To create this illustration, I first read the whole story of Fliers of Gy by Ursula K. Le Guin a few times provided by The Folio Society. After, I highlighted sections of the story and took notes on the physical appearance of the characters and some scenes I could recreate.

After sketching various ideas I had from reading the story I ended up going with a scene of the character of Ardiada laying in bed in a lot of pain showing his wings in the process of growing.