My idea is to use the Finnish Maiden as a base for my character. So a blonde blue eyed female, I'm kinda thinking of her as a some kind of a mage. Finnish coat of arms has a lion and two swords in it, so I think I'm going to have her dual wielding 2 swords as well. Probably going to use the lion on the armor somewhere as well as some other finnish designs.
Just got a puppy so my time has been quite limited 
But here is what I've done so far.
References
Thumbnails
First designs. Probably going for some mix of 3 and 6.
Illustration thumbnails
Nice! I like where you're going with this character. I also really all of your illustration thumbnails. I feel like they all could make for a cool illustration 
20 days later
Thank you! In the end didn't like any of the illustration thumbnails so went with something else 
9 days later
Here the progress on the concept so far. Still a lot of work to do 
Also did a little color trial for the illustration, not sure if I like it 
8 days later
I'm almost done with concept art. Needs some work but getting there 
Also did some more color testing for the illustration. I think I like 5, 6 and 9 most.
