Modeling

Translating the character from 2D to 3D was made simpler by the flat
shapes in the design. The challenge came when making sure each
component was able to shift and rotate appropriately in relation to
surrounding components.

At first, the eye, chest sphere, and hip joints were built as convex
3D objects. This produced a spherical shading gradient, which I
decided to be undesirable for this project. Instead, I opted for flat
circles that would eventually aim at the camera, preserving the
illusion of a sphere while eliminating the gradient.

The red chest "orb" was moved behind the 'rib' elements, to make it
less prominent. I did not want this object to be as important as the
eye in the animation.

Other examples of where I strayed from the concept image include: I
removed the slits in the chest, added single hinge joint objects to
the elbows, and added a wrist object to place the fingers on.

I decided to model using quads only, but not concern myself over
modeling for sub-divisible surfaces, especially now that I do not plan
on switching between the cubist view and normal perspective in the
animation. Intersecting objects (links between shoulder and forearm)
are acceptable. Hard edges define the boundaries of each component
regardless of whether or not the object is a single mesh.