Post facto

• For a quick lookdev experiment, I managed to squeeze out a rig, a shader and an animation. Not bad.
• Scratched another fan art itch, but I wish I pushed it further creatively.
• No plan - started as a low-poly mesh, used Bevel modifier to get highlights, dirty topology.
• That Bevel modifier gave me some soft edges but it was too uniform. In hindsight some manual bevels and careful edge distribution would have given me better shading and deformation.
• The shader's proof of concept worked, but ultimately it relied too much on camera angle.
  It would have been a pain in the ass to make it look passable from all angles, and outside the scope of this experiment. Now I see why PlatinumGames made hand-painted textures on ALL surfaces in Transformers: Devastation, it's just much more reliable. Procedural anything is a double-edged sword.

Think again.

If I were to do this over:

I'd create an original character that matches the existing world; name, look, bio, specs, the works.
I'd shift the challenge to integrating something new seamlessly in an already-existing world.

I'd make the animation of a commercial bumper, a 6-second action.

Better planning: draft some storyboards and sketches.