Something i like to do when creating characters is to include details, concepts and themes that i don't see a lot of in art/OC spaces such as pacman, carrots, air conditioners or old monster movies (all of which i actually have OCs based on) honestly sometimes i just get inspired by the most random shit (like for example: i literally made a my little pony OC named "deez nuts" all because i saw a comment on a siivagunner video that said that "deez nuts" sounds like a pony name; she's not a joke character either, i take her VERY seriously)
I also tend to not draw any concept art either, i kinda just let the idea marinate in my head until i'm ready to draw out the design. I might tweak the designs here and there later, but i usually tend to wait until i have a near-100% crystal clear vision of what i want the character to be and THEN draw it out