Everyone KNOWS it's crucial to start the character creation process by making a deviantART-style ref. First and foremost make sure you list absolutely no personality traits, instead only list your characters likes and dislikes. Because personality is WAY less important than your characters adoration for strawberry pocky.
Also, it is imperative that your character be an orphan no matter what race, age, or gender they are or what background they come from. Yes, that also includes sparkle dogs. Your sparkle dog MUST be an orphan to supply the means for their tragic back story. And we all know their tragic back story is what causes them to have a kawaii-desu neko side AND a crazy, toothy-grinned side with blood draining from their black and red eyes.
Your character should also always have edgy hair swept to the left so you never have to worry about drawing the other eye (pro tip) in your comic. Don't forget, everyone LOVES an overpowered protagonist with NO flaws or weaknesses. And they LOVE when they single-handedly take down the enemy with no problem, because who cares about the supporting characters anyway? Similarly, your character should always score the biggest hottie because your character is flawless and definitely more attractive than any other character. Trust me, if you do this people are SURE to fangirl/fanboy over your creation.
Still not satisfied? Well wait, because I'm still not done yet. There is so much more you can do to make your character even MORE perfect! Here's a list of things to pick and choose from (though I recommend choosing all of them, simultaneously, without paying any attention to the fact that they may clash)
- Give your character a Japanese name in a fantasy land where Japan doesn't exist.
- Make your character the "chosen one", because obviously such a title must go to a perfect being and is absolutely necessary to progress any story.
- Give your character an alternative form like those seen in DBZ, minus being cool aesthetically.
-Pick a beloved character from a well-established property and add minor adjustments to personalize it, because this guarantees people will like them.
- Make your character gracefully weild a gargantuan sword that defies gravity and logic. Alternatively, a bow and arrow where your character NEVER misses their target.
- If there is a cool line to be said anywhere, make sure your character says it.
- Immortality and Regeneration, because plot convenience.
- Make your character have the golden pipes of a fucking angel, so when that glorious evanescence song comes on, you can pretend it is your Character singing it. Because obviously they identify with the lyrics SO much. Also bonus points for making an AMV later!
And my biggest, number 1, most IMPERATIVE and CRITICAL piece of advice in character design and creation that far surpasses any prior recommendations in importance:
Make them a furry.