i'm not saying i've never struggled to design a character, but i AM saying that i don't know if i've ever struggled as much as i have with [REDACTED OC NAME].
typically for me, when it comes to making a character it goes something like this: design wise, there's a period of finding my footing up front, but then it's like some random drawing CLICKS, and from there it's just a matter of honing in/refining! in terms of writing, i'll have had a vague idea upfront, and once that drawing that 'click' occurs, i flesh out the character as i hone in/refine... and beyond.

so. [REDACTED OC NAME]. lol.

he's for a story i haven't posted about yet, my goal right now is to make it in comic form after i finish visage of sweet love, so i'm redacting his name and being secretive about the story because i'd like for it to be a surprise when i do start making it (teehee) i hope it's not annoying!
but yeah i Technically started making this story the beginning of 2022, but it was extremely passively in the background. like i'm talking "maybe one extremely messy character exploration page a month" passive. but! i had that "random drawing that clicks" moment with one of the main characters at the end of december of 2022..... and basically right after that i did my first drawing of [REDACTED OC NAME] (who's also a main character). since then, his design has changed extremely minimally.

any time that could count as a his design having a "click" moment has been underscored by it not fitting into his arc/place in the story. which COULD be the reason i'm struggling! i came up with his story more upfront than i typically do, and that's meant that his design needs to rigidly fit a few story things, and every design i come up with seems to fit one of those needs well - while ignoring the others.

i was just figuring it was just taking awhile, but with the other main character having already gone through that hone in/refine stage for the most part, and also my interest in this story increasing... i've spent more time and energy into trying to figure his design out. but the click still hasn't happened.
i'm not particularly feeling bad over this though. there's a few options i know are on the table (i owe that to my best friend lexi for hearing me out on all this and making me feel like there are options), and i'm thankful to not have a hard deadline or anything.

to be clear, i'm not sharing because i'm looking for advice. i'm sharing because it's made me curious what other people go through in this way. i'd love to hear about if any of you have had a hard time designing a character before, and how you went about getting through it!