[1] Wings

I paint the wings with the [Brush] tool > [Opaque watercolor] sub tool.

 

① I flatten the wings in an easy-to-understand color (layers for the left and right are created in red and blue).

② I turn on [Lock Transparent Pixel], and replace colors with the base color using [Edit] > [Fill]. I correct uneven sections here.

③ I block in the shadows. This time, I layered procedure ①-⑥ onto a single base layer.

④ I add shadows while keeping the flow and overlap of the feathers in mind.

⑤ I paint in each feather.

⑥ I add detailed strands. Using a pencil as well as a brush, I add fine or sharper details that aren’t possible with the watercolor tool.

⑦ Finally, I use the blending mode [Multiplication]. I add shadows that could not be added until now.

⑧ I set the blending mode of a newly created layer to [Screen] and add refections to finish the wing.

 

[2] Decoration

Here, I add decorations while displaying the rough sketch.

I add a cherry blossom pattern using the workflow in lesson 6.

 

① The colorful palette of the characters makes it hard to focus, so I create a white-filled layer and layer it with a lowered opacity to brighten the character's colors.

② I create a new layer under the cherry pattern layer. I hide the cherry blossom pattern temporarily to draw clouds using a pencil.

③ The opacity of the white-filled layer is set to 100% to completely hide the characters. I create a new layer under the line art of the clouds and fill the clouds.

④ I lower the opacity of the cloud fill layer to around 40% and change the cloud’s line color.

⑤ I turn on the cloud layer’s [Lock Transparent Pixel], and add gradient using the [Gradient] Tool > [Foreground to transparent].

⑥ The colors in ⑤ were bland, so I made adjustments with an airbrush.

⑦ I create a new layer above the cloud fill layer, and set the blending mode to [Add (Glow)]. Using the [Decoration] tool > [Pattern] Sub Tool > [Cherry Blossom Pattern], the I add the pattern to the clouds.

⑧ The effects were still lackluster, so I added golden patterns. (These were pre-made cherry blossom patterns too.)

 

[3] Adjustments

Although the blossom patterns were gorgeous, they felt too crowding, so I adjusted their position, size, and color.