Thank you everyone for the kind words! I didn't expect feedback like this so I'm both really happy with my work and that you all like him!
Omg thank you so much for the compliments and feedback! I agree with you wholeheartedly, and I share the same concerns. What I'll probably do is that because the character is so big anyway (like mountain big) it's It's likely we'll only see part of him in the final piece anyway. His wings are certainly far too big to have on the whole page, and I'll really only focus on the torso up! I struggled a little with the skin tone and making it blend seemlessly whilst also having it stand out, but I also do agree with the lava running down his face. In the final I'll make it simpler, and probably not have the glow from underneath his helmet.
Reference sheet wise you are also right, I only intended for it originally to be a simple flat tone sheet with no detail or painting. I either got too ahead of myself or just had too much fun rendering it. I do have the original file though so I'll release a flat colour and no paint version too, and that should help with readability! I have plenty of time so I might honestly do the back and side sheets too, and I'd like more indepth closeups of what his crest looks like, and maybe even some mood sheets and how that reflects on him! The emblem I was planning to have on the front of the crest but in this case I totally forgot lol I think I might put it somewhere else though like maybe the sword... Hmm..
Thank you so much for this feedback, I will work on what you'd said and improve him 
First of all yes, yes angels are absolutely my jam lmao I'm not religious so it's more just for the fact they're super duper cool looking dudes.
Yes I do also agree, I always go a little too far on details so I'll try tone it down for the final. I want to work on atmosphere and scale for my final piece anyway so I've planned not to even use most of his body
(Oh and, can anyone tell me how to reply to multiple responses at once? Unless I'm just dumb I can' seem to figure it out lmao)
I don't think you can replay to multiple post in the same time but you can tag multiple people on the same post.
omg I feel so dumb thank you I didn't realise I could tag people
Wow! This is epic!!! Amazing work so far!!! Can't wait to see more!
Working on commissions today so I didn't get any work done for Phaedrus, but I did revisit the full body of him and took away all the painting basically and made it flat shading so I can show the design and colours off better! Any feedback is welcome! I'm thinking of making his floaty drapery more red to purple in tone as I don't like the pale fleshy kinda colour and I want to make it richer in colour. I did mess around with some but I wasn't really happy with much. I did maker it lighter with these flats though as I felt the value with conflicting and wanted to make it read better. Any suggestions? 
I almost like this simpler version better, he looks so elegant and clear. I love how the drapery looks like billowing smoke, its so cool!
Thanks! Yeah I tweaked a few of the colours and values so they purposefully read better and it is clearer too. I want to find this balance when i come to doing the final piece, so it's likely some individual elements will change (such as the colour of the rocks for example)
Well it's awesome so far and I can't wait to see the final!
This is very badass looking already. Can't wait to see more updates! Also, happy sketching everyone scrolling by
already looking a lot better on the side of readability. I agree on the color changes you have planned, the pale fleshy color on the drapery is almost unsettling to the eye, lol. Would definitely say to keep it if you were aiming for something more horrifying, but this guy, he's so majestic, he deserves all the richest and most regal of colors ;D
I think you could keep some of the molten lava coming out of his chest where the blade protrudes, as well on the hands, I think it'll read fine - maybe just be a bit more sparing with where and how you place them and I think it'll look awesome! Not sure how familiar you are with principles of design, but I'd take a look at doing a few studies on the principles of design to inform your designs in the future if you want. I use this exact document as a reference when I need to brush up on a certain element of design:
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-rgrXVLTUJoY%2FVLPunEtz_PI%2FAAAAAAAAAP8%2Fxm0DRmVhpSc%2Fs1600%2Fprinciples_design%252Bcopy.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
Looking great, this is gonna be a delicious illustration, yum!
I'm a bit late, but daaaamn I love the energy in your sketches
@obsidanite Oh the lava will still be in the same places as was featured in the previous one, I omitted it for the sake of clarity and readable purely so you can see the colour of his skin! He will still be leaking so don't worry xD But yes, I will review his colours a little bit, overall happy with most of it, just the rocks and drapery that don't look right to me. Thank you for the link I'll be sure to read over it, and I'll be doing more sketches and mini paintings for Phaedrus so I can get him looking prim and proper for the final piece! Thanks again for the feedback
@tck Thanks so much! And nah, I've only really been here a few days, I still have so much planned for this challenge!
OMG! I lovee the design of your character! The color palette is very vibrant!! Maybe change the color of the dagger to a cold one, to accentuate that someone else attacked him
Thanks! Hmm I was considering making it a cooler colour, I like the idea of it literally being white hot from having been plunged in the heart of this fire god. I don't think it would really go well with the coolness of his skin though, but I'll mess around with that in some future colour options so thank you!
I am really looking forward to your final illustration, because all of these things look absolutely awesome so far, I love how just incredibly dynamic and flowy everything is, but yeah, as some have previously said, keep in mind the readability of the composition for the final one.
Your work is soooo good tho 
Thanks! Yeah, I think readability will be the hardest thing for me, I've made the same mistake before on complicated characters so I fully intend on changing that this time. I appreciate everyone's support too it really helps me a lot.
Alright so, Im going to visit the design of the character a bit later. After having done these thumbs, it's going to be tough to implement it fully but I believe it's possible and can be done well. I put together a couple more moodboards for refs of volcanos and mountains at various perspectives, I know scale and perspective is big on my mind for this piece as I really want to push the godly and intimidating feel of the character. I also was thinking about whether pitting him against another god of a different element (it wouldn't be very obvious) or even his brother and exacting revenge (referring to something like the top right or bottom right with a body on the ground kinda thing).
Please let me know your thoughts! I will most certainly do more thumbs yet but I want to know your guys' opinions on what works best in these thumbnails. They are numbered and I did try to make them as clear as possible!
If you guys have any suggestions too as to what kind of situation this character would look good in let me know!
