve that information, my strategy is to save that information before flattening the files. I copied the entire project to a drive on my computer. If I need to redo the inking or color, I have a the complete page, with all of its layers, available.

Keeping two versions of the file is extra complexity, but it’s workable.

Page 3 Revised

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It was a big day in Southern Oregon. I had my yearly checkup and I was pronounced healthy. Also, the plumbers replaced the pipesfrom our house to the city’s main line. The house was built in the 50’s, when Orangeburg pipe was commonly used. It has a life span of about 50 years — ours lasted 70. The replacement pipe is PVC, which will last up to 150 years. Long enough, I say.

To complete page 3, I enhanced the colors, added a walrus, and painted the circus tents in the distance.

Under the weather

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I’m not feeling great today. I haven’t eaten for the last 24 hours. The idea of eating is unthinkable. The cause…I’ve tracked it down to a bad bottle of very expired buffalo sauce.

Despite feeling like shit, I was able to finish page 15, which has been languishing in an incomplete state for over a year. In this picture we see that Jimmy and Betty have been rescued by a mysterious character, a dolphin.

Pages 74 and 75, finished

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My deadline for finishing the drawings for book 3 is July 31. After that I’ll have three weeks to prepare the text and images for publication. I’ll use InDesign for laying out the pages and creating the PDF for Ingramspark. InDesign is a tough slog. I’ve forgotten everything I know about it. I last worked with it in February of 2021 when I completed my the second book in the fabulous “Adventures of Jimmy Jay” series.

Bigger Eyes are Cuter Eyes

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Thanks to the Clip Studio Paint liquefy tool, I was able to enlarge Kitty’s eyes in just a few seconds.

In the right page, I added in the birds perched on Mr. Moai and on Dylan’s snout. Adding the birds was necessary for continuity. They first appear in page 25, then reappear in page 59. I’ll add the birds to page 61, also, showing them fluttering around Mr. Moai’s head as Kitty revives him from his 300-year sleep.

Reviving an old sketch of the Easter Island Volcano Demon

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I’m going to find a place in the story for this image. The reader needs to know that the volcano demon’s rage is implacable and heartless. Overly dramatic? Oh, how can a fictitious volcano demon be overly dramatic? This beast has turned an entire island’s population, save for one boy, into stone statues.

The story needs a villain and the villain’s redemption, and that’s what it will get.

Dreading Page 28 -- The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost

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Every time I see page 28 I cringe and move on to another page, any page. Now that I’m almost finished repainting the many damaged pages I created a year ago, page 28 has floated like a corpse to the top of the stack. My job is to make this character, Betty Burro, cute. She also has to look like all of the other Betty Burro paintings in the book. Yikes!

We’re having weather straight from Hell. It’s 104 outside and close to 90 in the studio. The humans are sweating and the canines are panting. Our downstairs space, however, is a comfortable 72. So that I can work without sweating — and the dogs can be comfortable — I've decided to work down there. To do that, I need to move my work station downstairs…or, I need to install Clip Studio Paint on my iPad. I’ve tried it before and didn’t really take to it. I’m hoping that it works out better this time. Maybe I can overcome the bitter taste of my previous encounter. Maybe...

Page 56 Redone and My Lens Arrived from Ukraine

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children's picture book, Clip Studio Paint EX

That’s supposed to be a wet kitten.

I bought a lens for my Leica on EBay. The seller is in Ukraine. I’m amazed that the lens could be delivered even though Ukraine is being horrifically attacked.