How do you make your characters?

[FamousLastWords]

how do you make your characters? do you plan them out, base them off book/show/movie characters, actors, celebs, etc., or do you just go for it? also, what type of characters do you usually make? realistic, robotic, humanoid, creepypasta, etc?


please don't hesitate to take this down if it has already been asked. i'm quite new to this place.

[magicfairy]

I make none realistic, I may have some inspired off real life things but that's just me. I'm thinking on making a Peridot character from Steven Universe and my gemsona, but I'm too lazy. But rarely any humanoids rather than gems.

EDIT: Forgot to say how. I make my characters first by listening to a song, then it think of the mood of the song and then just make the song sound like it fits a scenario. Then I imagine a scene with a random character, that's how they begin. Then I imagine their look and personality, how they would react to their surroundings and such. It usually takes weeks of imagining over and over again in order to construct one character.

[Panzram]

Most of my characters are based off of shows, and it's uncommon of me to create a new character from scratch mostly because I lack the creativity to do so. Some may be realistic, some are humanoid. I don't exactly have a preference because character development is just fun to play around with if it involves different types.

And hh- Steven Universe. I really need to get into that. I find it interesting how they're based off gems.

[greenart6]

I usually just think of a particular trait I want them to have and then design the character from there. Or I base them off of completely random things (you'd be surprised how much the Sims 3 effects my characters XD Also I based two of my characters off of LEGO minifigures...). Other times I just head into character creator and pick random options I don't normally use to create a character.

I usually make realistic or semi-realistic animal characters.

[Warriorstrike]

Most of my characters are carefully planned out, based on books, or based on movies, with the exception of a few. Sometimes I'll combine the three and see what comes out of it. I usually go for realistic or semi-realistic when it comes to creating characters.

[FizzyPaws]

What I typically do, is pick a specific species, and a color palette. There are websites that show good color combos, or you can just look up the color wheel, and pick a combo from there. While I'm making my characters, I usually think of their backstory, and how I plan to use them. When I make fursonas I take the time to fit characteristics that I like into it. My most current ones are Voltage (because of my love of Mountain Dew) and October (because of my love of Halloween). When it comes to character design, there are many things that come into play. Here is a really good character design walkthrough (it's more of tips) that can help when creating unique designs!

http://tsebresos.deviantart.com/art/Character-Design-Tips-508639240

Inspiration can really come from anywhere. Just look around you, and you'll find something that will inspire designs.

[FamousLastWords]

i'm loving the replies up to now. shows how different everyone is. in a good way, of course. (=

[FizzyPaws]

Each and everyone has their own unique way of making characters, and I too like to see how everyone gets their inspiration.

[anahel]

I tend to make characters at random, although I usually delete those ones after about an hour. The characters who I do keep come from an idea or concept I wanted to create - be it a cyborg dog or a specific coloration of a breed I wanted to replicate. 
 
What it really comes down to for me is the character, not the design. Sometimes I use random generators to get some basic character traits and work with those, but I usually have a concept in mind already. 
 
I try and replicate dog breeds a lot, although I end up making a preset in the end like 90% of the time because the markings aren't juuuust perfect.

[Wolflover224]

I do humanoid, cyborg/robotic, realistic, and semi realistic characters. I usually plan them out, and I have bases characters off characters in books/movies/shows. o3o

also the majority of my characters are fanmade XD