Would you like some cheese with your whine sir?
Someone forgot to include this one...
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=707.450You claimed that you spent weeks on this and it took you a couple of tries to get right, yet it was quickly discovered that you simply altered the colours round from an existed sprite someone else created. You didn't say "Hey, here's a sprite I made based off such and such", no you just claimed it was all your own work. No one likes blatent plagiarism and the topic above shows you blatently ripping off someone elses work and claiming it as your own. If you're wondering where the hostility came from, look no further. Mind you, you blamed your cousin, or was it your brother... Hang on, let me just check... Nope it was your friend, so even if that's true you were ripping off a friend by saying "This took me weeks to do" because as you say, your friend supposedly did it, well ripped it...
Damn, that's a nice hole...
Anyway no one will hate you for using references, infact you'd be incouraged to do so. End of the day you should have posted the original piece you used as a reference, especially if you used segments from it as you did in the wrestler case. It would be far easier if you explained what you did, rather than making bullshit excuses up and passing the book onto others when you get caught out.
End of the day you got caught out, deal with it and learn from it. Create your own work, even if it it's an edit, say so and post the original and then get crits and help, that's the sole purpose of this place, not to get "OMFG U R TEH PIXELS ART MASTERZ!!1!!". Otherwise anything you post infuture people are going to think "Did he really do this?"