if ur going to attempt changes, save ur work at various stages to show ur progess.
feel free to post here at any point for adv ice on how to proceed.
csuggestions...
too heavy on AA
i dunno what others think but i say remove all external AA and just live with the black outline.
if u look at my post history from earlier today you'll see m e comparing with light-sourced outlines, but really this is something id advise to try much later on once all your colours are in place.
colours...there isnt enough.
ur sprite's saturation is too low which means its too grey.
u need at least some parts to be higher saturation.
warmer colours help your sprite stand out against backgrounds e.g. a red scarf is highly visible against green grass and grey bricks.
now avoid clicking and clicking at 500% zoom and adding all that single pixel noise and texture, it doesnt do u any favours.
instead have a zoomed view and a zoomed out view such as 200 or 300% depending on ur monitor.
i say fill each part with a solid colour.
now remove all internal black outlines and leave them only on the outside.
just use the contrast of 2 colours against each other to make the outline between parts.
now pick a light source (i suggest top left) and block in the shadow with a darker version of each colour.
once youve done this ur ready to start cleaning up and adding pixel level detail.
i suggest posting ur process and ur progress at this point, especially if u feel like its starting to go to shit or ur just stuck or whatever.
dw its alot to take in at once