Dys-Crux's avatar

Dys-Crux

no gniog si egnarts gnihtemos
299 Watchers200 Deviations
54.9K
Pageviews
UPDATE: I can't believe I'm saying this, but for once I'm going to have to cancel my annual OC All-Stars event. There were nowhere near as many submissions as I would have wanted for what I had in mind, but I'll try this same idea again at a later date. Sorry to those of you who did submit entries and were looking forward to this :shrug:

Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, I'm ready to start drawing your OCs. As always, this is going to be a massive pic featuring all our characters grouped together. As summer is waning and we're going through a massive heat wave where I live, I thought it only appropriate that this year's picture be a beach episode picture. So get ready to see the warm sun, cool food, and lots of skin! :p

As always, the rules for how to get your character featured in my image are as follows.

Rules
Bullet; Black This is for watchers only! As in, you were a watcher of mine before this journal was posted.
Bullet; Black If you want to submit a character, leave a comment in this journal. (please don't send me notes or the like)
Bullet; Black Everyone is welcome to submit one (1) character for me to draw. Don't ask me to choose from multiple characters. I'll choose none of them :evillaugh:
Bullet; Black Your OC MUST be completely original. They cannot be a fan character or belong to any fandom. So for example, while a character who is inspired by or even looks like Naruto would be fine (
to a certain degree) a character meant to exist within the world of Naruto is a big no-no.
Bullet; Black Reference image(s) must be provided, including at least one (1) that depicts a clear and full view of your character from the front. Without a proper reference I won't even consider your character.
Bullet; Black Reference images of what your character would be comfortable wearing at the beach. I ask for a minimum of two (2) of references and a max of four (4). By that I mean references for different TYPES of beach wear (ex: speedos and shorts are different types of swimwear for men). If you don't mind seeing me draw your character naked, just write "nude".
Bullet; Black If you cannot provide beach attire references that you have drawn, feel free to include other images as references in your links.
Bullet; Black I will be needing a short (1-2 sentences MAX) description of your character. Please be concise.

Bullet; Black When submitting OCs, format your messages like so: 
                    Name of OC: 
                    Links to reference images: 
                    Links to beach attire: 
                    Description: 

I'm not sure how many characters I'll be accepting this time around, but right now I'm thinking it'll be about as big as last time or slightly larger. Furthermore, to add a bit of spice to the selection process, I'll mark down when a slot is taken but it'll be a mystery as to who is occupying that slot until I close submissions :ninja:

I'd also like to mention that I won't necessarily be accepting the characters that get submitted the fastest. I'll just say ahead of time that if I don't choose to draw your character it's not because I didn't like them, it's more a question of it not being the right time for them. (which is to say it's a combination of me not feeling like it, not thinking they'd work with the other OCs I'd picked, sun and moon alignment, etc.)


Characters

1 - Kusanagi Kazuki by :icondys-crux:
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
It's always about the video games with me. This time around I want to discuss the battles that happen at the end of games. Spoilers abound, obviously.

When I say final battles, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm talking about the last boss of a game. Let's use Crisis Core FFVII as an example here: though Genesis is the actual end boss, there is one more battle that comes after him wherein Zack must face literally thousands of SOLDIER troops. I find this battle to not only be far more memorable compared to the one that came before it, but also one of the best ending battles ever presented in a game. Though it is technically impossible to lose said battle, the fight not only has a sense of hopelessness but incredible intensity, too. Before I get too far into this I'll first explain the game's core mechanic, the DMW (Digital Mind Wave), which is used to its full extent here. In-game, it is a slot machine-like system meant to give you a power-up in battle by lining up 3 reels of a character's face. As you progress through the game and meet more people, they get added to the DMW. The success or failure of the reels is largely influenced by Zack's current emotional state, measured by the Emotion Gauge. There are also certain events that can greatly influence the DMW at different points in the game. Furthermore, the DMW also features a Modulating Phase during which time a flashback cut-scene tied to one of the character portraits lined up will play. In short, the DMW represents Zack's thoughts and emotions. Phew, that was a lot to get through but I think now we can finally discuss the final battle itself.

The last battle is scripted, so it is actually impossible to "lose", in a manner of speaking. You're just cutting down enemies. As the battle wears on and you begin to lose HP, at certain points the DMW reels will spin and show Zack recalling past events a lot more vividly than usual. You'll start losing more and more characters from the reel as this happens, signifying Zack effectively seeing his life flash before his eyes while he tries to hold on to the memories of those he holds close to him. The music "The Price of Freedom" really compliments the action onscreen, with the song being a little slow for a battle but still having a sense of trying to overcome the odds. After a while you will get to a point where it's just Zack and a few soldiers remaining, but at this point he can barely stand. His DMW is broken, mostly showing static, though it looks like it's trying to hold on to the image of Aerith. In battle, he can't even muster the strength to defend himself against the last few soldiers. After getting taken down, one last Modulating Phase comes up. 2 of Aerith's reels come up while the last one tries to fit into place, almost as if Zack is desperately trying to get a second wind so he can see her again. His story unfortunately ends in tragedy, thus setting the stage for Final Fantasy VII.

While I enjoyed FFVII I would never consider myself a fan (of course, FFVI is my all-time favorite game) but even I have to admit that this sequence is phenomenally well done. Zack's death was already shown in detail in FFVII several years prior to the release of Crisis Core, and yet even knowing what the ending would be I still cried. It was just that good.

