Proxy
Proxy is building the base mesh for the character things like proportions on the base mesh and you focus on developing a silhouette to be able to define the limits and extremes of the character this is sometimes used by riggers before art completion. For a proxy mesh setting up good edge flow and topology and making sure edge loops are in the right place especially for animating to make sure that there is enough geometry to support of the deformation. using quads in areas of large deformation and triangles for areas with little deformation
Concept
Concept art is helpful to get an idea of the character design as it allows to spend less time designing and more time modelling so it gives you more time to actually focus on the model instead of wasting time trying to figure out what to do. Concept art makes your model stronger. and making your concept art in things like photoshop allow for fast and easy changes.
Sculpting
The aforementioned proxy mesh is used to be a basis for high poly sculpting and making sure to use quads when you are doing your high poly sculpt. Going with the flow of the mesh so that when you subdivide or used smooth preview the mesh the geometry is actually smooth. exaggerate edges so that when in game the light actually reflects and has a nice edge light so that from a distance in game the mesh has readability.
Low poly
After you have you have your high poly model next you need to lower the polygon count and make it lower poly so that its usable in engine. The reason why its made low poly and you don't used the previous low poly is because the mesh is more refined so things like ngones aren't on the mesh. deleting what you can't see to save geometry like if a character is wearing a helmet you don't need to waste geometry on modelling the head because you won't see it anyway. Next is making your UV maps are economically make use of the space of each individual UV shell. Normal maps use the RGB channels to give direction information which can give detail to the mesh.
Baking
When baking you should bake your high poly mesh and then the low poly UV's, try to do your baking in something like substance painter.
Texturing
The more glossy something is the smooth it gets and reflective and the less it is the more diffuse it becomes. leather and cloth are dialectic material as they don't emit specularity and aren't reflective like something like metal.
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