Create a sphere with multiple layers and a chunk cut out showing them

Question

I have a graphic that I plan to use in a video. Right now it's 2D and I plan to animate the layers as we discuss each point. I'm brand new to blender, but was wondering if it's possible to translate this design to a 3D one and animate the model instead. Any help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Start with a sphere and delete the faces that you don't want. Then, select the whole object in edit mode, press "E" to extrude, press "S" to scale, press "0", and then press "Enter". You can duplicate this as many times as you want and then add a normal sphere in the middle.

Answer 2

Boolean and optionally solidify modifiers.

Starting with the default cube, move it to location (1, -1, 1). This will be our boolean "cutting" object.

Add a default sphere, optionally give it a solidify modifier and a boolean modifier. With a solidify modifier will be akin to revealing a tennis ball, without chopping a quadrant out of a solid pool ball. Using solidify will stop any chances of z-fighting with overlapping cuts on inners.

Set the thickness of the "crust" using the thickness of the solidify modifier.

Set the cube as the cutting object of boolean modifier. (otherwise settings are defaults)

One I prepared earlier, showing wireframe cube, the modifiers, with without solidify, and forgot to twiddle thickness

For each next inner layer, duplicate the sphere, this ensures it also has same modifiers, scale it down, if using solidify adjust thickness to suit, .

Finally the inner core has no modifiers.

Notes:

This uses the one cutting cube, having a unique cutting object for each sphere to reveal layers on each separately.

Answer 3

Depending on what animation you need, you may be able to keep the model very simple... (which may help with animated cutaways, etc.)

.. and take advantage of the 3D Gradient (spherical) texture, quantizing it with a color ramp..

Which gives this sort of result without explicitly constructing shells.

(For example, any other intact sphere centered on the same place, sharing the same material, could be scaled in and out from the center, and would change color automatically)