Background

My background layers are still at the rough draft stage as in the image on the left.

Before painting, I merge the “color adjustments” and “mountain” layers into one layer called “background base”.

 

 

 

● Cherry blossoms

 

The “hair strands” layer is in the way, so I temporarily hide it.

On the “cherry blossoms” layer, I use the [Pencil] tool > [Pastel] > [Chalk] sub tool to define the shape, and use the [Eraser] tool > [Soft] to erase parts here and there.

I make a “branch” layer above the “cherry blossoms” layer to draw the tree trunk and branches.

 

Next I build up two more layers of color on the cherry blossom trees.

 

When I’m finished, I merge all the cherry blossom layers together.

 

 

 

● Birds

 

The birds are flying in the distance, so I blur them with the [Filter] menu > [Blur] > [Gaussian blur].

 

 

 

● Clouds

 

With the blending mode set to [Normal], I use the [Brush] tool > [India ink] > [Lighter ink] to paint the clouds.

 

I use orange tone for the clouds that are closer to the sun, and purple tones for the clouds that are further from the sun.

I set the blending mode of the purple parts to [Add (Glow)].

 

Foreground (dust)

I use the [Airbrush] tool > [Soft] to paint some faint dust.

 

Next I add another layer called “dust 2” and use the [Decoration] tool > [Natural scene] > [Sand cloud] to add more detail.

 

Adjustments

Because the cherry blossoms are in the distance, I’ll blur them slightly.

I select the parts of the cherry blossoms that I want to blur with the [Selection area] tool > [Lasso], then blur with [Gaussian blur].

Blurring the entire layer would create an overly fuzzy appearance, so I only blur the parts furthest from the character and nearer to the far distance.

 

This is how it looks so far.