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Throughout the production of a series, a lot goes on behind the scenes in regards to planning and design, which often go through multiple stages before resulting in the final version that is seen on screen. Some concepts and ideas can have an effect on the show and characters, and unexpected occurrences during production can also lead to changes and additions to the plans for the show.

Character Basis

Emerald alludes to Aladdin from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights as well as the Disney movie.

  • Emerald is a thief who used to live on the streets, much like Aladdin's origin.
  • In "Best Day Ever" Emerald is called "street rat" by Roman Torchwick, which is an insult used toward Aladdin.
  • Sustrai is the Basque word for thief.
  • Emerald is notably darker skinned than most of the characters in the series, which may allude to Aladdin being a Middle Easterner.
  • Emerald's emblem is the shape of a cut gem, which could reference Aladdin as the diamond in the rough.
    • The fact that her emblem is green may also be a reference to her name being Emerald.
  • Emerald's semblance is hallucinations, making people see what she wants them to see. This is similar to Aladdin making people see him as a prince.
    • Emerald’s Semblance could also be connected to the desert theme of Aladdin, where one could begin seeing hallucinations due to the stress induced by the harsh environment of the desert on the human body or see Mirages.
  • Emerald's partnering with Mercury could link to the fact that the mythological Roman God Mercury (Hermes in Greek Mythos and the mythological inspiration for Mercury's character) was the patron God of Thieves, and Emerald herself is a thief.
  • In "Witch" Emerald is accused by Salem of stealing the Relic of Knowledge (which takes the form of a lamp), referencing Aladdin's role in taking the magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders in the 1992 film Aladdin.

Emblem

Emerald Sustrai Emblem

Emerald's emblem is a stylized depiction of a cut emerald. This emblem appears on one of her possessions:

  • Battle outfit - on the back of her white top.
  • Atlas Battle outfit - on the back of her white jacket.

Image Gallery

Appearance

Battle Outfit

Emerald makes her first appearance in Volume 1 after credits scene as a 2D image, wearing an outfit that differs from the final version worn by her 3D model. The scene is very dark, but with a little editing, her outfit becomes more visible. The 2D version's differences are

  • The green shirt covers most of her chest.
  • The bottom of the white top is wider, and the narrow bridge across the middle is shorter.
  • The bangle on her upper arm is bronze instead of silver.
  • The beads on her bracelet are yellow and green.
  • She is wearing a bronze belt with circular plates on it and four straps hanging from it on each side.
  • She is wearing white shorts.
  • Over the white shorts, she is wearing dark green pants that are open on the outer sides of the upper legs.

Later concept art resembles her final appearance more closely, except for three minor differences:

  • The bangle on her upper arm is bronze instead of silver.
  • The beads on her bracelet are yellow and green.
  • The outer side of each glove dips lower over her hand.

Image Gallery

Concepts With No Change

There is no visible difference between the concept art and final versions of the following appearance.

Production

  • Emerald first appears as a 2D drawing in Volume 1 after credits scene because she did not yet have a model. She makes her first appearance as a 3D model in "Best Day Ever".
  • After Volume 3, Rooster Teeth changed animation software from Poser Pro 2013 to Autodesk Maya. With this change, the animation department also made all new models for RWBY. The Emerald Sustrai model's eyes were given a different shape, and her face has modeled lips.
  • Mercury and Emerald's designs throughout Volumes 4-6 were some of the last designs from Poser Pro kept during the switch to Autodesk Maya. This ended up causing some challenges for the modelers.[1]

Image Gallery

References

  1. RWBY Volume 6 Blu-ray Director's Commentary Chapter 9
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