[Arona Cosplay] Blue Archive's Refreshing Strawberry Milk of Summer

This set of Arona photos was actually shot in the scorching summer of Chongqing. Although some time has passed since then, the sweltering temperature and intense sunlight at that time formed a highly powerful contrast with the refreshing azure blue tones of Arona in Blue Archive. Back then, carrying a massive bag of luggage and props, I worked all day in the classroom with photographer Teacher Lin Meng and stylist Teacher Qian Ran to complete this set of materials for this Arona cosplay.

Let's talk about this styling look. To recreate the character's colors, this sailor uniform selected a bright blue-and-white color block, and the large bowknot on the chest was made very three-dimensional and full. The white choker on the neck carries a light blue ring, which happens to echo the neckline lines of the sailor uniform. The cuffs are designed as lantern sleeves; the tightened cuffs combined with the white triangular patterns at the hem enrich the layers of the top quite a bit. Below the white pleated skirt's hem, colorful dot symbols are hidden; we specially took close-up shots of these corner details because, for a piece of Cosplay sharing, these seemingly inconspicuous small designs are often where the soul lies.

The biggest challenge during the shoot was, of course, the sweltering heat inside the room in Chongqing. Paired with a thick light blue wig and hair ornaments, the whole person felt like carrying a mini steamer. To keep my expressions in the character's lively and energetic state, the strawberry milk bottle I held in my hand truly played a massive role. The prop was a carefully selected identical drink bottle before the shoot; its pink label and fruit patterns popped out beautifully amidst the blue-and-white outfit, adding a ton of summer coolness to the frame. In the first picture, I leaned forward and reached out to hand over the milk, aiming exactly to convey this sweet and cool interactive atmosphere to the lens.

This time was actually a joint project featuring the Arona Plana twins. Teacher Lin Meng was responsible for photography and atmospheric scheduling, while Teacher Qian Ran handled makeup, hair, and post-processing touch-ups; everyone invested a massive amount of energy. Since the twins need to present a sense of mirror imaging and complementarity, the early preparation work was exceptionally tedious. Currently, we have completed the shoot for the Arona part first, while Plana's styling is still brewing in the refinement stage, with costume details and accessories undergoing final finalization. However, in this set of preview photos, Arona's lively and playful summer vibe has already been beautifully presented, and I am also highly looking forward to the split-screen effect when Plana is also fully put together.

When shooting this type of character, expressions and gazes are highly vital elements. Arona gives me a feeling of being both playful and a bit sweet, so in the classroom scene, whether standing to pass props or sitting by the desk holding up the strawberry milk bottle, I hoped to keep my state more relaxed to capture the most natural actions and eyes. At that time, the natural light filtering into the classroom was very soft; although it was hot, the photographer caught exceptional light and shadow, rendering the visual look of this photo set clean and bright. Upon seeing the final photos, I felt all the summer sweat and exhaustion were fully worthwhile. Next, I'll continue to tinker with Plana's gear at home, looking forward to the day when the twins share the frame to meet everyone early.