How to Install Manga Brushes in Clip Studio Paint (Step-by-Step Guide)
Want to install new brushes in Clip Studio Paint? Good news! It takes less than two minutes. Open the Sub Tool palette, drag your brush file (.sut, .cvs, or .zip) straight onto it, and the brush appears instantly in your list. No import menu required.
If you want the full walkthrough, including where brush files come from, how to organize a growing library, and how to fix the most common installation problems, keep reading.
What You Need Before You Start
Clip Studio Paint (Windows, Mac, iPad, or Galaxy Tab: the process is nearly identical across all of them) Get Clip Studio Paint HERE
A brush file in one of CSP's supported formats: .sut (single sub tool), .cvs (single tool with a linked texture), or a .zip/folder containing several of these
If you downloaded a .zip, unzip it first so you can see the individual brush files inside
Step 1: Get Your Brush Files Ready
Clip Studio Paint brushes usually come from one of three places:
CLIP STUDIO ASSETS, the built-in marketplace accessible right from the app
Third-party brush packs downloaded from an artist's shop or site, often as a .zip
Brushes you've exported yourself from a previous CSP install, useful when moving to a new computer
Whichever source you use, confirm the download unzips into .sut or .cvs files before moving on. If you see a .abr file instead, that's a Photoshop brush CSP can still use it, but the steps are a little different and brushes don't always import correctly from Photoshop (see the FAQ below).
Step 2: Install the Brushes in Clip Studio Paint
There are three reliable ways to do this.
Method A: Drag and Drop (Fastest and what I recommend!)
Open Clip Studio Paint and make sure the Sub Tool palette is visible (Window → Sub Tool if it's hidden). It usually the icon on the left palette with a pen nib or brush tool.
Locate your .sut or .cvs file in a file browser window. (from where you downloaded your brushes)
Drag the file directly onto the Sub Tool palette.
The brush drops straight into your current sub tool group, ready to use immediately!
Method B: Import via the Sub Tool Menu
Open the Sub Tool palette.
Click the palette menu icon in the top-right corner.
Select Import Sub Tool....
Navigate to your .sut or .cvs file and confirm.
This method is handy when drag-and-drop isn't convenient, like when working across two monitors or on a tablet.
Method C: CLIP STUDIO ASSETS (For Marketplace Brushes)
Open CLIP STUDIO (the launcher, not the paint app) and go to the ASSETS tab.
Search for the brush and click Get or Download.
Switch to the Manage Materials section, find the downloaded brush, and click Import to Sub Tool (or drag it into your palette).
Marketplace brushes downloaded this way are automatically linked to your account, so they'll sync across devices signed into the same CLIP STUDIO account.
Step 3: Find and Use Your New Brushes
After importing:
Open the Sub Tool palette (Window → Sub Tool).
Scroll to find the new brush — it usually lands in the currently active group or a new one named after the imported file.
Click the brush to select it, then check the Tool Property palette to see its full settings.
Hover briefly over a brush icon to see a quick preview thumbnail, which helps a lot when sorting through a pack with dozens of variants.
Step 4: Test Your Brushes on a Canvas
Set up a canvas before testing so you're judging the brush fairly:
Print-ready manga page: 3728 × 5311 px at 600 DPI (standard for CSP's manga templates)
Standard digital illustration: 2500 × 3500 px at 350 DPI
Draw a few test strokes and check:
Pressure response — light pressure should taper the line; if every stroke is a uniform width, pen pressure isn't being read correctly (see Troubleshooting)
Texture brushes — should tile cleanly with no obvious repeat pattern
Blending brushes — should interact with existing colors rather than just laying down flat opaque strokes
Step 5: Organize Your Brush Library
A big brush collection is only useful if you can actually find what you need. A simple system:
Create groups: right-click in the Sub Tool palette and choose Create Group, then sort brushes into folders like Inking, Textures, Coloring, and Effects
Set a default icon: right-click a brush → Edit Sub Tool Icon to make it visually recognizable at a glance
Rename brushes: double-click the brush name to rename it something that actually means something to you
Back up your library: select a group, open the palette menu, and choose Export Sub Tool to save a .sut you can restore after a reinstall or move to another device
Troubleshooting
Brush doesn't appear after dragging it in? Make sure you dropped it directly onto the Sub Tool palette, not somewhere else in the CSP window. Restart CSP if it still doesn't show up.
CSP says the file format isn't supported? Double check it's actually a .sut or .cvs file and not a .zip you forgot to extract, or a texture-only .6tt file that needs to be imported through the Material palette instead of Sub Tool.
Brush strokes look flat with no pressure sensitivity?
Update your tablet driver to the latest version.
In CSP, go to File → Preferences → Tablet (Windows/Mac) and confirm your tablet is detected.
Open the Tool Property palette for the brush, expand Brush Size, and confirm Pressure is checked as an influence source.
On Windows, try toggling Use Windows Ink in CSP's tablet settings if pressure still isn't registering.
Brush lags or feels sluggish on large canvases? Lower the Stabilization value for that brush in Tool Property, and check File → Preferences → Performance for GPU rendering settings.
Imported brush looks nothing like the preview? Some third-party packs ship with a linked texture file that didn't import correctly. Re-download the pack and make sure any accompanying .6tt texture files were extracted in the same folder as the .sut before importing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What file formats does Clip Studio Paint use for brushes? .sut for a single sub tool, and .cvs when a texture is bundled with it. Downloads are often packaged as .zip files containing several .sut/.cvs files.
Can I use Photoshop .abr brushes in Clip Studio Paint? Yes. Drag the .abr file onto the Sub Tool palette and CSP will convert it automatically. Conversion quality varies since .abr and CSP's native format handle textures differently, so results can look slightly different from the original Photoshop brush.
Do brushes transfer between CSP on desktop and iPad/Galaxy Tab? Yes, if you're signed into the same CLIP STUDIO account and the brush was installed through CLIP STUDIO ASSETS or exported/re-imported as a .sut. Manually copying files between devices isn't supported the way it is on desktop.
How do I install brushes on Mac vs Windows? The process is identical. The Sub Tool palette and Import Sub Tool option work the same on both platforms.
Ready to Draw?
A few settings worth exploring once your brushes are loaded:
Tool Property → Stabilization: raise it for smoother lines on fast strokes
Tool Property → Brush Tip → Texture: swap in different paper or canvas textures for varied strokes
Correct Line Ends: a small toggle in the Tool Property palette that noticeably cleans up stroke starts and ends for inking brushes
Once you've got a few brushes installed and organized, the rest is just mileage. The more you draw with them, the faster you'll build a shortlist of go-to favorites.
Get my go-to favourite manga and anime brushes here! MANGABRUSH.com
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