Sorry for the incoming uh, advice? Just sort of wanted to get across my experience, what with having been in the same situation before.

I think it can be a bit intimidating at first which is probably why the OP has asked the question, especially if this is the poster's first post, but what Eishiya says is true, especially since Eishiya has helped me with my own art in the past, but only because i was willing to put it out in the first place.

As long as you take criticism as it was intended; to help you improve and to point out flaws or problems you might not be able to see at first, you'll be fine.

And for the record; i don't think ANY attempt at art is or can be "bad" as long as you're attempting to improve, be it in a doodle or a more polished piece. EVERY artist starts small and with rough pieces, pieces that can seem embarassing as they gain more knowledge and experience, but it's a necessary evil!

This is my first attempt at making an NPC/Character model:



This is an example of my most recent:



Not claiming the latter is good, but it's an example of progression that i only gained through practice and critique.

It can take people years before they come across their own style and attain a level they are happy with, but that takes work, putting in all of those hours and that requires a second opinion to keep you on the right track. My biggest fear and to a degree, my philosophy, is that i never want to become one of those artists who thinks so highly of their own skills that they ignore criticism. I was once told "If a piece of art you made seems perfect to you then you've made a mistake".

Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy with my new job, still pixeling but at a slower rate.

Played around with trying to twist the torso during a sword swing, hopefully it looks more active and less awkward:



Updated idle animations, with two versions; one for battle and one for the map.

Map/Non-Combat idle animation (Tried to keep it from looking too much like the combat idle animation, but it ended up looking stilted, so i added a bend):



Combat (Not a lot of difference, but they have an initially wider stance):

Here's some updated attack animations:





Sorry for the slow and small updates, been juggling work and pixel-art for the last few weeks.

I know the waist is quite stiff but i am unsure of how to show the rotation of the waist without making it too exaggerated.

I've also been working on tiles:



Also some updates on units:



Edit:

Added Anti-aliasing to Outside outlines for Roads, Mountains, Rivers, Marshes/Swamps, Lakes/Ponds and Towers.

Changed Towers, made them slightly thinner in the middle.

Changed Castles appearance, tried to make the bricks in the wall visible.

Changed Marshes/Swamps; hopefully they look more like either of them, i also changed their colours as well to green, still unsure if they read well though.

Changed Mountains: Made they more rounded, unsure if they look better compared to previous version. Tried to split them up with a black outline in the inside.

Roads/Paths: Removed banding from inside and replaced with Anti-aliasing. Hopefully it looks cleaner now.

Forests: added dirt beneath the trees (inspired by an edit made on another forum)

Nah dA has all sorts of pixel art. But by far dolling and sparkle dogs are more prominent than other forms.

...Sparkle dogs? 

Never take critique personally; everyone wants you to improve and get better. If something you're doing is wrong it's better to be told it, rather than continuing to perpetuate that mistake only to find it's been detracting from your work.

I've found that critique can be really helpful in giving you a more objective view on a piece/body of work; sometimes we all find ourselves at a stage where we're "settled" with what we do and that can promote resting on one's laurels and complacency.