Btw Pixelation is probably one of the worst places you could go if you just want recognition on your work. 

Pixelation, however, is probably the best resource for learning pixel art. Although pixeljoint has the more spectacular pieces, it's also completely flooded with people who, well, can't "art" at all. This forum is, in many ways, what the forum at pixeljoint could be.

Anyways, most drafts and ideas you try will be bunk. I'll be honest. But this is because of the nature of experimentation: you're trying untested ideas, of course most of them are going to detract from your work, but that isn't the value of experimentation. Experimenting is worth it is because every failed idea increases your insight. Guys that seem to be able to draw an effective, complex picture quickly and from nothing already have a little library of ideas in their heads that they already know work. The big secret there is that the pictures those guys draw quickly and from nothing don't satisfy them. It's the ones they struggle with that they enjoy.