Here's four sketches of one of the characters for the game. These do not represent the finished character as I haven't decided which one of these I'll go for in the end. I might go for something different completely. Although I am quite pleased with the first and second one. The third one just went totally wrong.
I definitely think the first one looks the best, along with the most appropriate.
The first one is by far the strongest design there, the pose just really suits that personality.
I like the first two. The upper-left one is a robotic skeletal monster thing, while the upper-right is a punk zombie (my personal fave). The wide-brim hat version needs a little work, I agree. The last one makes me think of foot soldiers for some strange necromancer or evil wizard: not really a character of its own.
It would be great if you had an opportunity to include the other character designs as unlockables (hey, why not go all the way with the Soul Caliber comparison?).
The first one is the one which I feel is the more coherent one of them, and it's also my first take on the character. I think it was one of our art teachers who told us "Your original idea is often the best one.", which I find true. I often nail the attitude that I want and such on the first try. But I try to diversify it anyway, you never know what you'll come up with.
I do like the right one as well. The thought of a skull with hair just cracked me up when I first thought of it. having him as an alternate costume wouldn't really work though since I envisioned him with a totally different fighting style.