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@xvz: HMMMMMMMMMMMM... never thought much about process tbh but lemme try.
1- Reason for making character: If story or RP based, what role are they filling? If design only, what is the main source of inspiration?
2- Major aspects of appearance: What is most important to their look? What makes most sense for their role/story, or what concepts do I most want to use? Could be any trait like nationality, color scheme, species, clothing style, occupation...
3- Personality: What kind of person are they? What are their basic likes/dislikes, hobbies, etc?
4- Minor aspects of appearance: Tweaks and smaller details to better reflect personality and lifestyle
5- Backstory: Where do they come from/how do they fit into the story/how did they get there?
6- Details: Fine-tuning and stuff a lot of people wouldn't really think or care about that makes the character more of an individual. Favorites, details or their past, quirks and habits, answers to what-ifs, who their friends are, how they feel about certain topics or events, and so on. This can go on indefinitely, depending on how long I've had the character/how much they're used, and can cause future changes to their designs, driving character evolution over time.
My oldest story characters have been through so many changes, they're not even the same character any more as I've molded them from "random design I liked at the time" to "fleshed out character who has a purpose and a world to fit into". The ones who started out being made for a particular world and purpose have, understandably, changed less. The ones who have remained "design and vague personality/backstory only", which I just keep for making/getting art of and don't really belong to a story or RP, aren't as prone to change unless I get bored lol
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