When you create your characters, are they influenced by anything?

[Rem 8]

I'd say the thing that influences my characters most is how I picture their overall aesthetic.
Typically I come up with a character concept and focus on the visuals, then decide what traits or quirks complement that.
That's not to say I follow stereotypes or cliches of any sort. I just think a lot in pictures so it helps flesh out the character to think of that first.

[aithne 1]

I find character and story inspiration all over the place. What makes them come to life is my brain screaming at me "this one!" and throwing a ton of ideas at me.

[amaikaorii 0]

Yes! All the time. I draw inspiration from characters in pop culture and also real life. My favourite and first ever male character was influenced by a character in a book and then given personality traits from my husband, and a teacher friend of mine. I think it makes for a stronger personality if you can draw inspiration from people around you/in books etc. They always start out the most powerful for me, I get them immediately, whereas sometimes with the characters I've made just because I felt like it, it takes me some time to warm up to them. 

[lynncia 1]

Tbh I can get inspired by anything and everything. I feel like my mind just works all the time, trying to come up with new characters. Different things can be combined to create a whole new thing. It also depends on what I want to write at the moment.