Don't take my word for it, though. If you haven't already seen it for yourself, I'd highly recommend checking it out: [link]

What's your most memorable final battle in a video game? I'd love to hear which battles hold a special place for you.


Some other notable battles I want to mention: 

Final Fantasy VI: The final battle is really 4 battles combined into a single one. You are climbing what looks like a tower of enemies with each stage representing a different level of heaven or hell as depicted in Dante's Inferno from the Divine Comedy. The music changes as often as you do opponents, with the full song "Dancing Mad" being among the greatest (and longest) in the entire series.

Earthbound: You fight an Eldritch abomination that becomes more and more incomprehensible and erratic as the battle wears on. The music, which is incredibly atypical of what you'd hear on the SNES, starts off loud and rocking before transitioning to something akin to creepy white noise, before ending in maddening. Ness and company can't actually physically take on the Gyygas, so they employ some outside help from you - the player, in a 4th wall-breaking maneuver seldom seen before in games.

Chrono Trigger: The 2nd phase of the battle with Lavos is incredibly intense. Even if you're fighting it on a New Game+ it still has more than enough dangerous attacks that will force you to take it seriously each and every time. The music and background take you on a journey to all the different eras you've visited in the game, with an ear-splitting scream cropping up every now and then. There's even a bit of misdirection as to who the true final boss is in this battle as it plays against your expectations.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

OCs maybe?

1 min read
Uh... how have you all been doing? I'm planning to do my annual OC All-Stars pic sometime this year (take note that I never said SOON) and I'd like your help in gathering some ideas. Whether you have particular poses in mind, be it sprites or vector lines you'd like me to use, I'm all ears for your suggestions. Just like the pics themselves, though, I'm mostly interested in hearing from my watchers than anyone else.

Or if you just want drop a line and catch up, I'm also up for that :)

In other news, no one can prove that I didn't write this while not wearing pants ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

Sprite requests

1 min read
I'm taking requests to draw character sprites. Go go go go!

Alright, that'll do. I'll get right on drawing what everyone posted in no particular order.
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
UPDATE 2: I'm almost done, folks. I just have to add some color, so it shouldn't be much longer ;)

UPDATE: Submissions are closed, time for me to start drawing! I'll be posting progress updates so be sure to check back from time to time. If you see a :star: next to your character's name it means I've completed their lineart.

If you have any questions or inquiries of any sort, I'll be sure to respond with haste to the best of my ability.


Yeah, I'm asking for more OCs! The anticipation to draw is getting me all fired up and I won't be satisfied until I have my fill! I'm not saying I want another 80 characters to draw like that one time; 20-50 should suffice this time around. And just like that time, anyone can join in, so long as you respect my rules: 

Rules
:bulletblack: First and foremost, the top 8 characters on this list will get special treatment. They were here way before anyone else so I think it only fair to give them a little something extra ;)
:bulletblack: If you want to submit a character, leave a comment in this journal. (please don't send me notes or the like)
:bulletblack: Everyone is welcome to submit one (1) character for me to draw. Don't ask me to choose from multiple characters.
:bulletblack: Your OC MUST be completely original. They cannot be a fan character or belong to any fandom. So for example, while a character who is inspired by or even looks like Naruto to a certain degree would be fine, a character meant to exist within the world of Naruto is a big no-no.
:bulletblack: Reference image(s) must be provided, including at least 1 that depicts a clear and full view of your character from the front. Without a proper reference I won't even consider your character.
:bulletblack: I will be needing a short (1-2 sentences MAX) description of your character. Please be concise.
:bulletblack: Spread the word around! Anybody willing to advertise this in their journal, group, etc. would be a great help!
:bulletblack: When submitting OCs, format your messages like so: 
                    Name of OC: 
                    Links to reference images: 
                    Description: 


Here we go again! :iconherewegoagainplz:

OCs slated to appear in this image are: 

1 - Kusanagi Kazuki by :icondys-crux: :star:
2 - Satoshi by :iconasrominty: :star:
3 - End by by :iconheadless-goddess: :star:
4 - Suberia by :iconparadoxigent: :star:
5 - Shawl by :iconpsypherheal: :star:
6 - Brook by :iconpipirii: :star:
7 -  Kendris Velana by :iconirateresearchers: :star:
8 - Sapphire by :iconwolfygrey: :star:
9 - Lily by :iconnakia-valkov: :star:
10 - Lochan Millward by :icon1stw: :star:
11 - Ecila Rotcelfer by :iconkerro-chan: :star:
12 - Curie Wendall by :icontheatomicpumpkin: :star:
13 - Hasani by :iconyelsah: :star:
14 - Darrian by :iconbrunited: :star:
15 - Heidi by :iconslightlywinged: :star:
16 - 
TunIIc by :iconoaknoats: :star:
17 - 
Barana by :iconpharocomics: :star:
18 - Kalall by :iconinkmonsterz: :star:
19 - Sammi by :iconragchaser: :star:
20 - Acora by :iconmentalikenarwhals: :star:
21 - Paul Stars by :iconspyrobandi: :star:
22 - Luna Aldiane by :iconsaelicity: :star:
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

OC All-Stars - Beach Edition by Dys-Crux, journal

Memorable final battles in a video games? by Dys-Crux, journal

OCs maybe? by Dys-Crux, journal

Sprite requests by Dys-Crux, journal

More OCs for OC drawing! (CLOSED) by Dys-Crux, journal