One of the interesting things about beetle carapaces is that they don't look tough--but you can step on some of them without damaging them. Several exobiologists (tho they weren't called that back then) went on record as saying human-sized exoskeletons would never work. Two obvious objections are that materials engineering has made progress since then and that unknown chemical and gravitational conditions might MAKE such things possible.

To make it look obvious without a context like a broken axe in the picture, I would have to suggest texturing it. Patterns of fissures and 'chipped' areas might make it look tough the way heavy scars make human fighters look like they have stamina. If you're trying to appeal to an audience who loves contrasts and surprise, make that proboscis look exceptionally weak and thin--they grind their food just getting it to the mouth, right? They would claw a giant tortoise once and slurp up the turtle soup from the resulting puddle. Good luck.

Here's an anatomical outline for a drawing I'm working on. While I've started to draw the clothing and armor already, I'm not too far into it to be able to start over if any suggestions can be made to improve the anatomical outline. I already know that the left (our right) horn needs to be repositioned in order to make sense at that angle… Any other ideas for improvement? And yes, the "abs" are supposed to look like that.

Looking good so far.

Here's the almost-finished picture of the second outline of Sharal. You'll notice from the eraser marks that I'm having trouble deciding what to put on her arms for clothing. Also, I'm not quite satisfied with the leggings. Any suggestions are welcome. I'll draw in her tail on this outline after I get those two things figured out.

In case you're wondering, her skimpy clothing is a racial-cultural thing; the Poruqe (the race she belongs to) are often highly interested in majesty and beauty, and tend to wear either less clothing to emphasize their natural beauty or more extravagant clothing adorned with lots of accessories. Sharal is of the former type, of course. As a battlemage, she also makes up for the lack of protectiveness of her clothing with magic.

Herr D said

As to those arms, from your description of the culture? I would say small, magical amulets tied on with leather thongs.
Your pic with the horns? I think you've done fine with everything, but I want to know about the horns! Did they originate from cultures that lock horns or just hammer? That might say something interesting about the way they developed culturally.

Amulets? On the arms? Wouldn't that potentially get in the way of swinging whatever weapon I give her?

As for the Grendemoth (I assume you're talking about that), they don't really have a culture. They're an engineered race, created by a ritual performed by druids for a long-dead nation to serve as guardians of that nation. While the nation didn't last long enough to make use of the Grendemoths, the druids which created them outlasted the nation itself, thus allowing the ritual to complete. Since then, individual Grendemoths have sort of assimilated (mostly as second-class citizens) into whatever society they find themselves in. The particular Grendemoth in the picture belongs to a nation based mostly on a combination of ancient Mesopotamia and medieval India.

I've decided to re-do Brigrada Allslayer, given that her clothing reflected neither her culture nor her status within said culture. I've got the outline of her body finished, though I will say that her right foot looks awkward (given that it's a hoof, and it's bent at that angle; I'm not sure what can be done about that.) Any thoughts on that?

I've started on the clothes, as well; while I'm far from finished, I figured I'd also upload what I have so far. Any advice is appreciated, but I'm especially interested in advice on how to make her armor look A. More functional-looking, B. More Norse-looking, C. More regal-looking, and D. More able to convey the "theme" of her clan, which prides itself on its reputation for being able to take down any foe.