[Castorice cosplay] Zhanjiang Comic Convention Photo Return, a Dreamy Sea of Purple and White Flowers

The convention photos from this Zhanjiang Yunxige comic convention finally arrived, and the overall final photo effect is very close to my vision for the character Castorice. From preliminary preparation to on-site shooting, a lot of thought went into every single step, and seeing the results now makes me feel it was all worth it.
Let's talk about the texture of the clothing first. To present the character's unique gorgeous yet slightly cold temperament, the fabric selection for this outfit avoided cheap studio cloth. For the white-and-purple gradient skirt hem, I deliberately chose a fabric with a certain drape and slight gloss; when walking or posing on site, the arc of the skirt floating was particularly beautiful. The white bandeau on the upper body, paired with ruffles and purple-pink straps, has a very rich sense of layering, while also paying attention to preventing wardrobe malfunctions, with plenty of hidden lining inside.
The wig and makeup were also major highlights. The pink-purple gradient long hair strands are relatively fine and prone to tangles, so a comb had to be carried at all times on site. The rose ornaments on top of the head, the sharp-cornered crown, and the black light gauze elements indeed increased the complexity of the character when worn. In terms of makeup, I used purple-pink contact lenses to match, deepened the outer corners of the eyes in the eye makeup part to make the gaze more focused, kept the overall makeup clean, and highlighted the three-dimensional feel of the facial features.
This time, the lower body styling consists of over-the-knee white stockings and a pair of custom-made platform shoes. I searched for the white stockings for a long time, choosing a material that is not prone to reflection and has good elasticity, with a high fit and no annoyance of sliding down. Although the platform shoes look heavy, they feel quite stable when worn, and can well elongate the visual proportion of the legs when paired with the skirt hem.
As for props, this huge scythe must be specially praised. The total length is almost as tall as me, with a metal shaft in the middle and carvings at the bottom. The entire prop presents silver and purple-pink tones, and the flower petal shape is made extremely delicately. This prop has substantial weight, and holding it single-handedly to pose is a huge test of core and arm strength. To shoot that lightweight feel, I practiced freezing poses on and off stage for a long time.
Special thanks must also go to the photographer's perspective. The top of the venue features a stunning geometric steel-structured dome, surrounded by continuous seas of blue and purple flowers. The photographer used an ultra-low angle up-shot, combining the mechanical feel of the ceiling with the dreamy feel of the ground. The shallow depth of field brought by the large aperture turned the foreground flowers and distant ceiling lights into beautiful blurred bokeh, naturally drawing the line of sight to the facial details and blade reflections. Using a hair dryer on site to create the fluttering effect of hair strands and skirt hems, the overall cold-toned purple, white, blue, and silver color scheme looked particularly harmonious on screen.
Compared to the completely flawless environment of a main photo set, I actually prefer these convention site photos because they carry a real sense of vitality. Although they are photo returns, photographer Dusk's snapshots were very sharp. Because of the heavy props and complex skirt hems, many actions needed to be done in one take, which actually tests the coser's understanding of the character's posture. While posing, I intentionally kept my back straight, using waist strength to support the upper body, so that even from an up-shot angle, the whole person looked stretched rather than stiff. Occasionally using the flower sea setup to slightly squat or tilt the body made the overall composition look fuller. For a character leaning towards a combat-type setting, the transmission of the gaze is particularly important; even under strong light, a sharp gaze must be maintained, which is inseparable from the character's background setting itself.
Regarding post-processing, the communication requirement with the photographer was to keep the purity of the cold tones as much as possible, avoiding overly exaggerated skin smoothing and liquefaction while retaining the clothing's material texture and real skin texture. The steel frame structure in the background retained its original color, paired with the blue-purple flower sea in the foreground, visually forming a contrast of cyberpunk and fantasy collision. This set of photo returns includes not only close-ups showing the details of clothing and props, but also full-body shots reflecting the overall aura. Every frame looks like it was captured from that star-sea world full of unknowns and power, and I am very glad to have left such a high-quality record at this comic convention.