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