Interview: Maddison Mokeev of Cloud 9.1

Posted on April 23, 2009
Filed Under Best of SL, Home and Garden, Opinions/Gossip/People | 3 Comments

Contributed by Shauna Skye

Maddison Mokeev has created some of the most detailed and realistic urban grunge builds in Second Life. The quality of the creations are top notch, and I would rank most up there with Arcadia Asylum and Tooter Claxton. On some of Maddison’s items, like the new couches and chairs, I believe the work is even superior due to the shading, which gives it this incredible “real” look you don’t often see in Second Life.

I did this interview sitting on a couch with Maddison at the Cloud 9.1 Mainstore. Being already familar with Maddison’s work, I didn’t need to rack my brain for questions. I’ve bought several buildings from this creator, and even now the SLFix Headquarters can be found inside a condemned house Maddison built. As for the interview itself, we just went with the flow.

I’m just going to wing this interview.

No problem.

You’re on a couch so think of this like being at the psychiatrist.

I hope I do not get in touch with my inner self then.

Why don’t you tell the SLFix readers about your store? How would you describe it to someone who has never been there?

I think an eclectic gathering of urban decay would describe it nicely. It’s hard to pinpoint what to find here but it will always have some sort of “used” look. Not that I don’t like neat and tidy; I even have my own vacuum cleaner. But the fact that time took its toll on an object is something that does not come naturally in a virtual world, so I just make that pre-build.

Do you have a partner who builds with you, or is it just you?

Well . . . on this sim you will find one main store, but we house two Second Life companies. One is Chiparus, owned by my friend Tomarus Lednev, and the other is Cloud 9.1, my stuff. We have a combined brand called Stage Equipment in which we both have an equal part, but Tommie’s strengths are more in terms of scripting. He is a very good builder too, and I love his textures, but scripting is his thing. To answer your question, no. All cloud 9.1 stuff is 100% made by me except for the scripts that is. Oh, and animations.

Are you an artist in real life?

Aren’t we all? Well, I never call myself an artist, although I went to art school. So, I’m not an artist, but I do have a creative real life profession. I am in video post production.

Were there any builders in particular who inspired you when you first came to Second Life?

Yes. I have always liked the Paper Street Soap Company. She [the creator] was, besides Arcadia Asylum, one of the few people that did “urban” stuff that had any quality.

Oh, I was just there. Yes, that’s a good one.

What ID her name is. Its on the tip of my tongue. lol Loch Newgringe or sumtin’. Newchurch. Yay.

How did you get started doing these incredible textures?

I’m a detail freak and I know Photoshop. So add those two together and there you have textures. Just for example, have a look at the DJ table over there. There is a small box of aspirins I made for my friend DJ Luigy. He also likes vodka, so I made him that too.

I’m zooming over there. Cool! I’m the furthest thing from being a builder but I think it’s your shadows that make your work so realistic looking. Have you always added those in?

Yeah, it sure helps to add some shadows. And no, it took a while before I started to notice that adding the shading adds an immense dose of realism . . . but since I started using them, I’ll go overboard sometimes and try to shade everything . . .which is bad for prim count if you like to be versatile.

I was noticing your furniture next to other items I have. The other stuff was very good, but because yours has the shadow it looks far better. The other furniture looks like it’s almost floating above ground without the shading.

Yeah, I don’t know. If it was just a matter of adding a semi-transparant black square to a piece of furniture, it was an easy trick, but it sure helps a lot, I agree.

[Note: If you click to enlarge the photo you can see some of the incredible realism of the couch and table. The above photo was taken at SLFix HQ inside the "Condemned house" Maddison created.]

Out of all the things you’ve built what was the most difficult and time consuming?

One that I did work on for quite a bit is something I have never even released. It is a replica of a Star Wars blaster rifle, and I made it from “normal” prims, no sculpts. It was the first real test to see how small I could build. I’ll rezz it for you. There it is.

[I zoom in to view it as it hovers in midair.]

Nice! Do you ever plan to release it?

I should put a script in there and have it as a freebee. Yeah , it’s a shame to let it just rot in my invent. Oh, come to think of it, my backpack is also quite a lot of work.

A lot of detail in that!

Yeah, did I tell you that I like details?

It’s very cool thanks for showing.

No problem!

Do you make money doing this? I know lindens are a bit of money, but does it actually add to your real life income significantly?

Well, I do get to cash out sometimes, but those are hardly amounts that the taxman will be worried about. It does pay for all my Second Life needs as in tier, rent, tip money and shopping cash. I do remember the very first time though that I actually did cash out some real life dollars, and the feeling of being able to make REAL money in a game was really wonderful. I won’t quit my day job by the way.

I know what you mean! Ok, unrelated question. What kind of music do you like? Your builds are so punk rock!

Are they? Well, I have a very broad musical taste.

I imagine a gang of gutter punks living in some of your buildings.

Hehe, yeah. They might! But when I am building I love to listen to some inworld streams, I mean Second Life radio, but they are not limited to SL. Frisky radio is one of my favorites at the moment.

What genre is that?

Electro, minimal electro, although the tracks playing now is a little harder than usual. And when it’s late, Groove Salad is a great station, more mellow and ambient.

If you had to choose one build to show someone who has never seen your work, what would it be?

My latest one, the tattoo parlor. It is the one I am most proud of, since it is the most detailed one I did ever. I like very much how it came out. It has about twenty animations, and eight of them are exclusive to this build. Even that consists of many many objects . . . it looks like they have always belonged together. Did you see it already?

I did and thought it was cool. Would you like to take a picture inside of it?

Oh yeah sure.

[Here's me asking for a big anchor on my forearm. I didn't think about it but I left my jacket on so Maddison was tattooing me through that. lol Below is a video showing a guy who looks like he actually knows how to receive a tattoo.]

Well, let me ask you one more question to close this interview out properly. Anything you’d like to say to the SLFix readers?

Well yeah . . . that if they would like to come and play with all the stuff we have here in the sim they are more than welcome. They can keep updated through my blog at virtualdecay.com, and that we will be soon rebuilding the whole sim again just for the heck of it. But the rebuild will be a silent one.

Ok, that’s great Maddison. Thanks.

You’re very welcome!

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See Also: The Record Shop by Cloud 9.1
Visit inworld: Cloud 9.1 Main and Showroom
Visit Maddison’s Website: VirtualDecay.com

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