[Lappland cosplay] Arknights: The Sharp Blade

Event photos from the Anime convention are finally out! This time I went to Day 1 of the 13th Chongqing Mengxiang Anime convention and stayed for just one day. The shooting spots were mostly around the exterior of the venue, as indoors was way too crowded, so we had to find relatively quiet corners outside. I cosplayed Lappland from Arknights; this design originally features a cool tactical Combat style, portrayed as silent and sharp in lore. To recreate that feel, I used a long silver-white wig featuring Silver hair, wolf ears with detailed adjustments to make the fur voluminous and fluffy. The outfit consisted of a glossy black leather jacket, a gray cropped tank inner layer, and black shorts, paired with platform high-heeled tall boots on my feet, elongating the overall silhouette. The leather jacket has a reflective sheen, and with the chaotic convention lighting, finding the right lighting angle took some time to prevent blown-out glare or looking like an undifferentiated black blob.

Additionally, the accompanying giant weapon was a major highlight, but also very heavy. When posing—whether standing, crouching, or striding forward—I had to constantly adjust the sword angles to maintain balance; otherwise, it was easy to wobble. The photographer mostly let me improvise poses, but since the swords were long, I had to watch out not to sweep into passersby. Many shots were candid captures; because expressions needed that sharp gaze, I channeled a mix of cold detachment and fierce intensity toward the lens. The photographer kept reminding me to tuck my chin and keep an unflinching gaze on the camera to give the shots more commanding presence. The broken glass visual effects in post-processing were really interesting, matching the black, white, and silver palette nicely and evoking a sense of shattering spatial dimensions. For poses like leaning on the sword one-handed or raising the blade, lighting and shadows were slightly retouched to give the metallic props richer texture.

I'd been slacking over National Day and only finished reviewing and retouching the photos last night, ultimately selecting these shots. The only slight regret was the spatial limitation of the Anime convention venue, making it impossible to find a truly open ruined wasteland or industrial backdrop. Still, shooting in this convention setting carried an authentic feel, with plenty of atmosphere. Model: Yi Zhi Xiao Bai Cha. The shoot went quite smoothly; crowd aside, getting the shots was fast. Because Lappland's black leather jacket is quite thick, sweat didn't dry easily, and running around the hall all day was tiring, but seeing the final photos made every bit of hard work worthwhile. The metal edges of the props were quite sharp, requiring caution not to scratch the jacket. The twin swords have an intricate structure with joints prone to loosening, so especially during dynamic action takes, I had to be careful not to let the blades hit my face. The scratch tattoo on the back of my hand was a decal; I initially worried it might peel, but it stayed intact all afternoon. Getting into character amidst a noisy hall takes a bit of time, and large motions like crouching or raising arms needed perspective distortion corrections in post-processing. I only attended for one day to relax a bit over National Day, but we did our best to capture everything intended—serving as a nice little keepsake from this year's convention. This aloof, sharp Combat style look wraps up as a great milestone, and I hope to cosplay more action-heavy characters if we change venues next year.