[Requiem cosplay] Capturing the Micro-expressions of Neverness to Everness's Street Dark Girl

This time taking on Requiem from Neverness to Everness, the costume details and textures really required quite a bit of effort to polish. The red glossy jacket is the visual center of the whole outfit; under the night scene lighting, that reflective effect photographs exceptionally well. The black straps, zippers, and various techwear buckles on it were restored as closely to 1:1 as possible, without missing the small details. The wig is the classic half-black and half-white design, and I also specially added a few streaks of pink highlights. The two exaggerated black-and-white bow hair accessories on top of the head were secured tightly to the wig using a bunch of bobby pins to ensure they wouldn't fall off during movement. In terms of makeup, red contact lenses are the soul. Combined with the eye makeup, to fit the setting of 'being angry', I practiced in front of the mirror for a long time to get that look carrying a bit of stubbornness, coldness, and a warning undertone.
The shooting location was chosen in a place with a strong wasteland street feel: walls covered in graffiti, stacked old CRT televisions of scrap, and a retro red telephone booth. These scene props were practically custom-made for Requiem. To interact with these elements, I tried various poses, such as sitting on the hood of that old white car or sitting directly on the square casing of an old television. The black pleated short skirt on the lower body paired with black stockings, plus socks printed with the 'ED' letters and black-and-red high-top sneakers, elongated the overall proportions, and the black stockings cleverly blended the dark techwear style with a girly feel.
In fact, when preparing this styling, I heavily considered how to make the flat clothing look more dimensional in front of the lens. For instance, to prevent the red jacket from looking dim in the night scene, we intentionally added fill light coming from the side during lighting setup, allowing the material's gloss to stand out. For the black stockings, I chose a matte texture so they wouldn't reflect light and could more purely showcase the leg lines. Sitting on the television or the car roof, I was also adjusting the position of the center of gravity to ensure the posture was both natural and could maximize the display of the clothing's tailoring and the drape of accessories.
I personally really like the set of photos sitting on the bench. I raised one leg up, which not only nicely showcased the leg lines and the texture of the stockings, but also created an alert state that looks lazy on the surface but is ready for battle at any moment. The old television next to the bench and the graffiti behind, coupled with the cool-blue ambient light, maxed out the ambiance. As for the standing poses, to embody the character's dynamism, I designed actions like raising one hand high and crossing both hands to gesture, which, matched with this bright red jacket, had a strong explosive power against the dark background.
Throughout the shoot, we put a lot of effort into light and shadow, utilizing the contrast between cool and warm lighting to highlight the character's dimensionality and the absurdity of the scene. Combined with adjustments to the camera depth of field, the audience's gaze is firmly locked onto the character. Even hand gestures, down to simple sketching movements, were attempts to explore the character's habitual actions in specific situations, hoping not just to wear this outfit, but to become her at that moment. Coupled with the great color grading in post-processing, the collision of the cool-blue neon lighting and the red jacket perfectly presented that interwoven feel of cyberpunk and street wasteland. Being able to present Requiem's unique charm so completely and meticulously was a very exhilarating experience for me.