Wow, that takes me back to when I first went to war on an Apple II.

I lost too.

First things first - know your medium.

You're fighting the pixels in some places, and surrendering in others. I get the feeling this hasn't been edited? The nose, for instance, has straight lines on a round surface - don't let your mouse do that to you. Try to find a harmony of shape and line, or arrange the clash of styles to compliment each other. Don't be afraid to edit. Sprite art is more like laying tiles in a mosaic than straight out drawing.

Another problem I notice with the design, is the lighting - I can't tell why some surfaces have highlights ( Shoulders, center of the nose ) while others ( brow, the swell of the nostrils ) are completely untouched. There's no sense of texture. Anyone could have drawn this.

You can do better. You must teach your inner eye to see the world more clearly. The best way, and the most brutal by far, is to take a piece of paper and a pencil, and draw a still life near a lamp. You may not look at the paper. You may not lift your pencil from the paper. You must draw every reflection, you must draw every shadow. Watch how they dance over every surface. Follow the rays of light as they bounce off of objects, so that that some shadows fade and others grow.

Now take that awareness to your next picture...

Hope to see your next post soon.