Designing the New Outfits in RWBY Volume 7
Why hello there! I’m Kerry Shawcross, RWBY’s showrunner. If you can believe it, it’s been three years since the RWBY core cast got an outfit swap, so we thought RWBY Volume 7 would be the perfect time to update their looks. Join me, if you will, as I walk through some of the steps that went into designing the new outfits in RWBY Volume 7!
Why We Created New Outfits for RWBY Volume 7
First things first: why new outfits? Well, there are a few reasons. One, change is fun. I know everyone has their own favorite designs (I’ll personally never stop loving Ruby’s original outfit), but after three or so years with the same ones, it’s nice to change things up. It allows us to grow creatively, inspire some awesome new cosplay and fanart (hopefully), and let us look back at the different eras of the show.
Secondly, and probably more importantly, Atlas and Mantle are cold. We thought it might look a little silly for our characters to get to one of the four major cities in Remnant and not think about buying something a little warmer.
The Process of Creating New Outfits
What’s the first step in creating new outfits? Well, for Team RWBY, we decided to go to Ein Lee, the original concept artist for most of the main characters in Volume 1. She and Monty Oum worked together to create the girls’ original looks, so it seemed fitting to ask her to continue the process.
Before Volume 6 was even done with production, I hopped on a call with Ein, Patrick Rodriguez (Art Director), and Erin Winn (Lead Concept Artist). Together we threw around ideas and inspirations (what shows we’ve been watching), talked about the locations the characters will be in (did I mention it’s cold?), and discussed new ideas we want to try (haircuts!).
From there, Ein was off to the races. The way she works, which is typical for a lot of concept artists, is to start out with really rough, broad ideas. These can vary from loose sketches to fairly fleshed-out ideas. This allows all of us to start examining the silhouette, which is one of the most important things for character designs. Especially with action scenes, it’s so important that our characters are clear and iconic at a glance.
This process can go back and forth for a bit; honestly, it varies wildly. For this round, I remember all of us falling in love with Weiss right away. Ein nailed exactly what we were looking for: a Weiss that is focused on casting and also wanting to come into her own even more.
Yang, on the other hand, had more iterations than the rest. All of the designs were great; it just took a few tries to find the one that was perfect for now. It’s kind of like picking what flavor of ice cream you want. They’re all good and you have your favorites, but since you only get one, you tend to take it pretty seriously (or at least I do).
After working with Ein and finding a design we liked, we then worked with other teams, specifically Animation and Rigging, to see how they felt about the designs. This is where compromise starts to come into play. What good is a really cool looking outfit if it’s too complicated to animate during the time that we have?
An example of this is once again Yang. She has this awesome jacket that looks great, but is a little limited when fighting. We all talked and decided we could roll up her sleeves when she goes to fight, that way her rig still has the flexibility needed for more extreme motions. While we were creating that new “rolled-up sleeves” shape, we decided to go ahead and tuck in the straps that normally dangle from her arm. The straps looked great in motion, but that much additional animation during fights might slow the animators down and prevent them from focusing on what is most important.
Creating new outfits is an incredibly fun but also sometimes scary process. It’s a commitment. Seeing the fan response to the new outfits in RWBY Volume 7 has been really great, and I can’t wait to hear what you all think after seeing them in action in RWBY Volume 7, Chapter 3!
cool rwby good
Hola, no veo la serie de RWBY, pero me gustaría decir una opinión personal sobre un cambio de peinado de un personaje en específico, Jaune. He buscado en google imágenes de ese personaje y solo he sentido indignación y pena por el personaje, no lo conozco, pero siento que ese cambio de peinado no le pega en absoluto. Muchas gracias. Espero que se tenga en consideración esta opinión al igual que la de los auténticos seguidores de la serie.
I love RWBY and i love the teams new outfits ecspcially rubys she looks so cute i like the other ones too . p.s. MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IS RUBY I LOVE HER PORSONILITY AND EVERYTHING ABOUT HER. and i can barily reconize the diffrence in qrows new voice it sounds almost the excact same
Honestly the outfits are fine, except Yang’s, her jumpsuit was a bad choice, just doesn’t do her justice at all, but all the hair-do changes are the real crime here. Clothes are one thing, but change a character’s hair and it throws everything off way too much, especially Jaune and Weiss. Jaune looks like he’s trying to copy Sun and Neptune and Weiss looks like she’s trying way to hard to be an heiress elegantly braiding her thick hair before battle. This is all my own opinion though, appreciate all the hard work.
I have been watching this show from the being and I love it and the new outfits but I have an issues with yang always getting pushed aside w haven’t see yang be close with qrow or summer from when she told the story to blake and the festival. Yang saw summer as her mom but you don’t show it. Qrow is her hero to not just rwby. why is ren being colder to nora. Yang and Oscar are the only ones who don’t want to be Hippocrates. Does that mean Oz will talk to yang first.
Keeping in mind that these are teenage girls that get to wear cool outfits to a private Academy, and considering that they are now in the cultured, well to do city of Atlas, the jewel of Remnant, I imagine that they would have made much of the same choices.
All of the outfits look like what they are; upgrades similar to their original outfits. Its shows that though they all are evolving, they still have their favorites. Weiss is the most elegant, Yang has the most functional, Rubys’ taste is maturing, and Blake is coming into her own as a Huntress and Fauness. All that’s left now is to polish them up with some cool animation. Have at it gang!
Sure could use a JNR variation of those character sheets… 😉
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I feel like not a lot of the personality of the characters went into the design of the suits along with them not being very practical.
Maybe if there was a scene of the characters coming up with their new gear, choosing the things they would need in Atlas, there would be more logic put into it.
New outfits ranked from easiest to hardest to pee in:
1) Weiss – Belts and gloves might be a bit annoying, but otherwise the skirts are easy peasy. Hydrate away!
2) Ruby – Again, the skort is pretty straightforward, but rearranging this one will take a bit longer because of the tights. Gotta be careful not to dip the cape in the toilet.
3) Yang – Unless there’s a secret zipper, that whole jumpsuit’s gonna need to unzip. Thankfully it’s loose enough to be easy to do up when you’re done, but gosh I really hate the idea of sitting on a toilet in just a tube top.
4) Blake – Truly a nightmare. The whole jacket has to come off, and then a SKINTIGHT CATSUIT. If you are sweaty you’ll have a Ross From Friends Leather Pants Incident getting it back on. If you wear this one you will probably just try not to drink water all day and will get a UTI like my real cat.
I think Yang’s is more like a romper. She’d just take it off top down.
It’s certainly different, but it’s not a bad different. The outfits look amazing, but I don’t like Blake & Jaune’s haircuts. However, RT did an amazing job, thanks bunches!!
They look amazing – well done to the animation department!! The episodes have been so clean and a pleasure to watch.
agree