[Byakuren Hijiri cosplay] Touhou Project Chengdu THO Magician convention photo

The convention photos from Chengdu THO have finally arrived, and this time I cosplayed Byakuren Hijiri from Touhou Project. Seeing the final photos, I feel that all the hard work dealing with the wig and costume beforehand was completely worth it. This outfit has so many details—the black and white dress with intricate lace borders, plus the bright red lined cloak—making it quite time-consuming to put on. Especially the styling of the wig; the purple-to-golden gradient would look very messy if not properly combed, but fortunately, the condition that day was great.
This shoot was chosen in an outdoor garden setting. I was initially worried that the light might be too harsh, but the photographer @Constantius was extremely professional, using tree shade and natural light to maximize the overall atmosphere, and I want to express my gratitude to Jisu Meipai here again. To fit the setting of a sealed great Magician, I incorporated many poses holding the staff and bamboo hat into the action design. Although the prop staff looks very imposing, holding it for a long time really makes your hands sore, especially while maintaining an elegant standing and sitting posture, which requires a solid core strength. The effect of the cloak blowing in the wind was exceptionally good, and the red lining stood out prominently against the green background.
Many friends asked me about the makeup concept for this set. In fact, the focus is on the depth of the eye makeup; after all, she is a Magician with magical powers, so her gaze cannot be too weak. This time, light-colored contact lenses were paired to enhance the character's mysterious vibe, the blush was applied relatively lightly, and the facial dimension was mainly enhanced through contouring. In fact, doing Outdoor cosplay is not just about putting on clothes, but more importantly, trying to capture the character's temperament. Byakuren Hijiri carries a sense of calm yet compassionate power, so in my expression management, I tried to keep it restrained, reducing exaggerated smiles and adding a bit of composure.
In costume production, to restore the gorgeous yet retro texture of the original design, we put a lot of effort into fabric selection. The black outer robe used a slightly shimmering satin material, which creates a great reflective effect under outdoor natural light without looking dull. For the white inner layer, we hand-sewed many black cross-straps and added a layer of lightweight black mesh to increase layering. The layers of white lace trim on the cuffs were also chosen after multiple selections to find the texture closest to the original. In fact, every time I cosplay a character with so many details, my biggest fear is issues with props and costumes on-site. Fortunately, we were well-prepared this time, bringing backup safety pins and glue to complete the shoot successfully.
At the Chengdu THO venue, the weather was quite favorable. Although it was a bit hot, for the sake of the outfit's completeness, I persevered even while wearing a thick cloak. At the convention, I also met many cosplayers portraying other Touhou Project characters. Taking group photos together truly gave a feeling of breaking the dimension wall. Every set of convention photos is a summary, and I hope to pose more naturally and express expressions better next time. Bringing characters into the real world in this way is a very fulfilling thing. Thank you to everyone who asked for photos with me at the convention, and thanks to my logistics teammates for their help. This set of photos is one of my most satisfying creations during this period, from the material restoration of the costume to the production of props, trying as much as possible to stay close to the original setting. Next, I might prepare works of some other characters, and I hope to maintain this production rhythm to present more good visual effects. Thanks again to the photographer for the hard work in shooting and post-processing, allowing us to see that world full of magic and fantasy in the photos.