I'm a beginner but I've practiced by copying pixel art. This is what I've made with a source. Is it good for a beginner? I've tried adding depth/shading to the gun with extra colors and included the shooting out explosion without a reference and have the gun move by tilting and maybe moving the original image.

I've been doing (and I think making progress) these things to improve my pixel art (make me a better pixel artist):

1) Copying existing, professional pixel art pixel-by-pixel. An artist friend has told me to do that to improve.

2) This technique I have come up with on my own, accidentally. It comes from the first technique. Basically if I create a pixel art but it's not very good, I try to improve it. I try to see how a pixel art technique (like a shape) that I need to incorporate/edit it into this art to make it better. So I focus on creating characters, in particular anime characters. I know anime characters have extra long strands of hair. So when I try to make an anime pixel art character based on an existing character, I need to make those hairs. I had real trouble doing those so here's what I did. I have created a hair. Then I see how existing pixel art anime hairs are like. So if I want to make like Goku's hair from Dragon Ball Z, I see how an existing Goku's sprite hair is like and use that technique on my own character. I have learned more about space in hair and how extra strands of hair in anime are like from Goku's hair. I first see it, then I copy it. I feel that by both studying it intellectually and then applying the technique, I can learn techniques like space and shape of extra strands of hair.

3) While doing #1 and/or #2 I also do experimenting of my own using techniques like space and hair strands for my anime character's hair until it looks better. It's really trial and error.

Here's professional Goku's sprite:

It's Sasuke from Naruto part 1. These are the references:





This is the base:



This is my Sasuke from years ago:



This is Sasuke that I've been developing and editing yesterday and today:



I really think I've really improved(I'm not entirely sure how, I didn't draw, I've just done pixel art and copied pixel art pixel-by-pixel) in the newest one. What do you guys think? I think the shapes, shading and colors are better. I also think that the newer one is closer to the the references than the one from years ago.

I know I need to learn to "see". I have figured that out on my own. From copying pixel art pixel-by-pixel I feel I have improved. I guess I'll copy pixel art hair too. I need to get an answer from someone about this.

Ai- I don't understand how on that loomis on hair 59-60 is learning about the hair. It's Analysis of facial markings and drawing faces of all ages. Did you give me the right page?

Oh! I may have had an epiphany. I feel that the hair strands that are sticking out to your camera (pixel art or not) are highlighted so that's why the second character from the right is highlighted there. The hair that is top right is also sticking out towards you so it's highlighted. If the hair is depressed, there is less light than usual. Please tell me if it's true.

Here's the character he's based off of:



What about the third guy from the right?

So then if I were to google search this, what key terms should I input? I am thinking (without quotes) "hair pixel art", "texture" but I don't think those are good enough.