Here, Mosirashek produces a single lotus flower, the symbol of eternity, from a field of hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are typical for this time and location during a summer Japanese festival. The piece is actually taller and a bit wider, but since I used a scanner with a smaller bed I didn't fit the entire image for you to see right now. There will be fireworks overhead, maybe a cityscape in the distance and a simple building and lights to the left.
I began by sketching the characters and placing them in a setting. The roughs are gradually cleaned up as I change certain positions and clothing. I will work on the kimonos in a little bit. At this stage I usually draw the faces how I want them which helps me determine the mood for the rest of the image.

      After doing research on the types of kimonos each should have on, I found some great examples for Mo's look. The one in particular is on the left, a black kimono that the Japanese in martial arts training would normally wear. I decided to use no jacket to keep his look simple. I shortened the width on his obi (belt) and thickened it since this is where swords and katanas would be placed. The length of his kimono is pleated. His clan symbol, used to show family orientation and nobility, will be the Lion of Judah mounted on each side of his chest. (I forgot to add them to his sleeves).
I added paper to the bottom part of the drawing so I could include his entire body.  I also cut Jenna out and moved her over about 3/4" to allow the focal point to be the lotus since the image was a bit crowded before.  I'll also decrease the size of Mo's left hand.  Now that I look at his position, I would have liked to see him almost kneeling as if he's proposing. He's sitting too far back.

Jen's kimono will be bright yellow with flowers (yellow used to be my favorite color when I was her age). I found this image among many and will probably use a similar bag that she holds behind her back. I'm not sure if you'll see her feet yet.

I've decided not to include her feet.

    The hand is smaller and Jenna has been moved up again so the lotus would have room to appear floating. As I refined, I made the image vertical to include fireworks up top (this image is cropped). I tilted the pencil sketch for more movement and added an old Japanese shop to the left, a bridge and small skyline in the distance. Mo is now sitting on his right foot. Jenna's kimono has a simple butterfly obi with the details of her dress to be worked out later. I've also added an old bamboo fence that is very common for these types of gardens, and layers of hydrangeas in photoshop to position them as I wanted.  Fireworks will be added in color up top.  Now I'm ready to ink!

Here's the inked version done on 10" wide comic paper. The flowers lost a lot of freshness (actually much more than I thought) which happens when I manually ink from a lightbox, but I'll be changing the flowers and details as I color.

I begain repositioning the image in a 11 x 17 canvas and added black at the bottom for text. I thought about effects that I wanted and roughly placed background clouds, shop colors and flowers. These will all be redefined as I figure out colors for Mo and Jenna. The clouds will be overlaid with fireworks so I don't have to be that picky or detailed.  

Top image is a closeup with a new lotus since I thought the last one looked artificial. I have a bit more to go with the flowers and shop but may hold up until the rest of the colors are worked in.

I began to detail both characters, wanting to accetuate warmer tones in Mo's kimono and hair. Jenna's dress will be more subdued as I color (hopefully I'll enjoy creating flower patterns). The round shop sign has lit kanji symbols for a special word that I'll explain later.

More to come.