Editing Final Fantasy VII (section)

===Art design===
[[File:FFVIInomuracastdesigns.JPG|thumb|left|Promotional artwork of the main cast. The main characters were designed by [[Tetsuya Nomura]]; ''Final Fantasy VII'' was his first role as character designer.<ref name="FamVIIanniversaryB"/><ref name="PolygonRetro"/>|alt=Nine people stand in a group against a white background; the group —made up of seven humans and two animal-like beings— wear a variety of clothing and the human characters carry different weapons.]]
The game's art director was [[Yusuke Naora]], who had previously worked as a designer for ''Final Fantasy VI''. With the switch into 3D, Naora realized that he needed to relearn drawing, as 3D visuals require a very different approach than 2D. With the massive scale and scope of the project, Naora was granted a team devoted entirely to the game's visual design. The department's duties included illustration, modeling of 3D characters, texturing, the creation of environments, visual effects, and animation.<ref name="NaoraLecture">{{cite AV media|date=February 26, 2015 |first=Yusuke |last=Naora |author-link=Yusuke Naora |url=http://www.twitch.tv/squareenixpresents/v/3839010 |title=SMU Guildhall: The Visual Evolution of Final Fantasy |medium=Video |accessdate=October 31, 2015 |format=[[Twitch (service)|Twitch]] |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031154803/http://www.twitch.tv/squareenixpresents/v/3839010 |archivedate=October 31, 2015}} [http://www.ffworld.com/2015/03/11/yusuke-naora-et-levolution-visuelle-de-final-fantasy/ Transcript in French] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118062029/http://www.ffworld.com/2015/03/11/yusuke-naora-et-levolution-visuelle-de-final-fantasy/ |date=January 18, 2017}}</ref> The Shinra logo, which incorporated a kanji symbol, was drawn by Naora personally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://andriasang.com/comtqf/ff_type_zero_update/|title=Latest on Final Fantasy Type-0|last=Gantayat |first=Anoop|publisher=Andriasang.com|date=January 31, 2011|accessdate=February 21, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193203/http://andriasang.com/comtqf/ff_type_zero_update/|archivedate=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Promotional artwork, in addition to the logo artwork, was created by [[Yoshitaka Amano]], an artist whose association with the series went back to its inception.<ref name="USGamano">{{cite web|url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-final-fantasist-a-conversation-with-yoshitaka-amano|title=The Final Fantasist: A Conversation With Yoshitaka Amano|last=Parish|first=Jeremy|work=[[Eurogamer|USGamer]]|publisher=Gamer Network|date=May 14, 2016|accessdate=May 10, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512002508/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-final-fantasist-a-conversation-with-yoshitaka-amano|archivedate=May 12, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> While he had taken a prominent role in earlier entries, Amano was unable to do so for ''Final Fantasy VII'', due to commitments at overseas exhibitions.<ref name="FFVIIhistory">{{cite web|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2008/05/01/ign-presents-the-history-of-final-fantasy-vii|title=IGN Presents: The History of Final Fantasy VII|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|last=McLaughlin|first=Rus|date=April 30, 2008|accessdate=September 14, 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311183005/http://retro.ign.com/articles/870/870770p1.html|archivedate=March 11, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="USGamano"/> His logo artwork was based on Meteor: when he saw images of Meteor, he was not sure how to turn it into suitable artwork. In the end, he created multiple variations of the image and asked staff to choose which they preferred.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/04/27/the-art-that-shaped-final-fantasy-thoughts-from-famed-artist-yoshitaka-amano.aspx|title=The Art That Shaped Final Fantasy: Thoughts From Famed Artist Yoshitaka Amano|last=Juba|first=Joe|magazine=[[Game Informer]]|publisher=[[GameStop]]|date=April 27, 2016|access-date=May 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429121511/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/04/27/the-art-that-shaped-final-fantasy-thoughts-from-famed-artist-yoshitaka-amano.aspx|archive-date=April 29, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The green coloring represents the predominant lighting in Midgar and the color of the Lifestream, while the blue reflected the ecological themes present in the story. Its coloring directly influenced the general coloring of the game's environments.<ref name="NaoraLecture"/>

Another prominent artist was Nomura. Having impressed Sakaguchi with his proposed ideas, which were handwritten and illustrated rather than simply typed on a PC, Nomura was brought on as main character designer.<ref name="FamVIIanniversaryB"/> Nomura stated that when he was brought on, the main scenario had not been completed, but he "went along like, 'I guess first off you need a hero and a heroine', and from there drew the designs while thinking up details about the characters. After [he'd] done the hero and heroine, [he] carried on drawing by thinking what kind of characters would be interesting to have. When [he] handed over the designs [he'd] tell people the character details [he'd] thought up, or write them down on a separate sheet of paper".<ref name="UOAnniversary">{{cite book |year=2007 |editor=Studio BentStuff |title=Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary |pages=8–13 |language=ja |publisher=[[Square Enix]] |isbn=978-4-7575-2560-3}}</ref> Something that could not be carried over from earlier titles was the chibi sprite art, as that would not fit with the new graphical direction. Naora, in his role as an assistant character designer and art director, helped adjust each character's appearance so the actions they performed were believable. When designing Cloud and Sephiroth, Nomura was influenced by his view of their rivalry mirroring the legendary animosity between [[Miyamoto Musashi]] and [[Sasaki Kojirō]], with Cloud and Sephiroth being Musashi and Kojirō respectively. Sephiroth's look was defined as "''kakkoii''", a Japanese term combining good looks with coolness.<ref name="VIIinterviews"/> Several of Nomura's designs evolved substantially during development. Cloud's original design of slicked-back black hair with no spikes was intended to save polygons and contrast with Sephiroth's long, flowing silver hair. However, Nomura feared that such masculinity could prove unpopular with fans, so he redesigned Cloud to feature a shock of spiky, bright blond hair. Vincent's occupation changed from researcher to detective to chemist, and finally to a former Turk with a tragic past.<ref name="FFVIIhistory"/><ref name="FamVIIanniversaryB"/>