Can't post screenshots at the moment: I'll do so later (if I remember). In the meantime, I'll just describe how I usually create / evolve my characters like Elmofongo did.
I very rarely create a character that represents me / looks like me. Instead, I like to experiment with different races (in the sense of ethnicity but also in the fantasy meaning). I think it would be boring to always play as "me". If the option is given, I prefer to play as a female character instead of male. Not only do I then become more invested in the character (and become more cautious), I simply like to look at female characters more than males. Hey, if it's an epic roleplaying game with 50-80 hours of gameplay, wouldn't you rather have a character you like to ogle? Okay, that sounded weird but I think you get my idea. I try to do my best to make them the most appealing to the eye as I can (=make them the most beautiful I can); I don't care if that makes them "less realistic". I rather have my fem-Shep to be a beauty queen than a battle-scarred butch. The reasons I already explained. This naturally goes to face/hair, but I'm also willing to compromise between different gear if a certain piece of armor looks better than the other, but doesn't have as good stats: I will go with the better looking armor in that case. Note that better looking armor doesn't necessarily mean more revealing: if it looks better, I will go with. Simple as that.
As for classes and stuff, I tend to lean more in the warrior/swords/guns -style of playing, rather than mage/thief stuff. Having a mage is usually much more detailed and complex with all these different spells and shit: having a brute who likes to swing their sword is much more simpler and therefor suits better my preferences. Thieves I've found aren't usually the best in 1v1 combat, and I'm not very good at staying hidden. It all depends on the game at hand however: if I know beforehand that having a fireball handy will make things easier, I'll have a fireball with me. And again, I like to experiment a little everywhere. For example, in Dark Souls, I played the Pyromancer class: I did have an almost maxed-out fireball spell with me by the end of the game, but I also had a Soul arrow (sorcery) and a Heal spell (miracle). Although I mostly relied on melee in that game (I wielded a heavy ass Greataxe and a shield).
Finally, naming: it depends. If they have minimum character creation (you're faceless and pretty much only get to name your character), I usually go with "Dise". That's my nickname in real life. If the creator's more robust, I just give the character a name I think sounds nice (my character in Dark Souls was named Marie; my troll street samurai's name in Shadowrun: Returns was Kincaid, etc.), or I ask my gf for a suggestion (my main characters were then Toby and Melissa in Always Sometimes Monsters).
A couple of recent examples of my characters:
- Dark Souls. A blonde, lean, innocent looking girl with a ponytail. Armor that looks kinda Samurai-inspired. Heavy ass Greataxe you'd think she'd never be able to lift with one hand, much less swing it with one hand, if you took a look at her. About 90% hitter, 10% caster.
- South Park: Stick of Truth. Don't judge me, but I just had to know if Cartman would have some witty comment about my choice of character! So I made...a black thief. Yes, a little black boy with freckles, and his class is Thief. I remember Cartman saying "you look sneaky enough to be a thief". Not sure if this was a stock comment, or if it was indeed because of his skin color. Again, don't judge me: this is South Park. There are worse things that could exist in that universe. As for gear, I just roll with whatever has the best stats but still looks cool. I think I'm at the end, and I'm wearing a full Knight armor (with a bit of color adjusting) and a sweet katana.
- Shadowrun: Dragonfall. An ork, because hey, I hadn't yet been an ork in any game. That character was called "Zehn" because we were in Berlin. I think orks should be male, so he was a male. He was a rifleman / b-class rigger (because there was another guy in my party who was better in that). He had the right side of his whole body replaced with augmentations.
TL;DR version: I'm never "the same" character. I like to experiment with genders/classes/races. Practically, I'm almost never (the real-life) me. I prefer female characters. I want them to look pretty and/or cool. I'm not wearing the best set of armor (stats-wise) if another, lesser set looks better. I prefer melee weapons / guns over magic / stealth.
