How do you make your sims? What inspires you?

I have more fun developing my sims bit by bit through gameplay, especially when they age up, than creating new sims. My most fun games so far have started with premades and then seeing what happens to them and their children.

It's also been fun to use a challenge and then give my starting sim some quirk that works against the challenge or makes it more interesting. Like a rags to riches legacy challenge with a freegan or lazy founder.