How can i improve my pixel art?

[fxokz]

I am completely new to pixel art and i have decided to try out a few things, heres the result:






Can someone please give me some tips?   

(the 3rd pixel art is a top down tree).

[HarveyDentMustDie]

Third one isn't pixel art at all it's low opacity brush mishmash. Don't do that, it's not helpful for you, if you really want to learn.

Remove black outlines form sword, and maybe try to make it similar to this in regard of metal rendering (design is your choice).
Spoiler

Color of that chest, or small wooden box is very strange (almost goes to green), and it have no details. It's always best to find a reference for your drawing, to guide you through it, and to help you understand it better.

[fxokz]

Thanks for your feedback, i have only worked on making the chest look better, i changed the colours and added some details to it,

Has it improved? Am i over doing it? Please tell me what is wrong with my art and how i can improve.

EDIT: I also just improved my sword a little, is it better now that the black outline is gone?

[Alexanator28]

I might be too much of a newbie to critique, but I think you need to make the shading colors darker then they are right now. At first glance, I thought the wood on the box was all the same color.

[fxokz]

Yeah the chest is pretty bad, what about the sword though? i replaced the black outline

[Parkerbaby]

I tried to make the shading on the sword look more organic rather than bands of color.

[fxokz]

Man your version looks epic, wow, thank you for the source of inspiration

[mewaysid]

I altered the light source and gave a bit of a reflective look. Also removed the black lines. Oh and changed the color pallet a bit. hope this helps

[Fizzick]

Amped up the highlight and lowered the color count overall. since it's crystal I gave it a kind of divetted/rocky texture and simplified the handle, too.

[Drazelic]

High contrast palettes, look at actual crystal reflections as reference if you're trying to make a crystal sword, and make the design more interesting!