Are we making Fakemon? That's good and all but that's where things start falling apart.... Well you're gonna hate me for this. (Like I care) But I'mma post some of my own personal observations of real Pokemon designs and how we can design them. *Ahem*
How to Design a Pokemon: Part 1
The problem with most Fakemon is that people work alone to create them. There needs to be several concepts and ideas going towards even one Pokemon. A Pokemon starts with a simple idea. A myth? An animal? Both? After that has been chosen several designs must be created, judged, and a final design must be made from those ideas.
Simple yes?
There are rules and a style to designing a Pokemon. Pokemon have consistent features that tell you "This is a Pokemon!" and not a Mario, Castlevania, or Halo monster. They are usually pretty simple in design (though recent games are slowly going the other way)
-Don't be afraid to make something unnatural. In the first generation Pokemon had multiple heads! As long as you don't go overboard with too many unnatural features. Just enough.
-Pokemon can wear pseudo-clothes. Things look like clothes but could be a part of their body.
-Eyes are very important, almost all Pokemon have at least one eye. Note the different types of eyes below.
Basic: most common in cute Pokemon, they are tall and emotional.
Round: big round eyes on cute Pokemon.
Solid: eyes that are one solid color, usually used on bug Pokemon.
Elegant: sometimes jewel-like, used on mysterious or beautiful Pokemon.
Dot: beady dot eyes, can be tall or short.
Cartoon: big eyes with tiny dot pupils.
Shut: eyes that are always closed.
Angry: triangle shaped.
Sinister: like the angry eyes but more rounded.
Note that most Ghost Pokemon tend to have differently colored eyes.
More details and observations on Pokemon designs to come.