Creating characters is one of those things which is personal to each author. I have read numerous articles telling how it should be done, but as I've said before, take what you can from these and do it your own way. Below I'll describe how I do it, but feel free to discard anything that doesn't work for you.
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Personality
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To begin with I focus on what type of person I want, or what does the story need. Give them a job, a family, a history or any variation of the above.
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For example: You can feel for a character whose worked all his life as a guard, but has just been dismissed for smuggling. He has a large family and the guards pay doesn't cover his costs. From his point of view he was forced into smuggling.
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Remember to give people faults. No one likes reading about the whiter than white. This is precisely the reason why anti hero's have taken off.
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Description / Looks
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After you've got the personality it is easy to come up with the way a character looks. Make sure you stick to clothing that is relevant to the setting and the particular characters social status. I.e. A common thief isn't going to go walking around the streets in rich silks, or if he / she does, it should be evident from their history. Be sure to explain it or the reader won't buy it.
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Hair colour, body size etc doesn't really matter. As long as the character is believable, the reader will take it as is. Don't go for an 18 stone thief who climbs into homes through small windows, because it's just not going to happen. Or have a skinny teenager, with no magical power that defeats dragons.
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Names
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Names are tricky. I'm talking fantasy names here. They have to be readable to the point that the reader can say the name by just running their eyes over them, but usually exotic and strange enough to accentuate the difference from our own world. The last thing you want is for your reader to stumble over a name and pull them out of the story each time they come across a character.
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There are many sites out there that offer name generators. Some are better than others, allowing you to specify the format, or specific letterings. All in all they all do the same thing, they get you thinking about sounds. You don't have to use what's generated, mix the letters up, try changing the first letter, etc.
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Dig out your old scrabble board and draw letters at random and see what you can come up with.
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I would never start creating a character with a name in mind. We all have prejudices against certain names. I.e. using the name of someone you dislike is never going to become a nice character in your story.
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The same can be said for randomly created names. If the name sounds harsh, you'll have a hard time making a gentle character and if you do, good luck convincing the reader.
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A last word
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All of this sounds so easy, when the thought of creating a character from scratch can be quite daunting. As long as you've got these initial elements in place, your character will grow in detail as you write. If you decide to add something intrinsic to his being later, you can always go back and add it in. After all, this is only your first draft. No one, no matter how well respected can write a whole novel that doesn't need revisions.
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Remember writing is supposed to be fun, it's the editing that sucks.
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Paul
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