[Story] First Love - Memories of Autumn

Story #Retouch #Story

2024-10-52025-2-17

Illustration of a pink-haired girl and a slightly older black-haired boy admiring the illuminated autumn leaves at night.png (1600×1123)

First Love - Memories of Autumn

The Encounter

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair meeting a slightly older boy with dark hair in a park.png (2576×2576)

When I was in kindergarten, a cool older boy moved in nearby.

We started playing together at the park and became good friends.

Illustration of a scene where a little girl with pink hair comes to visit a house with a little older boy with dark hair, her mother is happy.png (2576×2576)

As we grew closer, he began visiting my house often.

Since I was an only child, my mom seemed happy to see me have a playmate.

Learning to Cook

As he started having meals at our house more frequently, I practiced cooking with my mom.

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair making dinner for a slightly older boy, too embarrassed to make eye contact_cleanup.png (2576×2576)

I wonder if I did it right?

I was too embarrassed to look at his face.

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair practicing cooking with her mother in a half-sleeve in summer_cleanup.png (2576×2576) — By summer, I had gotten a little better at cooking!

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair practicing cooking with her mother, some of her clothes are bare_cleanup.png (2576×2576) — (The AI inexplicably generated this service shot.)

Autumn on the Tree-Lined Path

Near my house, there’s a street lined with trees that turn beautiful shades of red and gold in autumn.

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair and a slightly older boy happily cuddling on a street with roadside trees with autumn leaves.png (1432×1432)

When I won a prize in a local Aikido competition, the older boy praised me and said it was amazing.

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair holding hands and looking at a slightly older boy on a road with roadside trees with autumn leaves_cleanup.png (1432×1432)

One autumn, while walking next to him—the boy I’d always thought was cool—my heart suddenly started racing.

What’s this feeling?

Confession

When I entered middle school, I worked up the courage to confess my feelings.

A scene of a girl with pink hair and a slightly older boy with dark hair holding hands and crying on a tree-lined avenue of autumn leaves first time.png (2576×2576)

He looked troubled and said, "Let’s date when we’re older."

I cried a lot, but he also seemed to be holding back tears.

Things were complicated for a while, but we eventually returned to being close friends.

Illustration of a little girl with pink hair playing a prank with a slightly older boy by shoving a fallen leaf into her mouth on a road with a roadside tree with autumn leaves_cleanup.png (2576×2576)

The next year, when I caught a falling leaf, I playfully brought it up to his mouth. He gave me that same troubled look again.

The Most Beautiful Memory

That year, our local shopping district held a special event with illuminated autumn leaves.

Illustration of a pink-haired girl and a slightly older black-haired boy admiring the illuminated autumn leaves at night.png (2976×2088)

The path we walked every day looked unbelievably beautiful.

The following year, the event was canceled due to COVID, but it remains one of my best memories.

Goodbye

During his senior year of high school, the older boy came to visit me in the autumn.

As we walked along the tree-lined path, he told me he had been accepted into a foreign university and would be leaving Japan after graduation.

A scene of a girl with pink hair and a slightly older boy with dark hair holding hands and crying on a tree-lined avenue of autumn leaves_cleanup.png (2576×2576)

I was devastated and couldn’t stop crying.

But after a few months, I was able to see him off with a smile.

I wonder if he's still doing well?

This is the story of my first love.

I Usually Post AI-Generated Images

I don’t have the skills to draw or edit images, so I usually post AI-generated images.

I used to be into photography, but due to various circumstances, I haven’t been able to go out and take photos lately.

Even so, thanks to AI, I’ve been able to continue creating.

Combining Photos with Illustrations

I still have a large stockpile of photos from my photography days, so this time, I decided to combine them with illustrations.

Original photos of illuminated autumn leaves.png (6000×4000)

The background for the illustration here is a photo of the illuminated autumn leaves.

The camera I used for the photo is the same compact one seen in tamaga wa’s profile picture. It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but it allows you to get up close to your subject.

tamaga wa｜note

It’s a simple camera with no zoom function, but it captures straightforward, no-nonsense shots.

Enhancing the Contrast

First, since the lights in the photo were a bit too prominent, I toned them down through retouching.

Dark background photo of illuminated autumn leaves.png (6000×4000)

To reduce the amount of information in the image and match the anime style, I darkened the entire image and increased the contrast.

I then removed the background from the illustration.

Here’s the illustration I used.

Original Illustration of Autumn Leaves Light Up Character Background Removal.png (3456×1840)

I removed the background and slightly increased the distance between the two characters, as they were too close together.

Clip art of autumn leaves light-up character background removal.png (6000×4000)

Since short sleeves would be too cold, I edited the image to give them long sleeves.

Clip art combination of autumn leaves lighting up.png (6000×4000)

Finally, I combined the illustration with the photo.

Rendering Again

I adjusted the strength of the corrections so that the AI could make fixes while keeping the atmosphere of the original photo.

Illustration of a pink-haired girl and a slightly older black-haired boy admiring the illuminated autumn leaves at night 2

I’m not sure if the final product turned out better than the original illustration, but I’m satisfied with the work I put into it.

Thank You, Yoshimaru and the Event Committee!

I’m participating in the WAKU2 Festival with this piece.

【🌈終了】WAKU☆WAKUフェス2024秋～芸術はWAKU×２だ！AIイラスト祭～｜よしまる

This fun event allows anyone to submit AI-generated illustrations, and submissions are open until tomorrow at 11:59 p.m.

I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for someone like me, who writes serious-sounding articles, to participate, but seeing so many creators I know take part gave me the courage to submit something.

Originally, I started this blog to organize my thoughts, but thanks to events like this, I’ve had some great encounters.

Without this event, this piece would never have been completed.

Thanks to everyone on the event committee!