[Fugue Cosplay] An Ancient Style Fox-Spirit Fantasy from Honkai: Star Rail

This time, I planned and shot fan-art looks for Fugue and Tingyun from Honkai: Star Rail. Early on, when seeing the official character artwork, I was deeply intrigued by the design combining traditional ancient elements with animal ears, so I created this studio shoot project with an Eastern fantasy aesthetic.

Starting with the styling, the costume layering is very extensive. The main color palette features a striking color contrast of dark brown, vermilion, and gold thread embroidery. The off-the-shoulder cross-collar top places high demands on the shoulder and neck lines, but to make the overall posture look upright, I added two layers of reinforcement when wearing the corset. The metal floral badge on the chest and the intricate rope knots around the waist are all handcrafted, adding substantial weight and realism to the outfit. The lower body is paired with an off-white Stocking outfit and black flat shoes, which fits the character's flowing visual look while maintaining smooth leg lines when sitting down.

The makeup and hairstyle were fully handled by Tiantian-laoshi. The light green contact lenses were the finishing touch, softening any clash from my original eye color and making my gaze appear more nimble and deep. The eye makeup deliberately elongated the outer corners of the eyes, which, combined with orange-red lip makeup, neutralized any harshness. I particularly loved the golden starlight patterns painted on my cheeks and collarbones, practically drawn stroke by stroke; these delicate glimmers looked incredibly rich in texture under warm light. As for the headpiece, the black-and-white animal ears were crafted with structural support, which, alongside curling sideburns and red tassels hanging from the side, created a complete, polished look once combed through.

In terms of scene design, we specially replicated an indoor studio with Eastern classical charm. The background features a woven bamboo curtain and a white cloth curtain with traditional ink calligraphy; on the right side hangs a long string of amber-gold, circular, translucent decorative discs, providing a great blurred foreground for subsequent lighting setups. For props, besides the character's iconic black, red, and white folding fan, we also incorporated a white porcelain wine flask, small porcelain cups, and pink peach props, complemented by artificial white lilies and pink peonies scattered across the floor and foreground, instantly enriching the visual depth of the image.

During the shoot, photographer Tudou-laoshi was very strict with us, making many real-time adjustments on details like how to open and close the folding fan naturally, the angle of the arm when holding a teacup, and the direction of our gaze. In particular, the warm main light cast from the upper right fell right on my profile and in front of the lantern, perfectly recreating the hazy atmosphere of twilight. While shooting seated, to prevent wrinkles in the outfit around the waist and abdomen, I had to keep my back straight at all times; shooting in this stance continuously for four to five hours was actually quite exhausting. But fortunately, we found the right feel during the process—especially one set of seated poses with legs crossed while holding the folding fan, combined with light specks reflected on the white stockings, a moment we were all extremely satisfied with.

The post-production work was completed independently by myself, which was a part of the creative process I looked forward to very much. I preferred to retain the warm yellow base tone of the original lighting and shadow, reducing over-sharpening to make the image edges slightly softer, which better fits the somewhat distant and nostalgic mood of "past dreams." In terms of color, I removed cool tones from the frame, unifying the main palette around orange-red and dark brown, while paying special attention to the transitions between light sources and shadows. The final image carries an added sense of unique narrative, serving not only as a recreation of the character, but also integrating my own understanding of light, shadow, and aesthetics into this Ancient style cosplay look for Fugue and Tingyun from Honkai: Star Rail.