[Suzuran Cosplay] Arknights Convention Photos Sharing: Hand-Painted Tails Are the True Post-processing

The Post-processing workload for these convention photos was mainly concentrated on drawing that giant tail. Because the volume of the tails is genuinely exaggerated—whether stuffed into a suitcase or carried by hand, it would definitely be flagged and inspected at subway security checkpoints, which is far too troublesome—I decided to just paint it myself by hand in Post-processing. Without the physical support of real tails, posing during the shoot relied purely on mental imagination along with guidance from the on-site photographer and friends. Fortunately, the final visual composition turned out quite natural.

The shooting location was indoors at the anime convention; the floor reflections worked wonderfully, and the backlighting added a lovely translucent glow to the overall atmosphere. However, the downside was the cluttered venue lighting and numerous passersby in the background, so background blurring in Post-processing took quite some time. In terms of costume, it was paired with a white lace top, a mint green skirt, and a cylinder bag. The White stockings and brown Mary Jane shoes on my feet also matched the overall fresh, sweet aesthetic perfectly. The animal ears on my head and the little black ball prop from the Luo Xiaohei collaboration served as finishing touches; the little Luo Xiaohei in the basket was also highlighted and brightened in Post-processing.

Of course, the most core Post-processing task was painting the tails: I extracted the perspective angles from the raw photo, utilized multiple layered passes—first laying down base colors, then building up shadows, and using soft light blending modes to brighten the illuminated edges. The fur edges of the tails were specifically feathered, with brushwork detailing the fluffy outer contours. Considering the warm lighting of the original photo, the tail colors were kept warm and translucent to harmonize with the overall ambient lighting.

There was also a sweet duo photo with Shamare: her pink hair, black dress, and scythe prop created a striking visual contrast with my blonde hair and mint green skirt. The interaction during the shoot was super fun, and during retouching, we preserved the interactive expressions and hand lighting details between us. Finishing these photos brought a great sense of accomplishment; Post-processing is truly an indispensable part of such large-scale beast styling.