we're fond of pictures, but unless the picture is made specifically for that particular character, it never fits exactly right. Thus we prefer to have a written description as well. An image says more than words can say, but words reveal things a picture can't always easily portray.

Typically when we go looking for images, we delve into DeviantArt, making sure to avoid images that are marked as "do not use" or somesuch. There are a few, but most images aren't tagged with that. More often than not, we've seen that its the images we'd never use in the first place that have such markings.

We're rather fond of seeing the author write a little in their CS so that we as GM can get a rough idea of what the CS author is like without having to go digging into their past RPs.

I use avatar/doll makers on the internet when I need an image. ^^; (Gaiaonline for example) It usually goes along with a text description.

I use a mish mash of pictures, descriptions and as mentioned above Gaia Online avatar makers depending on my needs.

I prefer to have pictures to give a general 'feel' for the character, then I'll add details that the picture might not show in a description.

I can do only descriptions but I fear I can never quite get down all the details correctly and I find myself reading it over and over trying to find what I missed even if I didn't miss anything. (Also I'm terrible at describing clothing)

As for the avatar makers, if my character has a specific outfit I want to show, or a change in appearance that varies from their 'default' I will use the avatar maker to express that as best I can.

For example I have this character June who, in a Fable RP, would coordinate her hair and her outfit to match entirely because she's just kind of vain like that. (which, if anyone is familiar with Fable, dye is easy enough to come by and can be used on both hair and clothing) So I would use the avatar maker to make her individual outfits based on different color schemes.

I look around the internet, find some inspiration, post that pic with some written description and then doodle in my sketchbook. Depending on whether or not I like my doodle(s), I'll replace the original with my own!

When writing the appearance, I often start with height and weight, and let that flow into the characters frame, posture, body-type, bust, and build and get the general rough idea down. You spend a whole paragraph or two doing that. Then you get into the face on the next portion.

Every face is different and unique, and has plenty of distinguishing features that sets them apart from others. The paleness or color of their skin, the sharpness of their features (cheek bones, nose bridge, brows, chin), complexion (acne, scars, freckles, blemishes, rashes or flushed skin), their eyes (shape, color, how the eyebrows work in unison with them to express particular emotions they most often show, depth [are they sunken or do they "pop" out]), hair (color, length, touch, consistency[silky, curly, rough, smooth, frizzy), and also the type of hair-line). The shape of the face is important, as are the ears they have, whether the ear lobes are attached or not. This is also a good place to mention facial piercings and other accessories.

The face usually takes one paragraph if you're snappy about it, two if you're getting flowery with your language. In all, you can get 3-5 paragraphs in your appearance section before getting to your clothes this way.

I see your point, I guess something I failed to address in the OP is that certain choices are more better suited to different RP's depending on the style (Free, Casual, Advanced, Arena, Nation, ect.) and RP theme. It can be easy for pictures to create an unreal looking character, where in a description fills in a mental template the reader/writer already has gathered from the OOC.

Additionally, in smaller or more expressive RP's, as stated previous an image can do well to convey a lot of information within a short amount of time, such as atmosphere, of course I doubt it'd ever be as expressive as a chunk of paragraphs, but I feel there is worth in the compact nature of pictures sometimes. Not because I'm lazy or anything, sometimes a picture just resonates with me in a way that is hard to replicate with words, but at that point I am looking at it more as art rather than as a character portrait.