[Qingtong cosplay] Fox Spirit Matchmaker, I will accompany you to see a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters

The day has finally come to share this Fox Spirit Matchmaker photoshoot of Qingtong and Wangquan Fugui with everyone. For this set of photos, we scouted several locations in advance and finally settled on this ancient architectural garden, as the red walls, grey tiles, and layered bamboo forest perfectly captured the ethereal and ancient atmosphere of the story. The sunlight filtering through the leaves onto the stone-paved path at three or four in the afternoon felt absolutely amazing, so we deliberately utilized the tree shadows in our compositions.

In terms of styling, Qingtong's pink outfit with white patterns is actually quite intricately made. The collar and cuffs feature subtle embroidery, and the skirt hem is quite long and heavy, requiring me to carefully lift it while walking to avoid tripping. The wig is a custom-made long curly piece that required extra care to maintain; even a slight press would flatten it and ruin its fluffiness, so we had to bring a curling iron to the set for constant touch-ups.

The makeup took quite some time as well. Qingtong's eyes are very distinctive, so I used large-diameter brown-gold contact lenses, extended the eyeliner at the outer corners, and painted the red mark on my forehead. To convey her gentle reliance on Wangquan Fugui, I practiced various poses, such as standing on tiptoes to lean on his shoulder or letting my gaze follow his. Since Qingtong is portrayed as soft and adorable, I had to be careful not to crush the wig every time I leaned in, otherwise it would get messy. My partner's Wangquan Fugui cosplay had a great presence; the silver hair crown he wore had a wonderful texture and blended seamlessly with the wig. The sword was quite heavy, so when shooting the sword-wielding poses, he had to keep his arm suspended and steady for long periods. I also had to match his posture to find the right angles. We frequently corrected each other's poses while collaborating, and sometimes we had to start over because we burst out laughing.

In post-processing, we focused on preserving the layers of light and shadow without excessive skin smoothing. We darkened the overall tone a bit, tweaking it into a vintage film color palette to harmonize the bright yellow, orange, and pink of the costumes. We actually shot quite a few heavy storyline scenes as well—like the sword lifting in photo two and the interaction in photo three—to express the deep bond and emotional transition between them as they evolved from a master-servant relationship to a life-and-death dependence.

The temperature on the day of the shoot was actually quite high. The Ancient style cosplay fabrics were not breathable, so my undershirt was completely soaked in sweat by the end of the session. However, the results were amazing. The bamboo slips prop played a big role, emphasizing Wangquan Fugui's character setting of loving to read. Qingtong's pink outfit stood out vibrantly against the green tree background, creating a strong color impact when paired with Wangquan Fugui's bright yellow attire.

Every cosplay feels like a deep immersion into the character. To bring Qingtong and Wangquan Fugui from 2D to 3D, details are absolutely crucial. We adjusted everything countless times, from the smoothness of every fabric fold to the curl of the hair ends. Although the weather was a bit unpredictable this time, we caught the most brilliant sunlight right on time, ultimately producing satisfying results. I'm sharing this post primarily to record the experience of shooting this set of photos and the unforgettable journey that this character duo, Qingtong and Wangquan Fugui, brought to us.