Help with modeling a robot

[Anonymous]

Hello! I'm pretty new to 3D modeling and I've been playing around with Maya for a while now trying to figure out how to model a robot character, more specifically, a Transformer. I have the very basics down, but I am struggling with one thing that I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for. 

With this kind of robot, they are less boxy and more like humans wearing armor with lots of different parts sort of layered on. If you are familiar with Transformers: Prime, you will understand what I mean. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a clear idea of how to go about this from looking at tutorials for robots or humans. To better understand what I mean, I will leave links at the bottom for reference.

My question is this: in order to get that armored look, should I start with a base humanoid form and build the plating components on top with new shapes, or should I work from one polygon? In other words, if an arm has noticeable layers of armor, should I build a basic arm first and put the plating over it, or should the arm be one solid piece? 

Here's a diagram to better explain:

 

In addition, here are some references for the kind of look I am trying to replicate:

These are screencaps from the actual show. Do you see how they are very organic in addition to being mechanized?

Link 1

Link 2

These two are official images as well, one shows the model without being in a scene, and the other is the actual reference sheet for the character.

Link 3

Link 4

Finally, here are a few fanmade models people have made on their own. The first two were made with Maya, and the third was done in Blender.

Link 5

Link 6

Link 7

So if anyone could help me out, I would much appreciate it! Sorry if I'm a bit hard to understand though, I found it rather difficult to explain what I meant. Please let me know if you need clarification. Thank you~

An additional note: I'm not really looking to animate my character or anything like that. I mostly want to make the model to use as a better drawing reference. 

[damaggio]

Yes you could start working from a cube and extruding to create the shapes from your reference image.

Also it will be a lot easier to model the large pieces separately over the main body, it will be easier to UV map later and texture it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it!

Could you be more specific about modeling the larger pieces over the main body? Do you mean I should model the body shape and then create a separate cube and form the armor plating directly over it? Please correct me if I'm wrong. 

[damaggio]

Yes ,model the armor separately, if some part seems very tight onto the body perhaps it could be one piece, you gonna have to judge that.

Take a closer look at how the other modelers did and maybe you can find a wireframe on Turbosquid or a google search.

Have fun.