This is the non-gory version. The version with his wounds and blood are on my character site. I also realize that the layer with blood had his eye color and it's hidden xD No ref.
No I dont really have a technique. I often times just stare at Hephaestus and study his positions (yes I named my cat after my old character because he surprisingly was almost identical to the appearance of him o.o). A lot of the time he lays similar to this and I just do it from memory. It took me about a week to get the outline right but I feel as though the paw is just a bit awkward looking. I will probably do my best to avoid foreshortening in the next drawings I do because it was so time consuming. I'm glad you like it though!
Oops!
Oops, you forgot something.