I also really enjoyed the idea of hiding the eyes, on the other hand I like that he shows emotion and pain through his eyes, really he's in a lot of tragic pain, I'll probably keep going back and forth lol OR maybe just hide one eye joy
Full body design! Still something off but I've got plenty of days left so I'll think on the design, get another sheet going for other angles of him and then work on the thumbs for the final piece! He's more of a lava-fire kinda guy now.
A little more of his backstory is that he was once fighting for the good of all gods but another god had started working against him, Phaedrus was framed by this other god and imprisoned within a great volcano prison. After many centuries of pain and thoughts of vengeance he finally arises, having amassed much power.
I wanted to point out this is just an illustration showing his colours, full body design etc this won't be my final piece! For my final piece I will be showing more of a perspective based piece, much like those shown in my moodboards.
Cool! interesting idea .
That looks great! I love how the wings really look like they were formed from magma. Very appealing design.
Ahh thank you so much! Yeah it went from fiery fire to fiery magma which I'm enjoying delving into, not something I've ever really drawn or painted before
Wow your colours are looking nice nice! All those saturated reds against his grey skin looks really appealing
Not doing much today, but more focusing on some of his story and how he appears to others. It hasn't been mentioned yet, but Phaedrus was huge, large enough to have to be contained within a volcano. When he arose, the fire atop his bright crest turned into clouds of ash, which rained upon those who stood against him. His fire becoming lava, seeping from the very wounds he sustained many centuries back. His very rage explodes from his being, while his face says that of pain. For once he was a benevolent and kind god, ravaged from the very core now seeks to destroy all that had betrayed him. "Phaedrus; God of Light, ruler of all that burns in life"
On a design note I'm not entirely happy with his design from the torso up. I want to make his crest more ornate, and give give him some elements of Greek armour and clothing. The drapery that floats around his body is what he throws and becomes a sheet of lava falling from the sky.
Alright so here's some basic variations of typical Roman (if a little bit fantasised) armour. In the end the type of feel I want this character to have is that of pride and pain, he was betrayed by at one point a dear friend and is overwhelming with emotion. I want his outfit to really represent this, and the struggles he faced when the world turned against him and had everything stripped away. These were before I discussed the ideas on another forum, but I was originally going with something inherently Roman/greek influenced but I'm also exploring sketches and ideas in how his body is breaking and forming armour itself, how the fight left him more damaged than even he knows and is now pushing his body too far, regardless of being an ulmighty god.
Either way these were a rough iteration of the previous ideas, and whatever idea I go with he'll have the floating drapery featured on the last one.
Did these last night. Been thinking in depth a lot about his design and I wasn't happy with where it was going. There was substance but I feel like I'd have been disappointed if I continued with it. So instead I sat down (or technically just sent a few messages over discord) with some friends and discussed his story and his design to get some feedback. After a while I got a load of ideas and how I want his design to come about.
I thought more of his story too, this other God he fought was his brother, that yearned for the attention Phaedrus got. Idatrus was his brother and was only ever in his shadow. Phaedrus was a mighty god, both proud and kind and he was revered the world over by gods and humans alike. Idatrus spit his charmed venom at those around him, eventually turning everyone against Phaedrus and had tricked the other gods into imprisoning him in the great volcano. Not before a fight ensued between Phaedrus and Idatrus though, and weakened by the scorned words of both mortal and immortal men, had Idatrus' sword plunged into his heart and locked away.
I like where it's going! Here are some rough traditional sketches I did and will work on some more design sheets of his newer design. In particular, I wanted the outside to show that he is a broken and defeated god. I've had a lot of feedback on people saying he looks sinister or evil, but that isn't what I want to go for. Phaedrus was betrayed and hurt by those closest to him, and even being a god he suffers much pain. I want to be able to express his pain through his design and actions!
Some friends had a good idea of instead having actual armour, he should have bits of broken parts of him forming around him acting as some sort of crude barrier, and the only thing left of his once decadent and prideful self is his crest that is now falling apart and letting all his fire out.
I really like all of these sketches!
And your friends ideas is pretty cool too, I think you should go with that!
It definitely adds a lot of backstory.
Thanks! I definitely will do. Was struggling as I wanted to give him some ornate armour or just something other than a bare chest so I think this works well!
I've read all your iterations since my last intervention. I love how things are moving, your ideas make a lot of sense and give your character a real depth. I haven't much to say so keep going this is really great 
Ahh thank you! Yeah I want to push myself into not just settling for what comes to mind first, and ending up with a solid design that reflects both the story and aspirations of the character. I'm excited as to where it's going!
Here's that updated character sheet which I'll do colours for later. Definitely think this is a step up from his previous design and I'll work on incorporating more of the fire and lava too. Again this isn't the start of the final piece, I am planning on starting the final piece next week. But design wise I think he's pretty finalised
Finished colour palette and final design. Gonna start the final illustration thumbs next but probably will spend a few days doing lava, wing and fire painted studies before I move on though. I draw fire a lot but I don't paint it very often, and when I do it doesn't tend to look how I want it to so I want to get a good bit of practice and experience first. Same with lava, never painted it before either. Wanted to say too that the lava redness featured on the previous full coloured design will be present on this design, I just didn't include any lava this time around
Here's a closeup! 
OMG this is so good! Your lineart and colours are so expressive 
