This week we have amazing Virtual Photo artist and modder Peachu aka Yume from Spain for our community interview. She dives deep into her modding hobby from SecondLife to Cyberpunk 2077. As well as her interest in VP and what she'd like to see in the 2077 franchise going forward. A very detailed interview, take a read and let us know what you think in the comments below;
First can you tell us a little about yourself, where you grew up and what attracted or inspired you to get into digital creations?
Hello! First i wanted to say thank you for having me here ^^
I started making content for games around... 2011? I started on The Sims 2 Community making clothes and hair and to be honest I started this without looking for it, it was coincidence, I entered a forum with some friends and we began to watch videos and learn little by little and the truth is that I loved the experience!
How did you learn your digital creation skills?
I have never studied anything officially, I have had good friends who have helped me a lot, also been trying everything and based on failures and oh! youtube helps a lot too!
I see you are now a retired SecondLife creator. How long were you involved in that platform and what did you make?
I was a SL creator since.. 2016 i think, i used to make hairs and clothes from the from scratch^^
What is the item in SL you made you are most proud of and why?
The hairs... make hairs are a reaaaally painful.. since a hair can contain like for example, 100 planes posed and then you need to make the rigging yourself using several programs.
What attracted you to create for SL and how different is creating on that platform vs Cyberpunk 2077 mods?
I loved SL so much because everything is posible there, all the styles you have on your mind is possible to create. I found it a very creative space!
I have to say, create for Cyberpunk is.. its not easier just very different, on SL you dont need to use for example programs like WolvenKit, you just need Blender and then just upload your item directly to the game, i think on that way is a bit more hard cyberpunk since you need to make .archive files and have a lot of things on mind to make your item work.
Could you tell us about your process for each?
For example on SL, you open blender, make your mesh, you have a plugin called Avastar that helps a lot rigging, make the rigging and the texture on photoshop and then you are ready to upload to secondlife!
And on cyberpunk mmm.. you know, blender.. then wolvenkit.. then noesis.. i have to say, cyberpunk it stresses me out more, it's more likely that something will go wrong for sure hahaha
What made you step away/retire from SL?
It wasn't an easy decision, but my store hit a point of inactivity and i didn't enjoy creating content as much as i did in the beginning, so i moved to other platforms for which I really enjoy doing it.
What drew you to cyberpunk 2077 or/and the cyberpunk genre as a whole?
The aesthetics, the music, is something that I have always liked a lot.. when i saw the trailer for the game for the first time i fell in love!
What message or warning, to you, does the cyberpunk genre imply or relay as a viewer, fan?
Mm.. maybe is kind of weird reply but the message to me is power, like as if you are fighting for something important that will give you power as a result.
What drives you to keep making content for 2077?
I just love the game, and see my V with my stuff makes me really happy, is like ''wow something i love have my stuff in there'' feel like I took part in it myself ^^
What about the 2077 characters specifically got your interest? All time favorite NPC in 2077 and why?
Judy, im team Judy forever, (and if we talk about edgerunners im team Rebecca) She is a character with whom I reflect myself in many aspects, I really like his style, his way of making decisions and helping others, it is something that I would really do in his place.
What tools do you use to make your mods? How long does it take to go from idea to posting the mod? What's the process?
Blender, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Photoshop, WolvenKit, Noesis.. It takes around... 3/4 days its depending on the free time i have. I look for clothes that i would really love to have for me (or that i already have) and i try to make V on my style, i make what i love even if others dont do.
What 2077 mod are you most proud of so far that you made and why?
The first of all, simply for the fact that it was the first of all, although I have to say that I received a lot of help and I am very grateful!
What are your favorite 3 mods by other creators for 2077 and why?
I guess, Appearance Menu Mod, Cyber Engine Tweeks and ArchiveXL, I think they make the game something completely new and even if you have already finished it, it allows you to enjoy it in other aspects. And other kind of mods, as a modder, are the mods from Wingdeer, Apzurv, Alex_Hyst, Zwei and xBaebsae, i love the work they make a lot!
Same question for your virtual photography, what tools do you use and how long does a picture take to create?
I use reshade, Appearance Menu Mod and IGCSClient (Camera Tools by Otis_Inf) To be honest, taking the pic just takes around 15 min but i like to edit my pictures a lot, and the process to edit my pics is around 1 hour per picture.
How long have you been doing Virtual Photography (VP)?
I think this started with SecondLife around 2018, i used to blog the items for other stores too, and then i just love how creative it could be.
What photo/GFX tools that are not in 2077 would you like to see in the sequel Project Orion?
Oh good question, im really bad at that but i would love to have the NPCs also in the photomode, i know this is already possible for the modders but if they make official and improve somehow would be great, couple poses or just a tool for move the arms, legs or head like to edit the poses yourself on game would be awesome!
What are your thoughts about AI art, cyberpunk or otherwise? Is it really 'art' in your view or just several 'stolen' images mushed together? What is your take?
I like them i mean, I have nothing against it, everyone has their own vision of art as long as it's inspiration and it's not complete robbery, it's fine.
Do you think these are skills you'd like to make a career of on some level or you prefer it as a hobby?
I just prefer to keep them as a hobby, i still think i have a long way for learn about this!
I've seen a lot of memes from artists that imply if you do vanilla art you will hardly get any notice, but if you do spicy art you'll get tons of attention. Do you feel those memes are accurate for better or worse? What are your thoughts on that?
I think is kind of true, but even if you make spicy art, you need to put your heart in it, I think that each person should do what they like and not for the sake of getting more visibility, of course we like to be seen but I prefer to have few people who like what I do and I do it well, than to have a lot of people and feel pressured to do something I'm not really enjoying.
And my most controversial question... Which of the following labels would you assign to whom (one each)? ;)
Marry, BFF, FWB(friend with benefits), Casual Friend, Indifferent, Hate, Kill
Evelyn: Indifferent
Goro: Hate
Johnny: BFF
Judy: Marry
Kerry: FWB
Panam: Casual Friend
River: Kill
And finally what are the socials people can find you, and do you do commissions? Any final words to the readers? Thank you for your time!
I have a carrd with all my socials
https://peachu3d.carrd.co/ all the info is around there!
Thank you so much for having me here, I've loved being part of this, I think CP has an incredible community, I have always felt super comfortable and welcomed by the people also, i hope my English is not really bad since im not native haha
Thank you for read and remember chooms, we have a city to burn!