Thanks for the responses, guys!
Xion... this is actually an older project from when I was in highschool. Lately my coworkers have been trying to convince me to resurrect it. And yeah... I've been battling the girliness. I could lose the ponytail but it gives such a great sense of motion to the character. I tried giving him armor that wasn't bra-shaped but it's only marginally helping.
Kakikukeko, yeah I haven't decided whether I like the slow, smooth ponytail or not. I'm still working on the arms/torso; I don't like it much either.
The sword will be huge and probably have a serrated edge... I haven't finished designing it yet but it'll be cool.
Orclaeder, one of these days I'll do a WIP, but basically I start with simple shapes and 1 color and just quickly make a rough sketch of the character. Then I take that and refine it until it looks smooth. Then I'll go in and add the detailed body parts one at a time; I usually do the head, then torso, then legs, then arms, then finishing details. Any details or outlines or shading gets saved for last.
