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[Crabby]

I'm working on my game: Scout.
Im curious if this pixel art looks good. I'm not too great at it, so I did what I was comfortable with.
This is the Scout, the main character.
I can post more pictures if necessary.

[Schoq]

it's functional but frankly completely devoid of character and interest

[Crabby]

Anyone have feedback on what I could do to improve?

[ｂ∀ ｋｋｕｓａ]

try scaling up, use other games as references. work on bigger models.

[andes-neumann]

I'm a big fan of super tiny characters like this guy - I would offer that tiny characters need big, expansive environments in which to explore.

[chriswearly]

I'm not much for words, but here's a .png to use as you wish. All right go to you.
Feel free to ask questions on what/why I've done though (going to bed, will answer later )

[skaz]

It's really REALLY small. A few more pixels would give you a lot more possibilities. If your objective is not doing as small as possible, the other advices are valid. Also, by looking at what bakkusa did, I sort of understood the orange thing is a vest.  I initial wondered what it was, maybe something under his arm like a balloon?

Small is OK, but you limit yourself at such a size.

[Crabby]

Now that I am awake, I would like to just thank everyone for helping me out.
I'm going to work on another model for Scout, and I'm probably going to make it a teensy bit bigger, because like Andes said, I want him to feel small and the world to be big and huge.
I'll send a pic to this thread when I finish.
Oh, and Chris, thank you very much! This png is great. Gives me something to work off of.

[Crabby]

I actually decided against making him bigger. It just didn't feel right. I want him to seem small, and for the wild land to be huge and menacing.
So I took Chris's idea, and used one of the sprites he made for me. I edited it to my liking, and here it is!
Here it is enlarged to an actual visible size.

Feedback is appreciated.

[Ninety]

The longer arms are better. Not sure what's going on with the shading on the right trouser leg, or what's the orange pattern on his shirt, but overall it looks pretty good, much improved.

[Crabby]

The orange pattern is his vest, and the shading is a pocket. He can pull out stuff from that.

[Sir Fishelsworth]

I think he needs something distinctive around his face -- think Mario's mustache.

Maybe you could give him a beard, eyebrows, hat, cigarette, sunglasses, or something like that?

[ProgramGamer]

This thread made me think of this Dorkly comic for some reason.

Also, yeah, he needs something distinctive, something that'll differentiate him from everyone else no matter what.

[Crabby]

Hmm...Not sure what I could give him. I'll work on it. A mustache or a beard couldn't work, since he's a kid, and the accessories look pretty jarring when I try to add them to his sprite.
Thanks for the feedback, I might find something but that last one could be the final sprite.

[campride]

It's nothing astounding, but it works.

[jmakegames]

When using such a tiny canvas <= 16x16, I find that you need to put a lot of emphasis on details that you know the player/viewer will instantly recognise, giving your sprite some immediate context. Colour is great for assisting this too!

I'm no expert, but here's a comparison I did a few weeks back between a larger, readable sprite and its 16x16 counterpart:

IMAGE.

Don't copy my technique (keep your own style because that's what makes you stand out!), but instead maybe learn from it or get some inspiration? Or you might not like it at all, and that's ok too!

Let me know

[Crabby]

Thanks again guys. I think I'm going to keep Scout like he is so far, but I will use variation. I've made some NPC's, and I'm going to try to make them as unique so they don't get boring. Here's three, a raider leader, a toffee salesman (yes there's a penny candy man in this game) and a raider. The little circles in the crate are toffee candy. They're going to be my alternative to basic foods.

[chriswearly]

Thanks again guys. I think I'm going to keep Scout like he is so far, but I will use variation. I've made some NPC's, and I'm going to try to make them as unique so they don't get boring. Here's three, a raider leader, a toffee salesman (yes there's a penny candy man in this game) and a raider. The little circles in the crate are toffee candy. They're going to be my alternative to basic foods.

bruh, you can't mix pixel densities.

Well, ok you can, but I consider that cheating, and I think it looks awful.

A pixel is a pixel, and you gotta work with what you've limited yourself to. Can't start doubling things and then making new art so you can have more detail.

This is how your chest/crate with candy should look:

[Crabby]

A lot of this stuff is temporary, but thanks Chris. I'll keep that in mind when I make more art. 

[Octurnip]

I think it's worth breaking down what pixel art you like most, or think fits the feel of your game, maybe make a little canvas to compare and contrast.

What features of the boy matter? His badge? If so, maybe make it more emphasized, while removing detail elsewhere? The character in Fez is basically just white with few details and a hat.