This time at the Jiangmen Jieyuan Comic Exhibition, I shot this Umaru cosplay set, and the whole process from confirming the character to getting the final photos was quite interesting. The orange fuzzy hooded cape is the visual center of the entire look. The fabric chosen was a rather thick coral fleece that feels soft and plush to touch and is indeed very warm to wear, though it happened to be perfect for the well-air-conditioned convention hall. The cute embroidery of facial features built into the hood, paired with the light golden long straight wig I specifically picked, deserves an 8 out of 10 in terms of fidelity, in my opinion.
The heaviest prop was that giant white plush tail featuring light blue round spots. Compared to the original setting in Himouto! Umaru-chan, I specifically requested this plush prop's volume to be made two sizes larger so that whether sitting or kneeling, it fills the empty space in the lower half of the frame nicely. Filled with enough pearl cotton, its shape remains quite stable and could be used directly as a seat cushion during shooting, which was pretty effort-saving. The oversized brown animal slippers on my feet were also custom-made with extensive flocking on the surface, offering a slight friction on the ground so they won't slip, fitting the soft and squishy overall vibe wonderfully.
The shooting area was set in the dark zone of the convention photography section. With a few spotlights shining down from above, the background was darkened, focusing light primarily on the subject and the white plush props to create high-contrast visual depth. Photographer NightDiva, while taking the first sitting photo, had me hold the edges of the hood with both hands and tilt my face up slightly to highlight facial expressions and the plush texture. For the second side-kneeling pose, a bar fill light on the right was used to outline the edges of the cape hem and tail clearly. I personally prefer the composition of the first shot because the character is centered, and the contrast between red shorts and white inner shirt makes overall tones pop more, though the looking-back angle in the second photo works great as a complementary display.
The convention had huge foot traffic that day, so we quickly snapped several sets during gaps in the crowd over about 40 minutes. Since the props took up a lot of space, many passing fans gathered around; some kids even reached out to touch the tail, making the atmosphere very relaxed. As a cosplayer who has attended convention photography sessions many times, I know transporting and storing such large props is a hassle. I specifically prepared foldable storage bags this time, though having companions hold them steady on site was still necessary, and fortunately, everyone had great teamwork. For makeup, I kept the original character's clean, simple feel without heavy eyeshadow, using a bean-paste orange lipstick to echo the cape. The wig bangs and sideburns were carefully trimmed to avoid obscuring the eyes.
In fact, Umaru's core lazy, homebody otaku aura relies heavily on expression management in addition to costume props. Instead of forcing an exaggerated cute pose, I maintained a slightly dazed, casual state, which captured her gap moe as the "world's number one genius otaku girl" far better. In post-processing, I only made simple adjustments to color temperature and contrast, lowering black levels in the background to make the subject stand out without excessive skin smoothing, preserving natural skin textures for authenticity.
Although the venue at Jiangmen Jieyuan Comic Exhibition wasn't huge, its lighting layout was very professional; the low reflectivity of the black flooring and dark walls suited this studio-style setup requiring solid backgrounds perfectly. My red shorts and orange cape maintained rich color saturation under dim light without looking dirty. The only small regret this time was missing a prop can of Cola nearby, so I had to temporarily substitute it with a large beverage bottle, though it didn't hurt the overall look.
Every cosplay is an expression of character understanding and a test of personal aesthetic and execution skills. From Umaru's character, I learned to find my shooting rhythm in a relaxed atmosphere—not rushing for quick results actually yielded a more natural outcome. Releasing this photo set serves as a tangible souvenir for this convention journey.