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Today we have a community interview with Vermilion. An amazing virtual photo artist who I've been following for some time. We sent some probing questions and here is their reply. Enjoy and let us know in the comments if there is any other notable community member you'd like for us to interview in the future.

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First can you tell us a little about yourself, where you grew up and what attracted or inspired you to get into this art form?
Hello there, first of all I want to thank you for this interview. Never really done anything of this sort before, so it’s rather… exciting! My name is Yahya, though online I go by Vermilion or Vermi. I’m 24 and Lebanese… sort of – I’m pretty much a cultural nomad. I was born in and spent most of my life in the UAE. I am an accountant, metal-head, cat-lover, bodybuilder, guitarist, and gamer.

To be honest, I’m not precisely sure what got me into virtual photography, but my journey began when I bought Skyrim on PC around 10 years ago.

Skyrim drew me into the genre of RPGs and made me realize my love for character creation and design. It allowed me to express my creativity through different faces. And with mods, of course, the world was limitless. I could design characters that expressed moods, characters that were inspired by movies, songs, or other games, and characters that simply came out of the constant desire to test new mods. On top of that, I’d flesh them out with bios, backstories, likes/dislikes, and other random little details that made them special and dear to me.

I believe Nexus Mods was among the main reasons I got into and stayed interested in virtual photography. As I write this, I recall seeing mod showcase pictures (mainly portraits of pretty elves lol) that made me go “I wanna be able to do that as well!”

How did you learn this form of digital art?
Well, it was always one of those “learn as you go” sort of things for me. At first, it was simply turning the in-game camera to face the character and pressing Print Screen. Then I started searching for better lighting in-game, and that eventually drove me to learn how to position lights and set the appropriate time of day. With experimentation and by trying to emulate the work of authors who inspired me, I learned how to position characters within a frame, what colors work together, what expressions or clothes to choose, etc.

You know, it’s really hard to answer this question lol. I feel like I’ve always been somehow learning without actively trying to. Like, for example, at some point during 2014 I installed an ENB preset for the first time to make Skyrim look better. And over the years, I’ve been tweaking different presets here and there until I learned how to change any preset to suit my needs. The same knowledge and approach carried over to Cyberpunk 2077 with ReShade, where I now use my own settings based on my preferences.

To sum up, I’d say I learned primarily through inspiration, curiosity, and experimentation.

What drew you to cyberpunk 2077 or/and the cyberpunk genre as a whole?
Oh, it was the sense of freedom that drew me into Cyberpunk 2077. The idea of being whoever you wanted to be in a bustling, futuristic city easily made me preorder the game. Now, to be honest, I’m not very familiar with the Cyberpunk universe – I have always been more of a high-fantasy “elves and dragons” sort of person. But after playing CP77 for over 2 years, I’m so interested in and excited about this genre.

What message, to you, does the cyberpunk genre imply or relay as a viewer, fan of that aesthetic?
Again, I’m not too familiar with the Cyberpunk genre as a whole, so I’ll only speak about my experience with the genre through CP77. I feel like it’s about fighting to hold on to your humanity in a cold world where everything (and everyone) is increasingly mechanized and opportunistic. I think my view accurately explains the contrasting design of my non-cybernetic, often-smiling V.

What photo/GFX tools that are not in 2077 would you like to see in the sequel Project Orion?
I admit I kind of forgot about Project Orion lol. While I hope more content will continue to be released for CP77, I reckon the new installation will be very exciting. What photo tools would I like to see? More lighting control for sure. And better control over positioning and posing.

What drew you to the 2077 game specifically? What keeps driving you to keep making content for it?
Over the years, I kept juggling Skyrim and Fallout 4 until eventually I got bored of both games. Right before getting into Cyberpunk 2077, I dropped Fallout 4. I wanted a new game to fuel my motivation and channel my creativity. A new adventure to undertake, a fresh world to explore. Cyberpunk 2077 was exactly that and more. The character creation, freedom, depth, lore, and gameplay drew me in, while the world-design, aesthetic, acting, characters, and Photo Mode kept me hooked. Oh, and the mods as well. Can’t forget about the mods.

I continue taking pictures in Cyberpunk 2077 simply because it is fun to do so. My V, who’s been with me for 2 years, ended up being one of my favorite creations while playing the game for over 500 hours and taking countless portraits. And of course, with every new mod released, taking pictures in this game continues to become more and more fun. I really enjoy testing new mods and taking portraits in the process.

What tools do you use to make your art? How long does it take to go from idea to posting a pic? What's the process?
I use the In-game PhotoMode, a couple mods to add more features (such as Photo Mode Unlocker and AMM), ReShade, Photoshop, and Paint.Net (occasionally). My process usually goes like this: While playing the game, I find an interesting location and put together an outfit, then I create a save file for when I feel motivated to take pictures. Later I visit that save file, settle on a pose, spawn a couple portrait lights, tweak my ReShade a little, and snap several pictures with slightly different settings. Once out of the game, I select the version I like the most and edit it in Photoshop until it’s ready to be posted.

How long have you been doing this art form?
It’s been about 10 or 11 years since I started, I can’t remember accurately. I must have been 13 or 14 when I got into virtual photography. Definitely too young to be playing the sort of games I’m known for lol.

Do you think these are skills you's like to make a career of on some level or you prefer it as a hobby?
I prefer it as a hobby. Something to relax and unwind to at the end of the day. Few things beat the feeling of getting in the flow of taking pictures while listening to good music.

And my most controversial question... Which of the following labelswould you assign to whom (one each)? ;)
Marry, BFF, FWB(friend with benefits), Casual Friend, Indifferent, Hate, Kill
Evelyn: FWB
Goro: BFF
Johnny: Johnny is a tough one lol. I constantly oscillate between BFF and Kill.
Judy: Casual Friend
Kerry: Indifferent
Panam: Marry
River: Casual Friend

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!
You can find me and my work mainly on Twitter, as well as Nexus Mods and Flickr. Links below:
https://twitter.com/Vermilion2077
https://www.nexusmods.com/users/4872836
https://www.flickr.com/photos/193297229@N08/

Thank you very much for this interview, Peter, and I’d encourage the readers to never stop learning, experimenting, and seeking new experiences.