I don't think he's trying to do what Frank is, what i perceieve this as, is an attempt at Pixel "painting". Following some sort of form to tie it all together, yet having individual elements.
My advice?
try using less negative space, and consider starting your canvas with a circle here or there and a square, a line, a triangle, a cone following some sort of flow or emotion, word or feeling (in the best way you can express it). And then using that to flesh out your "painting" or emoticon with colors, miniature forms, points of interest, cleverly used space and negative space, and perhaps a trick of the mind or two.
Don't be scared by the big boys off of using saturated colors, just try to balance them anduse them where you feel they are needed.