[Dahlia & Venti Cosplay] Mondstadt's Wind and Poetry: The Joy of My First Boy Character Cosplay

This is my first time trying to cosplay male characters, and I chose the duo of Dahlia and Venti. Although I usually cosplay female characters, this attempt gave me a completely different experience and deepened my understanding of the inclusivity of cosplay.

Let's start with the outfits, hair, and makeup. Dahlia's white and dark red coat is incredibly exquisite, with very refined gold embroidery on the collar and shoulders. Paired with the headpiece featuring black cat-ear structures and a red gemstone, the overall look is both elegant and a bit playful. To stay true to the character, I specifically adjusted the layers of the wig so the pink short hair shows a soft gradient in the sunlight. For makeup, I softened the sharpness of the eyeliner and added more blended eyeshadow to make the eyes look more spirited. Venti's green cloak, paired with a white inner shirt and a black bowtie, is full of freshness. The combination of white tights (with a stocking texture) and brown ankle boots actually gives a unique youthful, boyish charm for a male character. We adjusted the teal braids on the wig and the white flower ornament on the wide-brimmed hat many times to achieve the ideal fluffiness.

In terms of props, we prepared a wooden lyre, a white bouquet, and a book with a deep blue cover. The lyre's strings and patterns were weathered, the bouquet used very realistic faux calla lilies, and we even tucked self-made bookmarks inside the book. These props not only enriched the composition during the shoot but also helped us get into character much faster.

For the shooting locations, we chose three different types of scenes. One was an outdoor stone balcony where the natural light beautifully showcased the fabrics—especially the contrast between white and green, which looked incredibly clean in the soft afternoon glow. The other two were indoor sets: one was a cathedral-style setting with a Gothic archway and red drapes, paired with orange-red backlighting to create a mysterious and solemn atmosphere; the other was a study setting with wood-paneled walls and a bookshelf background, where the warm-toned lighting gave the scenes a storytelling feel. In the study set, we tried some duo interactive poses, like holding the flowers and the book side-by-side, or reaching out to the camera one after another to enhance the 3D depth of the image through perspective.

The most interesting part of this shoot was the tacit chemistry between the two of us. Since Dahlia and Venti have interactions in their character lore, we tried many eye-contact and physical-touch poses in front of the camera, like gently holding each other's chin or leaning on one another. While these movements seem simple, keeping the expressions natural while ensuring the outfits remained neat was actually quite a test of on-the-spot performance. Our photographer @Prizuma is excellent at capturing motion. He guided us on relaxing our shoulders and positioning our fingers so the final photos didn't look stiff. In post-processing, we only did basic skin tone and lighting adjustments, avoiding excessive filters to preserve the texture of the garments and skin as much as possible.

Cosplaying a male character for the first time, my biggest takeaway was the shift in posture. Unlike cosplaying female characters where you deliberately tighten your shoulders and back, a boy's standing and sitting posture should be more open, stretched, and relaxed to match the character's free and easygoing vibe. I also made adjustments to the makeup transitions, modifying the shape of the eyebrows and the nose contouring to give the facial structure a more youthful, boyish look. Although the entire preparation process was tedious, the moment I saw the final photos, I felt all the effort was worth it. This set of work captures the beautiful moments we shared in the Mondstadt-themed scenes, and I hope this love for cosplay can be transmitted to more people through these images.