[1] Preparations

I hide all layers except for the background layers so I can see the area easily.

I click the eye icons on the left side of the [Layer] palette to toggle layer visibility.

 

Then, I create a new “line art” layer in the “background" folder.

 

[2] Inking the foliage

I’ll start by inking the foliage around the stage. I don’t draw the flowers in any detail.

For small flowers, I prefer to paint them in the coloring stage rather than the inking stage.

I’ll draw the rest of the stage using the [Figure] tool.

 

[3] Stage

I make a new layer, then select the [Figure] tool > [Direct draw] > [Ellipse].

I then adjust the brush size in the [Tool Property] palette.

 

I draw an ellipse on the canvas. I make the girl visible again to check the placement.

Then, I use the [Eraser] tool to erase the parts that overlap the foliage.

 

I keep drawing the lines for the stage.

 

I select the [Figure] tool > [Direct draw] > [Straight line].

The thickness of the straight line is same as the ellipse or slightly thinner.

 

To draw the lines that indicate the thickness of the stage, I duplicate the layer with the ellipse and use the [Edit] > [Transform] > [Free Transform] tool to change the shape, then erase any unneeded lines with the [Eraser] tool.

 

Finally, I merge all the layers used to draw the stage and change the layer name to "stage".

 

[4] Stairs in the background

I make a new layer, then use the [Figure] tool > [Direct draw] > [Straight line] to draw the stairs leading to the stage.

 

I draw a single step, then copy and paste it and use the [Edit] menu > [Transform] > [Free Transform] tool to transform the shape.

 

I put the second step at a slightly different angle and leave a space.

Then I keep adding steps in this way.

 

When I duplicate the steps, the lines don’t always face where I want them to, so I use the [Edit] menu > [Transform] > [Scale up/Scale down/Rotate] tool and draw in lines with a brush tool.

When using drawing tools such as the [Pencil] and [Pen], hold down Shift and click to draw straight lines.

After I’ve finished the stairs, I flatten the layers into one “stairs” layer.

 

[5] Moon in the background

■ Drawing the moon

 

I make a new layer and use the [Figure] tool > [Direct draw] > [Ellipse] to draw a perfect circle.

I hold down Shift when starting to draw to create a circle with no distortion.

 

I then make another new layer and use the [Ellipse] tool to draw a smaller circle.

As with the stairs, I duplicate the circles and place them around the big moon.

 

With the [Eraser] tool, I erase any overlapping lines, then flatten the layers with the small circles and the big circle into a “moon” layer.

 

 

 

■ Deleting extra lines with a layer mask

 

I apply a layer mask over the "stairs" layer that I made earlier.

 

While selecting the “stairs” layer, I use the [Auto select] > [Refer edited layer only to select] to make a selection area outside of the drawing area.

 

I want to select up to the inner edge of the lines of the steps, so I extend the selection range.

From the [Selection] menu > [Expand selected area] tool, I increase the selected area by 2 pixels.

 

I invert the selection area, then, while selecting the “moon” layer, click to the [[Layer] menu > [[Layer mask] > [[Mask Selection].

This adds a mask on the “moon” layer of the moon that will hide the inner part of the staircase.

This removes any unnecessary lines without the eraser tool.

If I delete the mask, the lines will be visible again.

 

[6] Lights

I create a new layer called “lights” to draw the lights at the very back.

 

I select the [Figure] tool > [Direct draw] > [Ellipse] to draw lots of perfect circles.

Then I mask the steps and the stage using the same method as before.

Now I’ve finished inking everything. Next, I’ll paint the flat colors.