[Exusiai the New Covenant Cosplay] Arknights Hoshiguma Splitting Chanye BW 2026 Anime Convention Record

The overall atmosphere at this year's BW 2026 anime convention site was extremely lively, and I decided to try out this look that combines the design elements of Exusiai the New Covenant cosplay and Splitting Chanye Hoshiguma. This costume has distinct layers in its coordination structure, with a red scarf paired with a black-dominant short outfit, creating a clear visual contrast. The hat on my head, along with its feather decorations, needed to be firmly secured to avoid shifting while walking around. The entire outfit had excellent recognition at the convention scene, and many fellow fans passing by would proactively exchange insights on equipment fabrication.

The giant black broadsword shown in the photos is the core giant prop of this look, with a size close to a person's height. The prop maker performed a lightweight treatment on the main structure while maintaining the heavy feel of the mechanical skeleton and exotic beast skull. During actual shooting, holding it single-handedly required adjusting the elbow's force angle, and the posture couldn't be held for too long at a single time, otherwise the arm would easily fatigue. The boots selected were an over-the-knee style, paired with a red cape featuring a large coat hem, forming a nice dynamic extension when moving around.

The activity zones of this convention were distributed across multiple halls, requiring frequent navigation through the crowds to shoot against suitable backdrops. During convention photography, I proactively cooperated with the photographer's instructions, adjusting the direction of the key light and experimenting with different sword-gripping postures. The lighting conditions on-site were quite complex, with incandescent light tubes in the hall above and a large number of high-brightness fill lights emitting from photography softboxes all around. It required careful determination of where my gaze should land so that the expression in the final photos aligned with the character setting.

Compared to static posing, the advantage of the live venue environment lies in being able to utilize the metal trusses and green directional signs in the area to create a location atmosphere relevant to the character's background story. From acquiring this equipment to finally wearing it for the event, it underwent multiple wear tests to ensure it wouldn't restrict joint movement. The surface coating of the prop adopted a matte black treatment, capable of reflecting a certain metallic texture under the warm-toned lighting of the convention.

Similar giant sword props are not uncommon at convention scenes, but designing it into a more mechanical, angular shape still required a fair amount of early planning work. In addition to needing to transport that weapon, the makeup also required minor adjustments based on the actual shooting effects, especially in the treatment of eye contours and lip colors. I am used to checking the raw images during shooting intervals to confirm whether the overall body silhouette's proportion in the frame is appropriate, preventing the prop from blocking facial expressions.

Maintaining concentration in a busy exhibition is quite key, as every pause requires a quick reset of the prop's state so the camera can capture crisp, clean frames. During the closing stages of the convention, there were still quite a few photography enthusiasts staying in the venue. For this BW 2026 shoot, I prepared about two to three sets of action plans, including details like weapon-swinging trajectories and body turns. I feel the two photos finally selected for sharing accurately convey the character's calm demeanor in the scene.

When dressing in this kind of heavy gear, one needs to allocate space well between the backpack and handheld props. The overall experience was thoroughly fulfilling, which is also an important gain from my participation in offline exhibition events. Writing down this large paragraph is mainly to record a series of practical insights from this offline cosplay activity, spanning from preparation to on-site positioning and final photo production.