[Jie cosplay] The tranquil scholar in the sea of books from Arknights

This time cosplaying Jie from Arknights, I really spent a long time pondering the details of the costume and props. When I first got the concept art, my immediate feeling was that the layers of the clothing were extremely rich. From the inside-out layered structure, especially the long robe spliced with bright yellow and grayish-blue, I went through several versions of fabric selection and aging treatment to achieve that texture of weathered time. The outer fabric selected in the end not only has a natural texture feel, but also presents a delicate diffuse reflection effect under the lighting. The inner lining uses a relatively breathable cotton-linen texture to ensure comfort during long hours of shooting. The white geometric patterns and strap structures on the outer clothing were hand-pasted bit by bit against the concept art, and the stitching and routing at the junctions were kept as invisible as possible. For the inner white stand-collar shirt, the ruffles at the collar and cuffs also needed to be handled naturally with moderate thickness, otherwise piling everything together would make the whole person look very bulky.

The three-dimensional headpiece on the head is a major highlight this time. To keep it lightweight, the material is a combination of resin and wood, ensuring that wearing it all day won't put too much burden on the cervical spine. The red, green, gray, and white color scheme, combined with an irregular structure resembling branches and horns, required repeated adjustments of the angle when wearing it on the head to perfectly fit the styling of the wig. As for the wig, medium-long black hair was chosen, with long hair strands at the temples matching tassel hair accessories, and the trimming and layering at the ends of the hair were handled very sharply, giving the character a hint of sharpness in addition to the scholarly vibe.

The makeup design also took some thought. The eye makeup focuses on the red blending at the corners of the eyes, which is the key to restoring the character's demeanor—embodying both the character's aloofness and a touch of fantasy color. The base makeup is kept as clear and translucent as possible, and the contouring shouldn't be too heavy, aiming for that scholarly vibe of quiet contemplation.

For the shooting scene, we chose an enclosed space filled with aged books to create that retro scholar atmosphere. The first picture is a perspective of sitting cross-legged on the ground, with various books scattered around. The light source mainly comes from the upper side, creating an effect similar to a stage spotlight. I wanted to express the character's lazy and contemplative state in the sea of books. Looking slightly upward out of frame, a relaxed feeling is very important; it shouldn't look too rigid.

The second picture is leaning against the book stacks, holding a book with a blue plaid cover, looking straight into the lens. Hanging white paper lanterns and screens with floral patterns were added to the background, making the overall Chinese classical scene richer. The color tone of this set of pictures is warm and dark, with a filtered feel of old photographs, mainly wanting to emphasize that tranquil atmosphere. During lighting setup, the surroundings were deliberately darkened to concentrate the reader's sight entirely on the character and books.

Throughout the shooting process, sitting in the book stacks was actually quite a test of physical strength. The layered robes and heavy headpiece, combined with the need to maintain a natural posture, were challenging. However, seeing the intertwined light and shadows falling on the clothing folds and books in the final photos, restoring the character's tranquil vibe of 'the first autumn of a thousand ages', all the preliminary preparations and hardships during the shoot were totally worth it.