Not only does she take incredible shots of her own and others' characters, but she’s also crafted some of the most downloaded pose packs for Cyberpunk and has helped elevate the VP scene.
Hey Elfjpeg, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview! Would you mind telling everyone a bit about yourself?
Hi! Thank you for selecting me for this! It really is a pleasure to be able to share more about myself. Well, I am a black female gamer based in the USA! I mainly play single-player RPGs, like Cyberpunk and Baldur's Gate 3. I am also a graphic designer in real life, so that's why the mod pages I create often have crazy, funky designs at times, haha!
Could you tell us about your gaming background? What got you into gaming?
Of course! I've been playing games ever since I was a teenager. I was obsessed with playing Bratz: Rock Angelz, SSX 3, and Sims 2 on my Play Station 2, and eventually, I moved on to Xbox. One of my best friends told me about this game called Dragon Age: Inquisition. I then eventually got into that. The excitement of that game went down, and I had to find something new. I heard about Cyberpunk when it was coming out with all the bugs, but I still searched up the game's condition back then. I saw it was all good, and decided to give it a download. The rest is history! I've been playing Cyberpunk on repeat for the last few years!
You specialise in pose packs for Cyberpunk 2077, what drew you to that style of mod specifically?
I was an avid player of Cyberpunk around 2022, and I eventually found out about the VP Community. I saw how beautiful the pictures were and decided to give it a go. Of course, my first photos flopped, but over time, I eventually got better. However, I felt something was lacking. I tried to experiment with different lights, and compositions, but there was one thing I couldn't control: the posing! I eventually found out about it and the process, and (huge shout out to Wouldiwas_Sh00kspread, xBaesbae and Nora) after some breaking and falling, I was able to make my first pose pack: Infinite! I'm still super proud of that pack to this day!
My best friend, Teacupfairy, and I usually brainstorm about what type of packs we would like to see. She and I bounce ideas off of each other until we find one that sticks out from the rest. We collaborate on finding pose references, and then I get to work in Blender! Now whether or not, we release it as a Season7 pack is dependent on the quality and then the vibes, haha!
Do you have a favourite pose pack that you’ve made so far? If so, what makes it special to you?
Oh, that's a really good question...Let's see...looking at all the releases we've done, I think it probably has to be between Domain and Kawaii. I love, love, love anime, so creating some poses based on my favorites was really fun, but Kawaii had the most poses I had ever made (at the time) into a pack. I also worked on it with Teacupfairy (TCF), and I had the best time! So, I honestly can't decide...they are both so good!
What do you think drew you to create mods for Cyberpunk over any other game?
I think that Cyberpunk has so much freedom, more so than any other game that I have ever played. I was never able to have the power to create such colorful shots before where I am able to experiment, add NPCs, and bring my character's narrative to life. I'm so happy that I was able to discover pose making, and hopefully fuel more creativity!
I saw you created your own Discord server catering to virtual photography for Cyberpunk 2077, what inspired you to start your own Discord server?
Lens and Light was not just my own idea! Beaniebby (they/them), another modder within the community, created different VP prompt challenges in another Cyberpunk server that I was in. I participated a few times and they really helped fuel more ideas and motivation to take photos, even when I didn't want to. I went to them to see if they wanted to coordinate on forming their challenges into monthly ones for Cyberpunk-focused social media. We brought in Teacupfairy to help generate prompts, and eventually, I came up with the idea to create a server to help bring people together! Beanie, TCF and I now manage the server together (with the wonderful help of a server moderator, Vylkodav)!
You’ve released a couple of issues of your magazine for your server, what gave you the idea to launch a digital magazine?
I was used to creating layouts for my job in real life, so I decided to suggest the idea to Beanie and TCF, and they were totally on board! I chose to do a magazine because I personally believe that seeing everyone's wonderful work in an (un)official way can be heartwarming and make you feel seen for your work. So, here we are, two issues down and working on more!
With everything you do, how do you balance your time between creating mods, managing your Discord, and putting together your magazine?
Now, that is the winning question, haha! I honestly have no idea, but I'm eternally grateful to TCF, Beanie and Vylkodav for not only helping with the server, but also the magazine as well. I couldn't do that all by myself, so having such great people on the team really changes the game!
What’s next on the horizon for you with your modding work and your community?
I honestly don't know! I feel like once I predict something with a plan, something happens to change my entire wavelength, haha! I guess I want to possibly release more packs under the Season7 banner, and some more with TCF as well! We work so well together so collaborations are almost a must! As for the community, I think Lens and Light will try and release more issues of our magazine and hopefully challenge new and veteran VPers alike!
Are there any exciting projects or releases coming up that you can give us a sneak peek at?
Hmm...we have an exciting issue of the Lens and Light magazine coming up with interviews from our award winners, a modder and a VPer's original character! We hope to release by the end of August. For future pose packs, you'll have to wait and see!
Is there anything else you’d like to say to the community or give any shoutouts?
First of all, shoutout to our past and current Season7 models! They've been monumental in helping the releases really take off. I would also like to thank the members of Lens and Light, and last but not least, I would be absolutely nowhere without my best friend, Teacupfairy. Please go check out her VP work! She inspires me so much (even though she doesn't think so), and I wouldn't be where I am in VP/Season7 or even Lens and Light without her support and love! Meeting her really changed the scope of this community for me, and I just think she's neat!
For the community, keep creating! Even when you think no one is watching, there are people out there that look up to the posting of your VP work or releasing that one specific, particular mod that you think only a few people care about. Be proud of what you create! I need to take my own advice, but still, keep doing what you do!
Thank you so much once again Elfjpeg for agreeing to be interviewed, if you haven’t already, be sure check out her mods and the Lens and Light server!
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