A bunch of variations for the Inc The Robot design. We started with design 1, decided to keep the arms and legs as well as the face (since that's his soul), but we were going to modify the silhouette.
So first I photobashed together a bunch of alternate silhouettes, using lots of construction equipment reference (since he is a welder robot), all the time keeping our word list in mind. Inc needed to feel like a big toddler, innocent looking, a little awkward, his body could be many shapes, but the new shape needed to satisfy the story requirements exemplified by these words.
We then showed these images to a bunch of artist friends to get feedback. Most important when getting feedback is why they like what they like, because if you understand the why, you can fix the design issues in your own creative way, rather than it becoming a design by committee.
Many favored the taller robots, since they had the same height as design 1. One person pointed out that number 13 had a head too similar to "M-O" from Wall-e, so we nixed that one. People liked the chubby number 7, but felt he may have trouble getting through doorways or reaching for objects, he's supposed to be a little awkward, not super awkward. Number 9 and 3 were in the same chubby design realm, but a little more balanced. Number 2 kept coming up in people's favorites, they felt the big backpack made him look like a young kid going to school. People also liked 8 and 6, and the fact that you could see through the chest of number 12, which really made him feel robotic.
My favorite was number 8 (my opinion before we got feedback from people), so I went back and started with number 8, then modified the design based on what people liked and disliked in the other designs to arrive at the final number 14. For example, instead of putting the backpack from 2 directly on number 8, I scaling up his welder weapon and placing it on his back to served a similar visual purpose to the backpack.
Hopefully this gives you a little insight into the design process, how to start with a firm idea of what you need to accomplish for the story and for the character's personality, make a bunch of variations, get feedback from a large selection of people, and then use that feedback in a constructive manner to get the best design possible.
