If I plan to get a job anytime soon I've gotta get a hell of a lot better at ZBrush, so I'll start by getting a handle on the sculpting and topology tools before working on texturing.
Honestly, best place to start is an Orc from Warcraft (with the classic helmet design of course). You can have fun stacking muscle on muscle and create shoulder armor that's thicker than a Popeye's biscuit.