I want it to be as accurate as possible I.E: I want to keep the cartoon look but turn this 2D image into 3D (including the matt / bright cartoon textures).
But I’m having trouble, I’m not sure where to start, I tried box modeling but it didn’t get me very far.
You could try and find a side view and model it on top of that. If you can’t find a side view picture, you can try and draw one using that picture as a reference.
I tried box modeling but it didn’t get me very far.
Box modeling can go a long way. Slice up the cube one way. If that is not going the right way, start over and cut them up the different way. Try different starting shapes. Try to see what kind of mesh flow you are getting and what you are after. Always experiment. More you try, more proficient you become. Before long you will start to see what kind of mesh flow you will need to make the shape. When you reach that point, it becomes faster to just mesh it free hand stating from simple geometry.
Aside from modeling, creating 3D model from 2D cartoon is a challenge in itself. Cartoon characters are drawn to look good from given view. They don’t need to be accurate in 3D. They just need to look good! So you end up with bunch of reference drawings that doesn’t really fit from different point of view. You end up modifying the character to make it look good in 3D!
Here is example of my quick work over:
A) I started form cube, scaled it along the body, and started basic cuts. Here the cuts were added along the body to create the area where legs can be extruded.
B) Working with mirror modifier now. Extra cut was made where neck can be extruded out. Side of rectangle was moved to make the body more round. Selected area shows where insets were made. This will add extra loop geometry around the extrusions.
C) In this image, the selected faces were original inset rings. Neck was extruded up and out twice. Legs and body vertex were moved around to form rough shape or the body. At this point I was really tempted to add more loop cuts to refine the shapes. But remember this is just a quick build. Adding complexity at this point will slow you down on your experimental build!
D) Legs were extruded and formed. Vertex were moved around to make it look like the image from that point of view.