It'd be great if more people join in and create custom characters! Besides, it feels good trying to give back something to the community.
Creating a BOR character based on AI Syoujyo takes several steps. For my method, I use AI Syoujyo, ShareX, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop.
Model creation
You run AI-Syoujyo.exe, go to Character Creation, choose female or male, thus entering the character editing mode. Let your imagination run free, and create the character of your choice using the parameters available. Once you feel you have finished, go to Config, choose a name, then click on Save/Delete, and save it as a new character. You can exit that program now.
Frame capture
Run both StudioNEOV2.exe and a screen grabbing software, such as ShareX. In Studio, click on Add, Background, and add a background consisting of the color of transparency for BOR. If you don't have that background, just create a square consisting of that color and drop it at
YourAISyoujyoFOLDER\UserData\bg
Then click on add, girls/boys, and choose your character.
Then, I suggest creating a camera. For this, rotate the camera until you feel comfortable, and then click on "SAVE" above one of the numbers with the clapperboard. This way, you can reload a camera angle by simply clicking on the number on the clapperboard.
Then, pick an animation. Let your character play it, and then open up your screen grabbing software and set it on. Capture the screen containing the animated character in a format you can open with Adobe After Effects, and save it.
Image caputre
By now, you'll have a MP4 or similar with the screen and your character running around or whatever action in it. Open up Adobe After Effects. Create a new compositin, drop the video in, then resize the composition so that it consists only of your character and the area around it. You can cover any annoying window you forgot to close using solids (New-> Solid, then choose the color of BOR transparence). You can resize now the composition to match the size of other characters' sprites. Once you are satisfied with the sequence, export it. I have it in Spanish, but I believe the sequence is Compsition -> Add to render Queue -> then go to output and choose PNG sequence. Then just hit render, and you'll have your PNG sequence for the animation.
Image conversion
By now, you'll have a PNG sequence, but you need a GIF one, and more importantly, one with the BOR palette at it. In order to do that, use Adobe Phototshop. Open one of the frames. Now, I have it in Spanish but I believe the name of the label is Windows-Actions to mark the actions checkbox. Once you see the actions window, use it - click on the icon with the text Create New Action and Click on record. Every action you perform will be "recorded". This is a chance to resize your frames one last time if you didn't do it already. More importantly, click on "mode" (I believe), indexed color mode, and for pallette use the standard BOR one (it comes with the game itself). Then click on "save as" and choose the GIF format, and save. Stop the Photoshop action recording now.
Now that you have an action, you want to perform it on every frame you have. Luckily, you don't have to do it by hand -- just go to File, Automatize, then Batch. Choose the Action you've just created, and the first frame of the sequence (they'll be named in sequence, so no problem there). Have Photoshop convert your files, and now you have proper GIFS with the adequate palette and background color!
Importing the sprites
Since I don't like working from scratch, I usually copy an existing enemy from the Bor\Data\Chars folder and work up from there.
I pick a name, which will be used by the program.
I have to "tell" BOR that a new entity exists. For that, I open the models.txt file and and add the entry at enemies:
know Julie DATA/CHARS/JULIE/JULIE.TXT
for Julie, an example. Now, note that Julie.txt has to exist - just copy and rename the former enemy's txt and parasite it.
Working with the txt file
You'll need at the very least an idle, a walk, a pain, a grabbed (can be pain reused), a fall and a rise animation for a non-attacking enemy. Create those animations, then import them at the character's txt file. I suggest using the "replace" command in notepad.exe for quicker file renaming. Sounds are also chosen within the txt file.
Creating the icon
In order to create the three icons, open up StudioNEOV2.exe again, close up on the face, then use "poses" to give an expression, capture the screen and work with that. Remember to convert to GIF with the proper palette.
...and I beliefe I covered it all. If anybody has any doubt regarding any of the steps, please feel free to ask. I'm more than happy to share.