Karthikeya is the General of the Gods in Indian Mythology, leading their armies into battle against the forces of evil. 

I was inspired by the design I had previously done for the “Karthikeya meets Avvaiyaar” piece and decided to upgrade his armour into a high collar and asymmetrical design based on what lance and javelin users might wear in the Olympics. The left shoulder is shielded since that side is likely to face the enemy more often, the right side being bare and allowing greater freedom of movement. The armour itself is in shades of maroon, which I have retained from the earliest colour palette I chose for Karthikeya, just for the sake of consistency. 

Unlike Ganesha, who is easily recognisable no matter what you do with him, or Rama who can be identified by being blue and carrying a bow, or Krishna who is also blue with a peacock feather in his hair or Hanuman who is a monkey, Karthikeya needed just a little extra to tell him apart from my other designs.