[Kurumi Tsuchimikado Cosplay] NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Sakura Cloud Celestial — Fox-Spirit Girl under Spring Cherry Blossoms

This shoot features the Sakura Cloud Celestial skin of Kurumi Tsuchimikado from NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, which is a photoshoot I have been highly anticipating lately. From costume customization to the final photos, the entire process took nearly a month of preparation. Today, I'd like to share some of the details behind these photos.

First, let's talk about the design of this outfit. The main color palette consists of white, pink, red, and gold, carrying a strong Japanese style, yet it is not a traditional kimono structure but rather a fantasy-style, off-the-shoulder short skirt look. The upper body uses a halter design, and the chest features a thick, three-dimensional cherry blossom knot ornament paired with gold borders, which looks incredibly layered. The sleeves are made of translucent sheer fabric, divided into segmented tight cuffs, allowing for a light and flowing feel during arm movements. A massive yellow flower accessory rests on the side of the waist, serving as a perfect visual center of gravity and beautifully elongating the proportions of the body. What I am most satisfied with is the fluffy beast-ear headpiece; the base is secured with a headband, and I specially paired it with a light pink gradient wig matching the hair color, adding hanging tassels and pearl beads that sway beautifully whenever a breeze passes by.

For the shoot, we deliberately chose a Japanese tatami-style indoor studio with wooden sliding doors and paper lanterns. To create the atmosphere of drifting cherry blossoms, we used a large number of artificial cherry blossom branches as foreground and background decorations, and covered the floor with a white fluffy mat. The camera was set at a low angle throughout the shoot. This angle is quite a test of the model's posture—since the lens elongates the leg proportions, the direction of the knees and toes must be naturally controlled in a sitting position to display the red ribbon straps around the ankles while keeping the folding fan held in a graceful manner. The folding fan in my hand was custom-made, printed with cherry blossom branches and black-and-yellow patterns. Opening and closing it felt incredibly smooth, and combined with a slight head tilt, it captured a relaxed yet lively expression.

Regarding the post-processing approach, I went with a very translucent and bright visual style. The raw photos were actually a bit greyish because the lantern light was yellow while the cherry blossoms were pinkish-white, which easily looked muddy. In post, we did color layering to suppress the yellows, added a touch of pale pink-purple to the highlights, and kept the shadows in a neutral grey, which preserved the delicate textures of the flower petals. The drifting petals were actually composite overlays; because we only had a small amount of real petals on set, I had the retoucher add several layers of blurred petals of varying focal lengths around the character and in front of the lens, including a few large foreground falling petals, to enhance the depth of field. At the same time, we made subtle lighting adjustments on the face to brighten the catchlights in the eyes, making the pink contact lenses look exceptionally clear.

There was actually a small episode during the shoot—the red-and-white ribbon straps on my legs were quite tricky to tie, as we had to balance visual appeal with mobility, and sitting barefoot on the wooden floor for too long made it a bit cold, so we had to pause and move my ankles every few shots. For the shot with the folding fan, I had to support myself with one hand on the floor while holding the fan in the other, keeping my core very tight and holding the pose for several seconds before the shutter clicked, ensuring the fan didn't block my face too much while displaying the lines from my shoulders to my collarbones. For this kind of styling with subtle sensual elements, the focus is not on how much skin is shown, but on the flow of the lines and the relaxation of the expression, so I intentionally avoided stiffening my face, opting instead for a slight, natural smile that wasn't overly sweet.

Lastly, regarding the choice of the shooting environment, the barrier to entry for this kind of Japanese-style studio is low, but to shoot with a premium feel, light placement is critical. On set, we used a main light source striking from the upper side, paired with foam boards to bounce soft fill light in front, preventing any greasy feeling caused by the warm yellow glow of the paper lanterns. We adjusted the light positions several times to find the perfect angles that let the costume's gold borders and pink sheer fabric reflect a beautiful luster. When the final photos came out, seeing the intersection of the petals and the costume hem, I felt the ethereal, magical atmosphere of the entire scene fully met my expectations. Although this work belongs to a classic fantasy Japanese genre, I was quite meticulous with the details, and I hope sharing this provides some helpful references for fellow enthusiasts who love this style.