The original toy and cartoon treated the B-DAMAN characters more like totems than robots. They didn't move on their own and communicated with their companions vocally. In order for our characters to be able to portray the snarky style of humor that was requested, we needed to anthropomorphize them so they could convey emotion on their own.
As a first pass, we spread out the prominent features of the robots and began to further distinguish and define their arms and legs.
I still felt as though the characters were too squatty to have a good range of motion. So we expanded their limbs and covered their mechanical bits with Mega Man inspired armor panels.
When we completed the first pass 3D model of Dracyan, we knew we were on the right track. The back panel allowed for attachments/power-ups that echoed the customization of the actual toys.
Once we were happy with Dracyan, we applied the same methodology to the rest of the characters.
BREAK BOMBER BATTLEFIELD SET
This is what the actual product looks like.
DRACYAN & DRAVISE
