Make some rough character sketches. You can start with general shapes and work your way up from there. Try to capture their general attributes without worrying too much about the specifics. You'll refine one of these characters further in the next chapter. 

Choose one of your character sketches and refine the line art, then ink the outlines. You can use any digital or analog medium for this stage, from Photoshop to pen and paper.

Now that you have your outlines and shapes in place, you can begin coloring your character art. Use everything you've learned about color and lighting throughout this chapter to help you create the most compelling image possible. 

Now you will take your inked character art, close any outlines, and begin filling each space with differently shaded shapes. It's not necessarily about value or lighting at this stage, but simply filling things in. You'll use these shapes later when it's time to lay in the colors.