People sometimes ask what the process looks like, expecting something more organised than it actually is. So — honestly:
It starts with a shape, not a character. A loop, a blob, a couple of lines that cross in a way that looks like it could be a shoulder. No plan for what it is yet.
Then I keep drawing around that first shape until something in it starts looking like it wants to be a face, or a paw, or a stack of clothing. Most of the time the first ten minutes are thrown out completely and only the last two lines survive into the final piece.
Colour comes last, and it is where the character actually gets its personality — the line work decides the pose, but the colour decides the mood.