[Yu Linglong Cosplay] NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Ink Voyage, Tale of the Twin Foxes in the Bamboo Forest's Green Mist

This Yu Linglong Ink Voyage look from NARAKA: BLADEPOINT took quite a bit of thought from preparation to shooting. This time, we chose a scene with green mist in a bamboo forest to match the theme of the twin foxes. The entire style perfectly fits that ethereal yet fateful atmosphere in the game.

The difficulty of two people in the same frame mainly lies in syncing costume details and coordinating movements. The Ink Voyage look is very fastidious; the peacock blue main tone paired with lightweight sheer perspective sleeves and pearl trimming at the collar and cuffs makes both close-ups and facial expression shots highly photogenic. The red plush balls and tassel hat on the head, along with the red string on the wrist, add a pop of warm jumping color to the slightly cool cyan color scheme. What tests the details most are actually the hollowed-out waist design and the finger armor claw rings. If the texture of the finger armor and wearable accessories isn't handled well, it can easily look cheap. Therefore, before this shoot, we repeatedly confirmed the drape of the tassels in our accessory pairings, trying our best to keep every piece of accessory in the optimal visual balance in front of the lens.

Regarding the backdrop, we found a venue featuring Chinese-style wooden frames and a bamboo forest. The hanging warm-toned ambient lamps and white cloth curtains perfectly outlined the characters' silhouettes. In post-processing, this set of photos you see includes raw shots as well as versions with cyan-blue magical light effects added. Actually, I personally prefer the natural light and shadow effects in Figure 1; the cyan-blue smoke swirling around the characters highlights the mystery of traditional style cosplay fantasy without being overly overbearing.

Shooting a duo cosplay, the biggest difficulty is for both people to simultaneously express the character's due temperament and sense of interaction in the lens. Fortunately, my partner and I had great chemistry during the shoot. Whether it was the chin-cradling composition or the down-looking overhead angles, we were trying to recreate that atmosphere of "nursery rhyme bonds." For the costume accuracy, we did a lot of homework on the complex cloud patterns and designs inherent to Ink Voyage. Ink Voyage not only features an exquisite embroidery texture but its color palette is also a collision of multiple colors—red, blue, brown, and gold—heavily testing the stylist's coordination skills. From the cloud patterns on the hem to the streamlined shoulder decorations, we strived to be highly close to the modeling state in the game.

Cosplaying this character this time isn't just about taking pictures, but is moreover an emotional projection into the game itself. "Thousands of bonds, how can they be settled?" This is a highly moving point in Yu Linglong's story. Using cosplay to objectify this sense of story is the greatest meaning of photography and styling.

During the actual shoot, because the costume has many sheer and exposed areas, there are also certain requirements for the angles of poses. Especially completing interactive movements like cradling chins or turning sideways without bumping into each other's accessories, while simultaneously managing eye contact and maintaining a natural posture. The different hairstyle combinations of long hair and straight bangs also allowed us to form a subtle sense of differentiation and complementarity in character temperament.

Finally, as cosplayers, bringing a 2D image into the 3D world is not merely a stacking of attire, but also a performance of the character's core essence. Looking at the twin fox sisters under the green mist of the bamboo forest in the photos, the time and energy invested have transformed into concrete visuals. Being able to present a satisfying piece of work with one's own earnest attitude and aesthetics is a highly fulfilling achievement in itself.