[Lin Yuxia cosplay] Arknights: A Moment of Holding a Brush and Grinding Ink for Calligraphy in an Ancient Study

Sweating profusely during the shoot was no joke, as that purple outer robe had multiple inner layers. Combined with the hot outdoors and the stuffy indoor lighting, I felt like I was going to evaporate by the time we finished these shots. But the moment I saw the final results, it all felt worth it. This time, I did a Lin Yuxia cosplay from Arknights, but instead of her traditional operator combat gear, the photographer and I agreed on an alternative ancient style outfit for a study room photo shoot. The animal ears and pearl tassels on the headpiece were custom-made with a lot of thought. To match the character's vibe, we specifically chose light purple and silver-white as the main color palette, paired with a metal cutout mask on the forehead, creating an aura that was both ethereal and slightly mysterious. The shooting location was a specially built Chinese-style study, complete with carved wooden cabinets, bamboo woven lanterns, blue-and-white porcelain pen holders, and a massive ebony desk. We spent about two hours shooting, with most of that time spent adjusting the lighting and positioning.
Picture 1 shows me leaning on the desk, pointing at the letter paper. That angle is actually a huge test for the jawline; I practically pressed my chin against my arm, but thankfully, the camera captured a very soft gaze. Picture 2 is a half-body shot holding a bamboo woven lantern. That lantern was made of solid bamboo strips stuffed with a warm LED light strip. It generated a lot of heat when lit, and my fingers felt slightly roasted, but for the sake of that 'reading by the window at night' atmosphere, I just had to grit my teeth and hold it. Picture 3 is a close-up of the hands, showing the action of grinding ink for calligraphy. The ink stick was a genuine antique, and the inkstone was hand-carved. While grinding, you could smell a faint pine soot fragrance, which really helped me get into character. The calligraphy on the paper was pre-written by the photographer. Although the content wasn't Lin Yuxia's lines from the game, the casual yet neat Slender Gold style handwriting, combined with the bamboo blinds and the crystal paperweight, immediately gave the composition the flavor of a scholarly gathering.
The biggest challenge of this ancient style photography session wasn't expression management, but holding the poses. For example, the side-leaning pose in Picture 1 required keeping my shoulders relaxed and fingers naturally extended while maintaining focused, non-empty eye contact with the frame. I probably tried over a dozen times before capturing the most natural frame. When holding the lantern in Picture 2, to prevent the lantern's frame from blocking my face, I had to slightly raise my arm so the light source could hit from a diagonal upper angle, illuminating clear facial features and eyelash shadows. Picture 3 relied entirely on wrist and finger control because I had to move the ink stick in a steady circle without looking too deliberate. The photographer said we needed to capture a 'flowing water' texture. Throughout the process, the cloth shoes I wore had no height-increasing insoles, so both sitting and standing required a straight back; otherwise, I would look hunched under the wide-angle lens.
As for the makeup, we intentionally lowered the eyeshadow saturation, using only earth tones for blending to highlight the eyeliner and the texture of the eyelashes. Paired with the white highlights in the wig, it didn't look overly heavy and perfectly blended with the warm-toned lighting in post-production. During post-editing, we didn't do too much skin smoothing, preserving some skin texture because I feel that if ancient style themes are retouched too flawlessly, they lose their texture. The photographer's lighting approach was very interesting: the main light source was the bamboo lantern on the right, while a cool blue fill light came from behind to create a warm-cold contrast, adding depth between the subject and the background. A bamboo mat was also laid on the desk, and I could feel its rough texture when I stepped on it, which highly accurately restored the details of ancient life.
To be honest, the most tiring part of shooting this kind of theme isn't posing, but resetting the props on the desk—brushes, ink sticks, letter paper, paperweights—every time we changed camera angles. A slight bump and they would slide off; I had to crawl on the floor to pick up the brush several times. But it's exactly because of these tedious details that the final photos can convey that sense of 'tranquility'. The reason I love Lin Yuxia is that she has both a capable, decisive side and moments where she reveals a soft expression. This ancient style attempt perfectly captured that contrast. Even though many original fans might feel it's not accurate enough without the combat suit, as a cosplay creation, I think it's enough to grasp the core essence of the character and express it through visually compelling images. Moreover, this study room theme is very suitable for using Chinese-style negative space; it doesn't need too much scene stacking—just one lamp, one inkstone, and one letter can draw people into that mood.
When we were packing up after the shoot, the photographer joked that this set of photos could be directly used as a promotional poster for an ancient-style game. However, I am most satisfied with Picture 2, because at the moment of holding the lantern, the light shining from bottom to top illuminated the fluffy edges of the animal ears to look semi-transparent, and my expression was the most relaxed. Of course, I did sweat a lot; I washed my hair immediately after getting back, and the wig was completely soaked. All in all, this ancient-style study version of Lin Yuxia fulfilled my dream of trying Chinese aesthetics. Despite the hard work, seeing these photos makes me genuinely feel the sweat was not in vain.