I've been wanting to enter one of these contests for a while now, and this one was two challenges in one for me. Male characters and dark themes
I did a decent amount of reading on the lore surrounding Cupid/Eros before I even started sketching. The only consistency in the way he's been represented throughout history is that he's winged and carries a bow. Not much to work from
I knew I wanted to design something more along the lines of a game character, and that Cupid would definitely fall under the archer class. Between Greek and Roman mythology he's always depicted as a playful and gentle God, so I went for more of a solemn demon look.
After long hours of sketching and frustration, 32 designs and 18 color palettes later, here he is: The Anti Cupid
