[Yidhari cosplay] The Street Octopus Girl from Zenless Zone Zero, Open Tonight

Today I did a studio shoot for Yidhari cosplay, paired with her iconic tentacle props and long-handled weapon. The cyberpunk atmospheric lighting of the entire scene perfectly matched the character setting.

Let's talk about the makeup and styling concept first. To recreate the character's playful yet slightly dangerous temperament, I specially chose a short blonde wig, trimmed with layered texture and slightly side-swept bangs. This was paired with a small black beret on top, complete with the indispensable gold ring decoration on the brim. For the eye makeup, I used a pinkish smudge combined with light-colored contact lenses to make the gaze look more piercing. The lip color is a matte pale pink, making the overall makeup look clean yet avant-garde.

The most eye-catching part of the costume is this white halter crop top with a cutout design at the chest, paired with a black printed choker, making the visual center highly focused. The sleeves are detached, made of white fluffy fabric with black straps at the wrists and half-finger gloves, creating a strong sense of layering. The lower half features black slim-fit shorts, where the spiral accessory at the waist and the yellow pattern on the right thigh keep the black from being too monotonous. What took the most effort was that giant purple and pink two-tone inflatable tentacle; its surface is printed with spiral patterns and has a soft, bouncy texture, but during the shoot, I had to repeatedly adjust its position so it would coil naturally by my side without blocking too many body lines.

The long-handled weapon is extremely heavy. With its black shaft and a huge sphere on top, I had to watch the center of gravity at all times when holding it during the shoot. Especially in Photo 3 where I am holding it horizontally in a sitting position, I had to look relaxed while keeping the shaft level and straight. It really consumed a lot of arm strength.

The studio set was arranged with a very street industrial style, with oil drums covered in stickers, as well as waste tires, army green ammo boxes, a retro TV, and a yellow instrument. The iron railings and metal mesh in the background added a lot of rugged elements. The blue and purple two-tone smoke effect was the soul of this shoot; the dry ice machine combined with cyan and magenta lighting filled the entire space with a psychedelic atmosphere. The photographer was great at capturing motion—the single-leg striding pose in Photo 1, wrapped in smoke, is full of dynamism. Meanwhile, the standing pose in Photo 2 emphasizes the character's arrogance and composure; keeping a steady gaze when looking straight into the camera is very important.

What I am most satisfied with in this shoot is the sitting pose set, which is Photo 3. This angle not only fully displays the black over-the-knee stockings and platform lace-up ankle boots on my legs but also clearly shows the details of the garter straps. At the same time, the cutout on the upper body and the curves of the waist are beautifully showcased. The tentacle prop happens to wrap around from behind to my side, forming a beautiful pink arc. The composition of the picture is balanced with the character centered, making it perfect for a cover photo.

Regarding props, there was also that black motorcycle helmet covered with many white patterns, used to enrich the corners of the frame. The overall shoot took about three hours, and just adjusting the coordination between the inflatable tentacle and the smoke required running back and forth several times. Actually, the most tiring part was climbing up and crouching down on various tires and boxes while wearing platform boots, but seeing the final result gave me a great sense of accomplishment. This time I tried more angles, such as the half-profile glance back in Photo 4, using the long rod prop as a leading line for the eyes, combined with the circular indicator stickers on the ground to give the frame more depth.

The team cooperated with great chemistry throughout the process. The lighting technician controlled the light transmission effect through the smoke perfectly; the contrast between cyan and magenta didn't make the skin tone look gray but instead made the skin look even fairer and cleaner. The wig styling was also done multiple times to prevent the blonde hair from tangling in the smoke. If I shoot this again next time, I will bring a softer foam tentacle prop; although the inflatable version is eye-catching, it reflects light easily and requires a bit of highlight adjustment in post-processing.

I think the collision effect of the street wasteland style combined with an anime character tried this time is quite interesting. There were many props, but through composition, they were tightly connected with the character, preventing the scene from looking cluttered. The hanging weight of the long-handled weapon and the volume of the tentacle formed a great contrast of lines, which, combined with the motion blur of the smoke, gave the photos a sense of storytelling.

Regarding this character, I actually quite like her setting of being soft on the outside but strong on the inside. So when taking pictures, I tried my best to keep a calm expression but a firm gaze, not smiling too much to retain a touch of mystery. In the action of raising the weapon in Photo 1, I intentionally tightened my arm but relaxed my shoulders to make it look more powerful. The standing pose in Photo 2 places the center of gravity on one leg with a slight head tilt, making it look casual yet full of presence.

Overall, this shoot went very smoothly. The scene, costume, props, and lighting all coordinated very well, and the texture of the photos reached expectations. The post-processing mainly adjusted the density of the smoke and color saturation to make the blue-purple contrast sharper. Next time I have the opportunity, I also want to try more dynamic snapshots, such as swinging the long-handled weapon or the moment of turning around. Alright, that's all my thoughts on this Yidhari studio shoot. I hope everyone likes this set of photos.