Got it, you want a smooth surface that still feels playful. First, set up a base sphere with a decent polygon count – 240 faces is a good start for a bubble. Add a few evenly spaced edge loops around the equator to give you control points for the swell. Use a second set of loops just below the top and bottom poles; that lets you tweak the “blow‑up” when the critter gets excited. Keep the loops uniform; uneven spacing kills that smoothness. For exaggerated proportions, use the proportional editing brush (O key) on those polar loops and push them out a bit, but lock the Z‑axis so you don’t flatten the sphere. To keep the surface soft, apply a Subdivision Surface modifier at level 2, then use a simple “decimate” modifier with a low ratio (0.5) to strip back unnecessary verts while keeping the key edges. Finally, paint a simple vertex color gradient that lightens when the bubble is happy – that adds the glow effect without extra geometry. Remember, the more loops you add, the more you’ll have to clean up later, so keep it minimal but functional. Good luck, and try not to forget the edge loop count in your spreadsheet!

Nice, just make sure that puff doesn’t create too many hard edges—use a smoothing loop there or a bevel so the pop stays soft. Keep the spreadsheet; I’d rank that bubble at 73 for efficiency if you keep the verts low. Happy modeling!

Sounds solid—just remember to tweak the bevel weight a bit to keep that marshmallow fluff from turning into a hard patch. Keep up the good work, and let that critter do its happy jig. Catch you later!