How do you create your character?

In order to create your own character you need software like Unity or Blender. I may teach myself Blender when I have the time but you also need good software to customize or create the character like ZBrush which is real cool You can do so much with ZBrush. I also checked out some of Reallusion software and it seems pretty easy to animate. I would like to check out IClone because they have this new character creation plugin that may come in handy. But still ZBrush would be needed to get the definition you require. The most messed up thing about 3d animation is the rendering which takes far too long. But it's easier to animate 3d rigged characters. The process I use is sketch something quick just to give me an idea of how I want the characters to look and then just go crazy and let the creative juices flow.