[Exusiai Cosplay] The Practical Experience of Arknights' Wasteland Tactical Style

After tossing and turning for several weeks, this tactical style photoshoot is finally ready to show. The reason for such a long time span is that from early planning to post-processing, I didn't want to compromise on any step. Especially over the past few days, people have been discussing the pros and cons of hand-crafted post-processing versus AI-generated art; to be honest, these two photos were polished almost entirely by hand, bit by bit. The layering logic for every layer, light effect, and smoke effect was adjusted based on the real light and shadow of the live shoot. Although AI can quickly generate flashy effects, if you want the light and shadow falling on the ground and clothes, as well as their interlocking relationship with the character's limbs, to perfectly follow real-world physics laws, manual adjustment remains irreplaceable. In this kind of genre, my personal obsession is to make every wisp of smoke and every reflection on the rubble withstand close scrutiny.

Shooting in the ruins is truly a physical chore. For the low-angle upward shot in the first photo, to bring out the character's sense of oppression, it not only required the photographer to lie flat on the ground to compose the shot, but I also needed to lower my center of gravity very close to the ground to find that curve. To display the action tension of the tactical gear, I practiced the bending angle of the knee pads and even the finger posture when holding the gun many times in front of the mirror. The standing pose in the second photo is relatively restrained, but it is meant to reflect a momentary breath of air after combat. On the day of the shoot, it was very dusty on-site; to capture the effect of micro-particles in the air being illuminated by side-backlighting, the lighting setup for the entire photoset was adjusted across several positions. In large smoke scenes, maintaining the shape of the smoke while ensuring the character's features and contours aren't swallowed by it is quite a test for the photographer's snapshot timing and post-processing control over highlights.

In terms of preparing the costume and props, I also leaned as much as possible toward a sense of techwear and fine details. Tactical knee pads, straps, platform boots, and that halo floating above my head visually reinforced this feel of wasteland strategy. When creating the cracked and radioactive special effects for the wings in post-processing, a huge amount of energy was spent on cutting out the edges and adjusting the amplitude of the motion blur. Nowadays on the internet, people prefer fast-food-style visual impacts, and my hand-crafted, detailed content indeed hasn't caused much of a stir in some high-traffic communities. But frankly, doing what feels right to myself and accurately conveying the desired character temperament through imagery brings enough satisfaction in the process itself.

Thanks to the participating team for their cooperation throughout the production cycle. The early stage-management preparations and prop testing were done impeccably, and finding this kind of unobstructed abandoned concrete building on location was entirely a stroke of good luck. For the action design and scene style this time, I suppose I have fully showcased my personal preferences. After all, crouching and crawling around outdoors in such thick clothes during the peak of summer—looking back at those sweat-soaked marks while editing the photos was quite interesting.