[Viviana Cosplay] Makeup Development Log for the Candle Knight, Live Shoot at Firefly ACG Expo

This time at the Guangzhou Firefly ACG Expo during New Year's Day, I brought along a newly researched makeup look. Although the overall styling was the long-decided Candle Knight Viviana, under the step-by-step guidance of a friend, I made quite a few adjustments to the handling of light, shadow, and color. When testing the makeup previously, I always felt the eye makeup was a bit heavy, which easily looked dirty when paired with the pale gold wig. This time, I deliberately made the tone of the eyeshadow shearer, using a gradient from light purple to greyish-pink to transition. At the same time, I flattened the path of the eyeliner slightly, which, paired with the light purple contact lenses, indeed made the gaze look much softer. My friend said this method can weaken the overly sharp aggressiveness in the original illustration, making it closer to the look under natural sunlight at a comic convention. The deer horn prop on my head was actually heavier than imagined; it took two layers of hairpins and iron wire straps during fixing to guarantee it wouldn't tilt after walking around all day. The combination of the white lace headband and plush ear accessories was chosen by myself, which, layered together with the brown tube top and light blue sleeves, makes the overall color scheme exceptionally easy to shoot under outdoor sunlight. This is my little cosplay makeup sharing for this event. Regarding the eye color, I know Viviana's pupil color in the original art is not this purple, and I have considered restoring it to the original tone. However, based on a few test shots under strong backlighting this time, if forced back, the color balance of the entire face would become very strange, and the skin texture under warm light would be completely ruined by that cold color. Therefore, I temporarily retained the current hue. For the official photoset shooting, I will readjust the light positions and post-production workflow, striving to make the original color appear more natural. The weather on the convention day was exceptionally good; the sunlight streamed straight down, gilding a layer of gold onto the edges of the deer horns and hair strands. With many people gathered around to take photos, continuous shooting in this atmosphere conversely felt more vivid than a studio shoot. The fabric of this costume is a matte suede finish with strong light-absorbing effects, so it won't look greasy under strong light. However, the downside is that it easily catches dust; after a whole day at the convention, the cuffs and collar rubbed off some fine fibers, which took a long time to handle after returning home. Nevertheless, being able to receive so much feedback on-site, especially the affirmation of this new makeup look from several photographers, made me feel very happy in my heart. The path of makeup itself is a process of continuous overturning and restarting, with new discoveries in every attempt. Next time I output prints, I will polish the details further, especially the adjustment of the eye color and the three-dimensional feel of the face. This Firefly experience was amazing; the venue layout and lighting gave a lot of room to play, and I hope to finish retouching the prints soon for everyone to see.