Started work on some art for an RPG and realised I have no idea how to make anything in this perspective and have it look good. (Yes, I know. I could use the practice.)

My last attempt at a field sprite:


Another sprite (not meant to be used for anything) that looks somewhat better, but still far too cute for my liking:


What the character is actually supposed to look like:


The problem is obvious, heh.

Not sure if anti-aliasing the outline is a smart thing to do, but I figured, since I've already decided to use gradients and other non-kosher techniques, I might as well do it to make the sprites blend in better.

I'm also unsure about the art style in general. I'm planning to paint some of the assets due to their size, so I need to ensure nothing stands out as obviously done in a different style, but I'm not certain I can pull it off. The player party and menu here, for example, are probably going to be pixel art and everything else - painted.



Is this even a good idea? Can it be done well, or should I just bite the bullet and prepare to pixel many large, blurry and mostly featureless backgrounds?