Hi guys. I am currently working on a simple 1D fighting game where the character sprites are all blocks that are 16x16. I am actually mainly a programmer and so I'm new to pixel art, as well as art in general, and I'll need all the help I can get. I know that my biggest flaws are with colors and general design.

Version 1:


Version 2 (slight color edit):


Friend's Edit:


Concept doodles:


The first two sprites are the ones I would like the criticisms to be more directed toward. I've just started working on the third one, but any criticisms on it thus far is still welcome. Please let me know if there's any other information about it you would like to know, or if I've left out any helpful information about it. Thanks in advance!