How do you see them?

[rowan]

I get what you mean! I just felt I should probably clarify a little bit, since torties are a bit weird in terms of genetics n' the like.

[Larkbreeze]

I think Spottedleaf is supposed to be a tortoiseshell but I always saw her as a calico. idk what I'm doing really

and I definitely never see Graystripe with some stripe going down his back. like what was with that

I also just imagined Tallstar as just.. really tall. I never actually saw the whole long tail thing

and I think Jayfeather is supposed to be a tabby but I always see him as solid gray

[glimmer]

just thought of another thing - i sometimes see jayfeather as being a bit longhaired because of the cover on the sight, i guess it just stuck. also i was reading moonrise yesterday and there was a time when leafpaw almost mistook spottedleaf for sorreltail, and i was instinctively surprised bc they look pretty different in my mind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Owlfrost]

In fantasy books, I try not to imagine characters too realistic; I like to give them some qualities of fantastical designs.

I always imagined Bluestar with her usual gray-blue fur, a silver muzzle, and a silver fleck on her forehead shaped similar to a star (this is before I knew that -star was a leader suffix). I've always imagined her this way ever since, though, haha.

Tallstar I imagined to be a very tall cat, whose limbs are longer than normal, especially his tail. His fur is of course black and white as he's depicted in artworks. I always liked the white spot on his back and the white bit on his tail.

Graystripe I thought was just a lighter gray tabby with darker gray stripes. I didn't really like how he's depicted in manga pictures I've seen. It's kind of odd.

Tigerstar I pictured to be really muscular, with thicker legs and a broader face and chest. He kind of looks like a brute, a big dark brown tabby cat with the scar on his face and his torn V-shaped ear. He also has a stern face, probably permanently in a disgusted frown.

Firestar and Sandstorm are similar looking in my mind, but Sandstorm is a much lighter ginger tabby color than Firestar.

Can't really think of anymore at the moment, but these are the ones that I think about a lot when reading the series, lol.

[Lightning]

Because of @Ivypool, I now see Lightning Tail/Lightningtail as black-and-white.

[Bramblemask]

I believe calicos are described in the book as "tortoiseshell and white." So anytime a character is described as that, it's a calico.

I have a hard time seeing Thunder as dark ginger. He seems more like a dark gold tabby to me.
Longtail I imagine as a pale tan tabby (similar to manga!Millie). I see Millie more as a pale sandy tabby. Pale sandy for Sandstorm (I guess that could be classified as super light ginger though?). Firestar is a bright ginger tabby to me, while Squirrelflight is just bright ginger (even though that's unrealistic, but when has genetics and coat colors been realistic in these books?). Jackdaw's Cry always struck me as a dark grey tabby, while his sister Feather Fall struck me as a pale grey tabby with pale stripes. I never understood Petal's pelt description, so I just imagine her as a sandy tabby.
Greystripe and his one stripe down is back is something I can buy because my mother's cat is very similar -- dark grey with a darker grey stripe going down her back.
And idc what the books say, Breezepelt will always have green eyes and Crowfeather will always have blue eyes. >:(

[SQ]

just thought of another thing - i sometimes see jayfeather as being a bit longhaired because of the cover on the sight, i guess it just stuck. also i was reading moonrise yesterday and there was a time when leafpaw almost mistook spottedleaf for sorreltail, and i was instinctively surprised bc they look pretty different in my mind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I always saw Jayfeather as a long haired gray tabby like..

(thanks google images)

I always pictured Sorreltail with more white, and Spottedleaf with almost no white on her except her paws. The amount of descriptive that they get with Spottedleaf in the books is absolutely ridiculous though http://warriors.wikia.com/wiki/Spottedleaf


Also! I always saw Stonefur as a really scrawny gray cat even though his entire family is basically stocky cats.

On callies and torties, Brightheart is a calico in my head? I know she's just 'ginger and white' but I've like... never come across a female orange and white cat, all orange cats that I've met/cared for/fostered have been male. So the fact that they're like HERE'S A LOT OF ORANGE FEMALES really bothers me -

[Wolfie]

Seconding what someone else said about calico is not really a term used in the UK. I'm not from there to confirm but they tend to use toshieshell and white for calico, at least that's what I remember, so I'm giving them a free pass on that one.

Anyway: I always imaged Longtail having this really gross tan/dull peachy type colour that's super light? It's hard to explain, but I don't see him as brown or silver, but probably closer to the brown.

I always forget about Greystripe's stripe. I remember being so confused when he was first called that.

I always imagined Princess as a white Turkish Angora looking cat, when she is really brown and not as long haired.

I always imagine Brindleface as being more on the flat faced side and being more of a yellow brown in colour (not sure what she is actually suppose to be though)

Brakenfur to me was always a really dark tabby.

Firestar was never a tabby to me. Not even with ghost markings.

[Barley44Ravenpaw]

I imagine Longtail looking like a pale yellow tabby with black stripes. At first I imagined Dustpelt as a grey tabby because I paid no attention in my first book I read (Rising Storm)   
When I first read the series and didn't remember what the allegiances said, I would make up an appearance in my head. (Such as gray tabby Dustpelt). Also, when Yellowfang mentioned Brokenstar in Rising Storm, I imagined him as a black and white cat with no tail! 

[The Violist Calico Cat]

I saw Brindleface as a brown tabby. I thought the cat on the old Dangerous Path Cover was Brindleface emerging from the nursery. Um....I am just clueless why!

[Dustfeather]

I saw Brindleface as a brown tabby. I thought the cat on the old Dangerous Path Cover was Brindleface emerging from the nursery. Um....I am just clueless why!

Likewise, mainly because "brindle" usually refers to a pattern in dogs that's a mottled blend of black and dark brown. I still imagine Brindleface as a dark brown tabby now.