I finished this up the best I could using my new software!
This is... not exactly how this would have come out if I still had Photoshop, and for that I am sorry :(
The software available to me at the moment is all the free stuff like Gimp, Krita and what I used here, MediBang. Of the software I used in this 'meantime' period, MediBang is the most familiar and easiest to use with the least drawbacks.
Still, it has its issues. Blending is far more difficult than it should be, and I can't fade colours like I want to. But its layer systems are the same as Photoshop, its use of clipping masks, colour overlays etc all function the same or better, and best of all -- it turns out I CAN open my Photoshop files in this software!
It is, however, clunky in some of its funtionality. In fairness, it's the least clumsy of the types I've used but I still have to get used to its eccentricities.
Still progress is being made and I hope to post the nexs PitW this week.