Could use advice on pretty much anything in the screenshot
Tried to make my own large tree but having problems once I start shading

. . .

New Updates




Any improvements?

Made some progress with own attempts and a few commissions
Still have a few issues however regarding select objects

01. the Windmill
02. the Big Shaded Tree
03. the Walkway
04. House Door
05. Small White Tree
06. the Brick Wall
07. Mossy Swamp Tree
08. the Log Fencing

Could use advice and critiques on such

Also, thank you @eishiya for all your help I appreciate it

The house and trees are in different scales. The door is about the same size as the smaller trees, which means the trees are person-sized. If you go for a more symbolic look that can be fine, but judging by the level of detail and the fact that you have larger trees, you're going for something a bit more realistic. In that case, your single-tile trees should be young trees and bushes, not miniature mature trees. The large tree in the right mockup is lit from below, unlike everything else.

Edit




Made modifications to some things
01 the Big Tree - tried to use some different shading with darker textures on bottom
02 the Walls - an attempt to use more detail to contrast the ground texture - still doesn't look right tho
03 the White Tree - drawn using a different shape
04 the Walkway - made using a different pattern

Highlighted some conflicts with a red outline

01. top menu needs more contrast from the overall game
02. characters' hair in comparison to 
03. the power line looks strange
04. the incomplete sign on the bus stop (?) takes away focus from everything else -- needs less bright colors

Also all the dark colors (gray buildings, dull green jacket) looks muddled together
Hence a reason the reshading on u/Bak's building looks cleaner

Honestly it depends on the style you're hoping to use or imitate
Or what you are more comfortable with in terms of "artistic vision"

Most pixel artists refer to console gaming generations for standard measurements

* For the PSX generation, the average was 32x32 tileset at a 320x240 resolution

* For the SNES generation, the average was a 256 x 240 resolution with variation in tileset sizes

* For the GB generation, the average was 16x16 tileset at a 160x144 resolution

I think modern pixel art games run on a native 640x480 resolution with either 32x32 or 64x64 tilesets then upscale to 1080

But personally I have a tendency to work with a 16x16 tilset because that's what I am comfortable with
Some people find that the higher resolutions are easier because they aren't bound by constraints as much
Therefore higher resolutions I think are easier for those who paint, while smaller resolutions are for those who dither

In each console generation there's also a color palette association to take in consideration
Which is defined by their frequency, console limitations and commonplace during each era
There's numerous threads on color theory based on this within the forums

For example, some folks might feel more comfortable starting out with a Gameboy color palette
As it uses 8-bit limited color palette which might help with learning to shade and when to use certain colors

As a side anecdotal -- cinematographers in hollywood like to strip down their movies to a black and white color palette
This helps them balance the use of tone and contrast in their film

I do believe that FF6 is always a celebrated favorite to aspire towards:

https://www.spriters-resource.com/resources/sheets/52/54728.png




But no one is expecting these grand accomplishments to be imitated now, just considered.

Personally speaking, as someone starting out it's easier to either start with smaller resolutions for detailed work
Or sacrifice the use of details in larger resolutions -- in trade for a more cartoonish style

Take Mother 3 for example:




While M3 (cartoony) and FF6 (serious) are opposite sides of the spectrum, both are acceptable options for inspiration

You use a 32x32 tileset -- so does the game Aquatis over on SphereDev



This style would be a goal that is relatable to your current tile set, as it sacrifices detail for a more cartoony style

You'll notice the mountains in their tileset aren't highlighted or cutout with dark lines
Rather suggested with the contrast from different shades of grey

Their use of snow is a plain white tile
They use spare tiles of light greyish curves to suggest that the plain white is also snow

Sometimes less is more, in other words

Green is a recurring theme in cyberpunk because of the old IBM terminals glowed a phosphorescent green. It stuck, obviously.

Neon colors in general


So is red/white/orange for contrast




Blue also tends to be a middle ground in blend/transition from purple or green