Hello. I am attempting to create a character model for a videogame. Regarding the image that I have posted, you can see two bolts on the chest piece of this character. I was curious to know how I would go about applying something like this my mesh? Would I sculpt this detail in to the chest piece itself or would I model any nuts and bolts separately? Thank you for your time.

whichever works better for you. The end result is what matters. So do whichever is faster for you.