Was reminded of this, so applied some of the pixel-learning gained from the pumpkin. Hope it's better?

Maybe it looks that way because you have convinced yourself that your version looks fine? Psychology is a strange thing like that.

However, regardless of whatever 'errors' you perceive in ErekT's sprite, you should follow the advice rather than brushing them off. (aka avoid shading until the animation and proportion are correct)


By mirroring he meant that when the right leg is to the front, the left arm is also to the front. Walking has the same kind of motion, though understated. Watch people walking, running or jogging and note how they move their arms and legs. (also, if you can, note how long their bodyparts are in proportion with one another.)

Thank you for the crit. :3
I tried to address those issues using your edit:

As a gamer I feel this might be a bit unhelpful as an UI - the exact height of the mp and hp levels are hard to see from behind the character-plate.
I'd suggest leaving at least a strip of color on the borders or some such.