Character Inspiration and Artwork

[Crimson Dynamo]

I was wondering what kinds of images you guys and gals use when creating characters. Do you start with a mental image and then try to find or draw a picture to match it, or the other way around? If so, what are some examples of portraits you've used before. Or do you even bother with a portrait and just stick to written descriptions?

Me, I usually end up with the mental image first, but that almost always leads to frustration as I can never find anything that comes close to matching it. So I tend to try to find inspiration first and then build around that. In the former case I almost always give up and go strictly with a written description, but having a portrait really, really helps me a lot when generating a character.

Here's a few of the ones I've used in past games. My group tends to favorite Rifts, but this really is open to any sort of game. Unfortunately, I didn't actually see a general forum that encompassed them all that wasn't specialized for something else, so I opted for the Rifts one. Apologies if there was somewhere more appropriate that I overlooked.

• Resarion, a wolfen cyber-knight. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of more modern trappings in the artwork, but the overall look was just too cool to my eyes.
• Dario, a really fun techno-wizard that lasted a lot longer than his unintentionally suicidal tendencies should have allowed. "Curiousity killed the techno-wizard" and all that.
• Kincade, a two-fisting, gunslinging-wannabe juicer. ChuckWalton does some amazing work with Rifts concepts and deserves all the praise. He was made for a game in the Vampire Kingdoms, and I just couldn't pass it up once I saw the picture. It was my first time trying out a Juicer, and they've gone on to become one of my most favorite concepts in the game.
• Arthur Hess, a combat cyborg and former sheriff from the New West who went with a Mark I CyberSlinger chassis. I thought he was going to be more fun than he was, but he ended up being completely outmatched by a mundane Gunslinger villain and perished in his first duel. Let's just say that I didn't mind rolling up a replacement character, hahaha.
• Cogsley, another techno-wizard for a more off-the-rails one-shot adventure, this one of an evil alignment. This one was a gnome, but we didn't bother trying to create a race for him and just used the typical human/normal d-bee stats. He wasn't as fun as Dario was, but I got to play around with a way more crazy TW items with him. So that was enjoyable.

So how about you? Where do you find your inspiration, and what kind of art do you tend to favor for your characters?

[boxee]

I usually start with an idea then look around for artworks then start writing what I want to play then look for more art then go back to writing round and round I go till I get what I feel is what I want to play. Sometimes I do not find art that I want but usually I am able to find something close. I thought your characters looked interesting. Hope to hear more about them.
I have been writing a pantheon of my own. It started here on the forums but at the time did not find alot of interest. I have kept returning to it over the years. I have been inspired by artworks and have been working on it ever since. I do not own the artwork and do not know where I even found the art after years.
Hope this has helped you out.

[Curbludgeon]

I've played the old-school MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing since junior high, and as a result of that combined with limited mobility means I'm pretty cool with stick figures.

[psiandco]

I tend to collect character art all the time for games I enjoy.
Step 1. I go to deviant art and search.
Step 2. I ask the artist if I can use the art privately for a game. I am not an art thief. If I can, I will commission the artist!
Step 3. Goto staples or office max, and print out one copy.
Step 4. Take the single image and place it in the character sheet jacket pocket on the outside.

I tend to start with "character first" and pick a single image that fits.
The following art belongs to me, bought and paid for. you can use it "Privately", do not distribute.

derp. seems I can't link to my Deviant art stash without insanely long URLs. ugh.
I'll try a google drive link in a few days.

[drewkitty ~..~]

I know one time I was inspired by an artwork for a Rifts game. I made a NightSpawn char (I have that core-book) from this picture... https://yande.re/post/show/141153 .
Using the data sheet from the Gundam model used for the artwork I specs out the char's morphus with features that mimicked the systems in that Gundam model. Then did a round about negotiations with the GM to get to something he would okay for his game.

Gundam Model....like in asking 'what model ford do you have?'

[psiandco]

Then did a round about negotiations with the GM to get to something he would okay for his game.

Interesting art. The style is "mecha musame"? (*spelling?) I did similar with a cover of "ninja high school" by Ben Dunn, of Antarctic press. The girl said her character was a Japanese exchange student, and a"cosplayer". her boyfriend gave her this suit before disappearing ( went home in his ufo ).

The suit was powered by a zero point generator, and a star trek "replicator". The suit would fabricate all the mini-missiles and ammo. It could beam up some dirt, and build stuff from the atomic particles. She could summon all kinds of weaponry, even stuff bigger than she was! Like that "Power extreme" cartoon...

Flight, super leaping, mecha karate kicks and punches, lasers, masers, particle beams, plasma cannons, coil guns, rail guns, regular guns, a plasma sword...
An a.i. Scanned all communications and gave her the important bits, and so on. the player, she even did cartoon voices when she was in costume!

I think her superheroine code name was "gunbunny" ...

[psiandco]

Gah! The cartoon was the "centurions" and they'd summon additions to their exo-frames by shouting "Power extreme!"

The player's suit could transform and evolve, if she found new art she liked her character's suit would change to the new design. Powers: create force constructs, sonic flight. ( The added benefit of not having to explain where The ammo, weapons, an such came from, or where any evidence went. I also didn't have to explain how a 19 year-old girl was building/repairing alien hyper-tech...)

The force field was holographic, and appeared how she wanted it to look.
She always had big mecha "rabbit ears".

ahh, Ninja High school, princess Asrial...
She was a GUNDAM GIRL before it was cool.
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n ... 231741.jpg
https://files1.comics.org//img/gcd/cove ... 4848806433
and
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n ... 669507.jpg