Create character before joining game?

I can't find any option to do this. I just joined Roll20 today, and haven't done anything yet, so I can't import a character. Am I correct in assuming that I have to join a game before I'm able to make a character? If not, where can I find this?

Hi Jeimuzu! You can create your own game and create as many characters as you wish. You can export any of these to your Character Vault, and if the GM has enabled Vault Access on their game, you can drop your character into that game. Outside of that, the most likely method is to discuss the character concept with the GM, and they will provide you with a blank character in the game, which you can fill out appropriately.

Thanks, Keith! I didn't even think of doing this. It'll work perfectly though, as I really just wanted a test run of making a character so when I joined my first game I wasn't trying to figure EVERYTHING out all at once.

To add to what Keith stated, importing characters from the Character Vault to a game requires that either the importer or the game owner have a Plus or Pro account.