[Suzuran Cosplay] Arknights: A Mother's Day Special Shoot with Vulpisfoglia and Me

This photoset of Arknights Suzuran and Vulpisfoglia was specially shot on Mother's Day. Suzuran's real name is Lisa, and in the story setting, Vulpisfoglia indeed shares a deep bond with her, so this shoot naturally revolved around the theme of "companionship." The scene was decorated into a retro piano room, where warm-toned wallpaper paired with a dark-wood Steiner piano, along with blooming flowers, a violin, and photo frames scattered in between, perfectly fitting the warm daily life feel of the animal girl characters.

In terms of costumes, Vulpisfoglia's look adopts a white shirt and a black vest, paired with an orange-and-white striped tie and black leather gloves, leaning overall towards a smart British style. My light-golden long wig was equipped with large ears and multi-tail props, paired with a white lace ruffled blouse and a mint green underskirt, visually leaning towards softness and approachability. Although keeping the complex tail and ear props from falling off during the shoot required skills, these were all necessary sacrifices for the sake of character accuracy. Styling the wig was also a key point, especially the natural fusion at the connection with the animal ears, which required repeated communication and adjustments with the stylist regarding the flow of the hair strands to minimize any sense of gaps, making the character profile look more seamless.

The shoot was full of improvised little interactions. In the first set of shots, I put on sunglasses and made a hand gesture, showcasing Suzuran's mischievous side; looking from behind in the second set of shots, the long golden hair and fluffy tails spread over the piano bench, giving a strong sense of character narrative. The warmest set is the frame of the two sitting opposite each other in front of the piano keys, pretending to play the piano; when our eyes met, we could truly feel that atmosphere of mutual care between the characters. There was also a setup of sitting at the table sharing cake, appearing relaxed and carefree. Actions like pulling back sleeves and joking with each other in the pictures were all natural snapshots taken while adjusting states, and precisely because of these naturally revealed moments, the images gained a sense of story rather than just rigid action posing.

For prop preparation, besides costumes and headpieces, the piano itself, a strawberry cake model, art books, and floral design props were utilized to enrich the layering, keeping the pictures from being monotonous. For instance, the placement angle of the cake prop and the color coordination of the bouquet had to be confirmed with the photographer in advance to ensure the composition avoided blurring the line between primary and secondary elements or blocking the characters' facial features. The photographer's lighting setup was key, using a warmer indoor soft light that worked with the texture of the wallpaper to easily create a film-like retro style photography texture. Since two people occupied quite a lot of screen space, the positions of the tails and ears in the viewfinder frame needed repeated adjustments to avoid being cut off at the edges of the image.

Although the entire process was a highly customized studio shoot, the final image effect turned out very soft. This type of shooting, which restores characters through costumes, props, and scene atmosphere based on specific holiday emotions, allows people to remember the beautiful traits of the characters themselves. After sorting out this group of photos, I felt that presenting the characters in such a soft manner is indeed very interesting. Photographing animal girl cosplay in front of a retro piano brings a wonderful sense of cross-era fusion, where the depth of the wood and the softness of the fur complement each other, possessing both classical elegance and fairytale-like dreaminess.

Gazing closely at these photos, one can see that the atmosphere between the characters is beautifully crafted. Wood grain, fresh flowers, floral wallpaper, plus the fluffy animal ears—the combined visual experience is both daily and dreamlike. The relationship between Vulpisfoglia and Suzuran, like a senior guiding a junior, or rather a guardian's relationship, was beautifully expressed in these scenes of playing the piano together, eating cake, and teasing each other. During the break outside of shooting, we were actually both messing around with the tails and props. Although it was exhausting, seeing the warmth in the photos made me feel everything was completely worth it. This Mother's Day shoot can be considered a special commemoration for the character Lisa. This wraps up a truly wonderful Suzuran Cosplay and Vulpisfoglia cosplay experience.