Part 2

Practicalities and Context (Economical Drawing, Story) 

If you still haven't got an idea for your character, think of it as a game. Simply choose a random Animal + Occupation + Verb. (This is how I made my animation "Anything Goes" : Baboon + Clown + Falling Down).

Developing the Character:

Fleshing out the idea requires imagination and notes. Keep a separate page for writing a description of your character as the idea starts to develop.

Do lots of sketching. It's good to try different ideas and develop pictures to different levels of completion.

Collect relevant images and use software (Poser) or photography to help you figure out anatomy and proportions.

Try variations of your character – simplest shapes, not repeating – change: proportions, angle, features – chaotic and experimental.

Use (facial and body position) expression to develop character and be part of story.

Symbolic marks like movement lines, light bulbs, question marks, drunk bubbles, music notes, Pig Pen’s dirty cloud (from Charlie Brown) and speech bubble can be used to great effect.

Physical attributes: scar, tattoo, related to props (era) Script & other characters.
Think about occupation,  skills, culture and generally how does the character fit in their world.

Practicalities:

Be economical. Limit features if having to draw 100’s of times (if repetition is likely). Think about range of motion required (reaching {can’t have tiny arms and big head} for things riding a bike {must reach the pedals}etc). “Cartoon” solutions, elongating arms etc. Ask yourself if the character is “impractical”.

Tools in Context/Worldbuilding:

Story: Consider your form of story. Comics, animation etc, have lots of information to sort through and can explain verbally what's happening. Could you tell the story with only pictures? How many frames?

Be Relatable: Encourage audience to connect with characters through context and the appeal of being familiar.

Be Fantastic: It's art; so sometimes it's good to explore the range of possibilities. Make things wondrous and impossible in the real world. Impractical, ornate, foreign, or outright weird can be fun and intriguing.

Use anecdotal or fictional story, background, triumphs and defeats, strengths, weaknesses, motivations.

Connecting your character to  literature, human history or personal experiences, can help to make a believable departure from your regular spectrum  of knowledge/creation. In other words, it's hard to imagine the world of a (for example) doctor if you've never been one. Finding a model and references will help. You don't necessarily have to give away who your character is actually based on (or any of your references). Did you know Alien with Sigourney Weaver is based on the kid's story "Little Red Riding Hood"? And Star Wars is based on an old Samurai movie? Cultural appropriation is a part of the design process in general, and can be very useful with character design. You can do a period piece and it will help you pick costumes, sets, and architecture in the background.




Tips on Worldbuilding
More Tips


Choose visual style to relate to audience and tone/mood.

Here's an interesting one using modelling clay:
Kid's Book about Monsters

An image search for "sepia + illustrated novel" could give you ideas: