Character Design - Garz Research and initial concepts

When creating Garz, I wanted to design a character where you can't see what his past was like. A man that you can't quite read when you look at him. Media is full of tragic heroes so research wasn't hard to Garz. Here are the key influences that I looked at when designing Garz:

Ezio Auditore de Firenze:

I was instantly drawn to and thought of Ezio's design when given my themes. Ezio is an assassin during the renaissence era of Italy. This is evidant in his design, so not exactly linked to my themes but the ideas behind the design was what I liked.

Despite being the protagonist of the series, Ezio is shrouded in robes, making it hard to see who he is and what he may be hiding. His face is covered by a hood, yet he is still very much the 'good guy'. Another part of the design that I thought was very strong was the half-cloak on his shoulder. I feel this adds a layer of duality to his personality as well as giving him another Hero aspect to play on the fact that he is covered.

Cloud Strife:

Cloud is similar to Ezio in the fact that he is the Hero, yet has design characteristics of a villian, giving him a darker edge. Once again, there is duality to his design with a naked arm on one side and a covered arm on the other. This symbolises letting people close but not too close.