[Huohuo cosplay] 2024 CPGZ Convention Photos: It's Huohuo, Not a Huo-rrible Disaster!

Dug up my convention shots from 2024 CPGZ—this Huohuo (Huohuo cosplay) set had been sitting unorganized for a while, so I'm finally sharing them today.

First, the wearing experience of this outfit: Huohuo's costume has a lot of layers, featuring a blue-and-white color palette with gilded borders, and the fabric showed great texture under the event hall's lighting. For the fluffy animal ears at the top of my head, we added some internal support so they would stay perked up during shooting instead of flopping over while walking around. I wore blue-green contact lenses, and deepened the eye contours to closely mirror that timid, slightly teary, and aggrieved look from the canon artwork.

What truly tested me at the convention, however, were the props. The staff of the soul-soothing banner is quite long, and waving it around in a crowded venue could easily bump into passersby, so I had to carefully constrain the range of my movements while posing. The oversized golden bell hanging at my waist carries tangible weight, giving a heavy downward pull with every step—which fittingly reflected the character's burden of carrying a heavy destiny. For the little paper talismans in the photos, they were either held by hand or suspended with clear fishing line on site before painting out the supports in post; paired with hand poses, the resulting effect looks quite natural.

In terms of posing, because the convention hall backdrop was cluttered, I used broader postures to dominate the focal center of the frame. For instance, the shot where I lifted one leg while swinging the banner was meant to convey dynamic spell-casting. The crouching and sitting shots leveraged a wide-angle lens to elongate leg lines; furthermore, the combination of White stockings (White stockings) and shorts highlighted the zettai ryouiki in seated poses, enhancing the visual appeal. Even though Huohuo has a timid personality, as a Ten-Lords Commission exorcist, her stances still need to carry a touch of ceremonial presence.

Post-processing gave a massive boost to these convention shots. We composited plenty of blue ghostly flames and that colossal blue spectral dragon apparition, which not only filled the negative space of the convention background, but pushed the atmospheric immersion to the max. Glowing runes on the floor and floating paper talismans added rich narrative depth.

All in all, from wardrobe prep and on-site candids to VFX compositing, every single step in this Huohuo photoshoot demanded considerable care, and I hope it successfully brought out that touch of endearing cuteness in the character.