[Nian cosplay] Glitch Aesthetics and Chinese Horror in Arknights' Boundary Garden

Color grading this set of Boundary Garden themed photos was definitely a leap forward for me compared to my previous workload. I was quite nervous before shooting, mainly because the hair and skin tones of Nian and Dusk easily affect the overall color palette, and any slight misstep would throw off the entire frame's balance. This time, I abandoned the conventional "peaceful and serene" or subtle Chinese-style cosplay aesthetic that people expect, deliberately choosing a high-saturation neon green and magenta combined with a glitch displacement effect, pushing it straight to the intersection of Chinese horror and cyberpunk.

A major hiccup occurred on shooting day—key equipment was forgotten at the studio and not brought along. I felt terrible on site because it meant the realization of many compositions was cut in half. I had no choice but to push through and shoot, then see if I could patch things up in post through editing. This led to "delaying for a long time," as relying purely on post-production fixes requires vast amounts of time to slowly cut and tweak—what everyone calls "grindwork." Fortunately, the final result turned out decent to me; this "core" visual with a sense of destruction really hits my aesthetic preference.

The paper umbrella I held and the large folding fan my partner held were originally designed as lighter traditional styles, but after being re-constructed through our special color palette and paired with the circular moon gate framing behind us, they unexpectedly produced a strangely harmonious feel. I truly didn't expect that the somewhat heavy brick wall backdrop, combined with glitch pixel peeling, would actually enhance the unique eerie aura of the Sui siblings in this Boundary Garden environment.

Working with my partner on site for this shoot was quite a test of chemistry, as we had to balance the center of gravity and line of sight for two characters in a single frame, especially fitting both poses perfectly into the circular moon gate. Although the weather and lighting weren't ideal during the shoot, these environmental imperfections actually prompted me to make bolder attempts during post-processing. I particularly love this chaotic, fractured vibe—it preserves outer elements of Chinese-style cosplay while feeling like looking at a painted scroll through a signal jammer.

When the final photos came out, looking at a visual so different from our usual impressionistic colors gave me a sudden surge of accomplishment. Though the process was full of twists, every new style challenge lets me accumulate different color grading ideas. A dedicated set of photos isn't just about character restoration, but thoroughly capturing the environment's atmosphere. I suppose this is why we're always passionate about messing with complex studio setups—it's about enjoying this process of redefining and breaking convention.