Thanks for the replies, they are very helpful..
lets see if i can reply to some of your responses:
Xion Night, about the 45 degree branches, it is mostly due to the 8x8 tiles I was structureing things within. I wanted to be able to create multiple trees useing most of the same tiles. His head probably looks small because he has no hair.
I was thinking of maknig him wear some sort of bear skin type of thing with some bear head ontop of his head.
Ptoing, yeah i agree that too many things are sharing similar colors, and would probably give rise to some visibility issues, but I'm not too concerned about it as it's just a mockup.
pkmays, very cool palette edits! I didnt realize how red mine looked untill i saw some variations. Oh, and he's no commando.
terminal arcade, interesting suggestion. Perhaps i could try a more realistic heart.. ill look into it.
robotriot, i agree with the blob look of the smaller tree, i edited it a bit to define some leaves better, but it still looks more like the grass than the bigger tree.
crab2selout, thanks, the zortex tree effect is partly due to the intended style i wanted with collidable surfaces(having the inside darker). The tree folliage would be capable of standing upon.
Kable, thanks, the guy was the first thing i did and you describe the intended results i wanted for him.
Adarias, thanks, I'm not to concerned with things getting lost, considering it is a forest we're dealing with here, but it is a real issue for games so i undersstand where you're coming from. I don't think the guy would become completely invisible seeing as he would never go infront of the large tree.
I had intended the guy to be capable of standing ontop of the tree as well as perhaps hang from below it.
thanks for the comments, here's an update.. perhaps the colors are a bit better?