[Arknights Shu Cosplay] Spring Banquet & Flower Basket: Pastoral Vibe at CICF

Getting straight to the point, this Spring Banquet-themed Shu cosplay shoot from Arknights was completed during the CICF convention. Big thanks to photographer @SiyuZhenBeiju for capturing these incredible moments.

When I decided to cosplay this character, my main focus was how to blend her pastoral charm with a sense of airy grace. The outfit features rich layering: an outer loose purplish-red robe trimmed with large sections of white faux fur, and an inner yellow sleeveless top with ruffled edges. It strikes a balance between a warrior's crisp alertness and a gentle, everyday softness. I also really love the waist design—white lace fabric, belt buckles, and metal chains weave together to break up the monotony of the plain lower garment. Paired with heavy white platform sandals, it adds a bit of height while visually grounding the entire outfit.

I especially have to mention this huge tail. To faithfully recreate the character design, the tail uses a patchworked combination of white, bright yellow, and dark blue fur fabrics, built over a custom rigid internal skeleton. During the actual shoot, it wasn't light at all; walking required conscious waist control to keep my balance. The upside, however, was that it maintained its fluffy curve without sagging or flattening as I moved. As for props, the small woven bamboo flower basket was filled with artificial yellow and white flowers, while the long sword retained a simple, elegant raw-wood scabbard. The flower basket symbolizes spring's harvest and leisure, whereas the long sword represents combat strength—placing these two props together creates a wonderfully charming contrast.

Shooting at an anime convention venue often comes with complex lighting issues. The CICF hall ceiling has numerous high-intensity overhead lights, which can easily cause harsh blown-out highlights on fur and metal accessories. Photographer @SiyuZhenBeiju is super experienced; he specifically picked background spots within the venue that offered light-and-dark contrast and spatial depth for framing. During the shoot, he used natural reflected light as the main light source, cleverly softening the harshness of the overhead lighting. This allowed the fluffiness of the costume, the skin tones, and even the fine fiber details on the tail to be captured very softly.

Moving around at the anime convention venue that day was quite physically demanding. Because the tail is fairly large, I had to be careful not to sweep against passing attendees while navigating through the crowds. Carrying the flower basket and holding the long sword while weaving through cosplayers in all kinds of outfits, plus occasionally stopping to pose for photos with visitors, was genuinely exhausting. But when you see how amazing the final photos look, all the fatigue—the creased outfit, the constant need to touch up makeup with powder—instantly fades away.

When portraying this character, I wanted to embody a grounded yet gentle temperament. Although the sword-swinging actions can be sharp and fierce, the gaze needs to remain inclusive and warm—as if she truly were a guardian strolling through spring fields. Whether it's the moment the hem of the skirt sways lightly or a side profile while holding the basket, I wanted to express a heroic spirit infused with grounded, everyday warmth.

After a full day of shooting, my feet were definitely sore, but I'm super grateful to everyone I met. The coordination of lighting, venue, and the photographer's perfectly timed snaps brought this Spring Banquet theme to a wonderful conclusion. I look forward to bringing this character to even more interesting settings in the future!