[Iochi Mari Cosplay] White Qipao Look in Blue Archive

Shooting this modified Qipao look for Iochi Mari, the overall concept was very different from previous sets. Compared to the uniform style that everyone is more familiar with in the game, this white Qipao style leans more toward a cozy, warm home feeling. Therefore, when preparing the outfit in the early stages, I specifically communicated with the tailor about the cut and proportions of the collar and skirt hem—it needed to retain the Qipao's unique teardrop cutout and blue-bordered frog buttons while allowing enough movement space for the upper body. This high-slit design is actually a major test for the pattern; any slight deviation would look bloated, but fortunately, the final texture came out very lightweight with draped fabric, making it very flowing when walking around.

To restore the character's specific close-up features, the halo on top of her head used a metal wire skeleton, hand-shaped by wrapping it in gold feather-textured material; once worn, its center of gravity required a bit of fixing, and I had to be careful to keep my head tucked when walking around the studio. The ears used a faux rabbit fur-like material, with angles adjusted to make them look more natural, unlike flat ones that appear abrupt. For the hairstyle, the base twin tails were preserved, but the layers were trimmed thinner to let the hair strands fall naturally over the shoulders.

Regarding the visual composition of this shoot, we specially selected a minimalist gray background and a white circular platform. The purpose was to maximize the prominence of the white clothes and light blue piping, avoiding background clutter from stealing the visual center of gravity. In the comparison image of Figure 1, I carefully checked the movements against the original 2D setting, adjusting the span of the arm extension and the stance of the center of gravity, even making fine adjustments to the direction of my toes, so that the 2D feel of the live-action photos would be much stronger.

The small Chinese-style wooden table and ornaments beside were added later to complement the overall atmosphere. Since the Qipao itself carries an Eastern charm, matching it with a tiny plant and tassel charms could perfectly increase the depth of field in the frame. The plushie on the wooden chair to the right is the cat-shaped pillow she often carries in the original setting. I put a black hooded cloak on it and squished its little face, letting it sit quietly next to me, which added a touch of playfulness and companionship to the entire frame rather than looking like a pure staged photo.

During the shooting process, what actually required the most attention was the physical posture and emotional tension of the expression. Because of the slits in this type of modified Qipao, it needs to showcase elegant feminine lines without appearing overly vulgar. Therefore, my gaze tried to remain flat and cool-headed, paired with a slightly raised chin to highlight the character's temperament where both tsundere sharpness and innocence coexist. The lighting was hit very softly, basically filling out the flatness of the face; the front-lighting method made the clothes look exceptionally pristine white, and combined with post-processing that slightly lowered the gray level of the background, the layers came right out.

Every time I do a cosplay, whether it is the physical attributes of the attire or the expression method of the lens, there will always be some different chemical reactions. For makeup this time, I intentionally deepened the eye contours, selecting an eyeshadow with a slight orange tone to create an echo with the orange-brown wig; the lip color chose a natural light orange, achieving a unified warm color palette overall. Although this Qipao is truly very thin and lightweight, and it can be quite chilly in the studio if the space heater isn't turned on, once I stand in front of the lens and let the photographer capture the most vivid frame, I lose all track of that. The overall shooting time was shorter than expected, but because the clothes allowed a larger range of movement, the photographer instead had more creative space when capturing dynamic poses. This is probably the surprise that the character bestows upon us within our wonderful Blue Archive journey.