Help on making my own doll base
 

How can I make my own

Here's a couple of tutorials on base making; you can find more by simply googling "How to make a pixel doll base".

Original Base Making Tutorial by =porcelian-doll on deviantART

Tutorial: Pixel Base Creation by ~unlikely-kisses on deviantART

Those ones are good for specifically making bases in pixel art!

However, some things translate all mediums, like decent human anatomy:

Simplify Human Anatomy guide by *sakimichan on deviantART

One might argue that stylized/cartoon bases don't have anatomy, but all good cartoon designers have a basic knowledge of how a person looks/is put together.

My super-lazy basemaking guide:
1. Find stock photo of the pose you want
2. Resize photo to decent base size
3. Trace outline
4. Erase the rest of the photo
5. Shade

Much faster and easier than drawing a base from scratch. Just make sure that you're actually allowed to use the photo like this (read the creator's terms of use) and give credit for it!

So should I draw my bases out on paper first. An then what

If you draw your base on paper first you will need to scan it into your computer and edit it in a paint program.

You can do what Miranda suggested in her post and google 'how to pixel a doll base' or follow one of the tutorials. Unfortunately that will be the closest you will get for step by step instructions. You will have to learn as you go by doing things just like other dollers have done before you. Many dollers have their own techniques that they have accumulated over their experiences and most will not share exactly what they do for everything.

Also you might just start dolling on already made bases because there are probably millions out there.