[Scaramouche Cosplay] The Reclusive Student of Mawtiyima Forest in Genshin Impact

Last time we found him at Avidya Valley, maybe this time he would change places... Mawtiyima Forest? Might that be too far? But he can fly, so it's possible... For this cosplay photography session, I've sorted out the remaining stock from my archives as part of the Teyvat Workshop project.

The student who always wears a big hat has hidden away again, but this time he slipped into a truly naturally growing forest exterior. Honestly, weaving in and out of the woods while balancing a huge, plate-like hat is way more of a test for your balance than you'd think; roadside thorns and low-hanging branches can easily catch on the tassels. However, to make the character's silhouette more dimensional, this hat was an absolute must. When the wind blows, the straps and detailed decorations on the brim gently sway with the movements. This elegant sense of dynamic motion heavily relies on the lighting during the shoot, but luckily the photographer, A-Jin, was amazing at finding backlighting angles, perfectly capturing the Tyndall effect and the textures of these fabrics.

The costume design is highly striking; the color blocking of blue, white, and black makes the entire outfit pop brilliantly against the vast brownish forest backdrop. Although the wide outer cape catches the wind easily, its gold trim and patterns catch the sunlight beautifully to create wonderful reflections when spinning or sitting down. The wig is a blue-purple short hair style, trimmed very cleanly to offer great layers from a profile view without looking top-heavy, and paired with the black neck ornament, the overall visual center of gravity is nicely balanced. For makeup, I opted for a relatively clear and natural base, focusing on deepening the eyeshadow contours and lip color, so that my gaze appears cooler and more focused during close-ups—perfectly fitting the atmospheric setting of needing to conceal oneself in a natural environment.

My biggest takeaway from this shoot was how rapidly the light and shadow shift within the forest exterior. The color temperature difference between the tree shadows and direct sunlight was massive, so our entire process basically revolved around "waiting for the light." Though we swapped between several rock formations as shooting spots mid-way, the final output turned out beautifully layered. Last time I mentioned that I thought my crystalfly Photoshop work was pretty good—indeed, incorporating some glowing crystalfly elements into the frame during post-processing gave the entire image's atmosphere a fantasy world vibe, instantly maxing out the immersive, in-the-scene feeling.

Because running around and moving through the forest in this costume drains a lot of physical energy, many shots were candidly captured while I was sitting down to rest by the rocks or gazing into the distance, which actually brought out a very natural and relaxed state. Although we didn't intentionally strike complicated poses, this feeling of evading and wandering through nature aligned much better with the character's inherently mysterious traits. The photographer, A-Jin, was also exceptionally good at managing the composition and negative space of the frame; many vertical compositions preserved the depth of the tree trunks and the mist within the woods, filling the images with a sense of narrative storytelling. All in all, it was a very liberating forest exterior experience, beautifully and simply delivering the best presentation of this costume under natural light.