The Messy Beginning
Alright, so yesterday, I’m scrolling through my feed like always, totally bored. See this sick picture idea: Adriana Lima with angel wings. Not like the model, but like an artsy edit? Boom. Brain goes “Do that NOW.” Didn’t have a clue how, honestly. Just grabbed my phone. Big mistake. My phone storage is screaming bloody murder most days.
Trying Stuff, Mostly Failing First
Opened up this basic photo editor I had, the one that came with the phone? Useless. Just slapped some lame transparent wing PNG I found after googling my fingers off right onto a selfie I took like 5 minutes before – bad lighting, the whole deal. Looked terrible. Like, laugh-out-loud bad. Worse than bad.
Gave up on the garbage editor. Jumped onto Canva next. Felt fancy for a second. They actually have some wing elements, kinda cute cartoon ones? Better than nothing. Played around:
- Dumped my selfie in
- Found these slightly better fairy wings
- Stretched them weirdly behind me
- Realized I looked tiny and the wings were huge and floaty
- Tried messing with opacity, colors… just looked unnatural and cheap
Frustration level: High. It still looked like someone glued wings on a kid’s drawing. Not angelic, just dumb.
Switching Gears, Finally Progress!
Remembered PicsArt. Haven’t used it in ages, but folks sometimes do edits there. Downloaded it. Took forever on my ancient phone. Almost rage-quit again. Opened it up, found my crappy selfie.
Started hunting for wings inside PicsArt. Found these “photo realistic” wings. Not really Adriana-level, but way better. Dabbed the eraser tool around my shoulders like a madman. Key steps this time:
- Placed the wings roughly behind
- Used that freakin’ eraser to CAREFULLY erase parts overlapping my body, especially near shoulders. Slowest process ever.
- Played with layer options – “Multiply” and “Overlay” made the whites pop a bit more.
- Found the “Shadows” tool? Added a tiny dark smudge under where the wings should hit my back. Massive difference! Made them feel kinda attached.
- Slapped on a filter called “Misty” because the photo was trash. Covered a multitude of sins.
Still ain’t perfect, folks. The wings feel a bit off, like lighting doesn’t match perfectly. But you know what? For messing around in my PJs for an hour and a half, using just my thumbs on a phone? It’s pretty damn okay.
Got It Done (Kinda)
Final result is on my phone gallery. Definitely not professional grade. Looks like what it is: a hobbyist messing about after midnight. BUT.
Would I do it again? Yeah, maybe! I learned a bit about layering and shadows. Mostly learned phone edits are annoying but sometimes work. Saving that $20 I thought about spending on Fiverr feels good. Could I pay someone to do it better? Hell yes. But making that weird winged thing myself? Weirdly satisfying.
