This time, my Arknights: Endfield junior idol styling took a lot of thought from fitting to final styling. This stage outfit uses a large area of blue as a base color, paired with white puff sleeves, resulting in a very strong visual impact. The black "00" printed on the sleeves is a fantastic detail; to make this number clear enough in front of the lens, I deliberately adjusted the angle of the sleeves. The purple and white bow tie on the chest, paired with that orange strap spanning across the chest, fully maximizes the layering of the entire styling. The black "T"-shaped pattern and metal buckle on the bow tie added a touch of techwear feel to this originally sweet idol costume.
Next is the makeup. To match the harsh stage light, I chose a purplish-red eyeshadow for large-area smudging, paired with gold contact lenses featuring star patterns. In front of the lens, this exaggerated stage makeup actually makes the eyes look more vibrant. When taking selfies, phone camera lenses wash out makeup severely, so I applied extra weight to both blush and lip makeup, especially placing blush under the eyes and on the tip of the nose to enhance that energetic idol atmosphere. The makeup artist helped me trim the wig's bangs so they fit the face shape closely, and the golden-orange long hair on both sides has reflections under the light, looking of great texture.
When I picked up this microphone covered in rhinestones, the vibe completely kicked in. Selfies actually test the gesture of holding props; it can't be too stiff. I held the mic near my mouth with one hand, while naturally raising the other hand to point forward. This action gives the frame an interactive feel, just like interacting with the audience offstage while on stage. The background stage lighting happened to be purple-blue tones, forming a great echo with my clothes and contact lens colors. The drum kit and the truss structure behind added a strong live sense to the photos, and without much post-processing color grading, the lighting and shadows straight out of the camera already looked great.
I've always felt that I've gained some new insights in this niche of portraying junior idol characters. Actually, portraying a stage-style character well isn't about how gorgeous the costume is, but about the spirited energy presented. You have to believe that you are standing under the spotlight, with glowing light sticks waving offstage, and your entire state must be upward and confident. This set of selfies during the shooting break was quickly captured while adjusting my breath, making the state the most natural. The blue bow and white stars on the headpiece, along with some small heart-shaped earrings, these small accessories easily get messy during selfies due to angles, so before pressing the shutter every time, I habitually use my fingers to adjust the hair strands by my ears and the position of the headpiece, ensuring the details at the edge of the frame are also clean.
Wig hair fibers are very hard to manage, especially this golden-orange wig that reaches below the collarbone; a little carelessness makes it look frizzy. Under the lights, I would use some specialized wig smoothing spray to comb through the hair ends, making the floating hair strands look airy rather than static-clinging. Setting stage makeup is also extremely important; it's very easy to melt makeup when it's too hot on stage or wearing a headpiece for a long time. I used a large amount of setting spray during makeup to ensure that under high-intensity flashes and purple mood lighting, the face could still maintain a clean makeup feel. This time's special effect contact lenses are a purple style with stars, which have an obvious pupil-enlarging effect when worn, and combined with my eye makeup, the light in my eyes looked particularly bright in the lens. Actually, when I first got this outfit, I was still worried whether the color-blocking of orange and purple would be too hard to handle, but after putting it on, I found that in the dim environment of the stage, the vibrant orange straps and purple bow tie instead became the visual center lighting up the frame. Selfies aren't just about the face, but also about the overall color composition of the frame. I purposely found an angle where the light stand and drum kit could be seen in the background, preventing the frame from being too monotonous and better accentuating the character's center position.