by top down do u mean like birds eye view? am a bit lost and ill work on it in my free time and like what type of design like fantasy? med fantasy? If you could show some examples of what type you want would be helpful 2
here's a body shape i came up with its not detailed or anything just making sure its the style your looking for. Its a 64x64 grid and the character itself is 39x17 Its also upscaled to 200% for this pic.
this
this
and this 
i think survival will be ok just without swords or guns =)