According to Jake Clark, when he was designing Cala Maria, The character went through a notable amount of changes before settling with the final design. Before being settled for having a octopus on her head, her face originally had fish fins on the side of her face, she had various different types of crowns (along with different hair styles). A starfish was considered to be used at one point, she had a round earring on her nose, a crab tattoo on her right arm, and wore gloves. It was also considered for her to hold a weapon (a sword and an anchor), as well the following for her attacks: Cala using her tail, summoning swordfish, a giant crab, and using a tidal wave.