EVA-04's appearance - is it tier 3 canonicity?

[Asunji_Yuko]

Although we never see EVA-04 in the original series, EOE, or any storyboards/described in scripts for either one, Gainax apparently released production art of it:



By the "tiers of canonicity," shouldn't this be taken as tier 3, as it doesn't contradict anything in the show, but is official from Gainax?

[Blockio]

By the guidelines as written yes, that would be tier 3 - in practical terms, however, we have gotten fairly substantial and consistent visual representation in various spinoff material and, crucially, merchandise releases from multiple companies: The latter mean contracts around IP matters, which are going to have required rightsholder approval of the final product; in effect, this means that at this point, being a silver and red 03 can safely be considered the definitive look for 04

[BernardoCairo]

Also, its colors (white and red) complement those of Unit 03 (black and blue). So it's safe to assume that they were designed together or that Unit 04’s look was at the very least considered in some capacity during the development of the show.