I don't think they're that awful... To make them blend in better with the rest of the landscape, try toning down the greens a bit, make them warmer, less shockingly green.

Thank you so much guys for your help !

I see what you mean Roccstar, your edit is indeed "metallic", but what I was trying to convey was a piece of metal with really sharp edges, nothing "smooth" (should have mentioned it), so in my case eishiya's edit will work better for what I'm trying to do. But I kinda followed your advice on the shading of my skull's outline, I think it looks better.

Anyway here's my thing, I tried not to copy too much but eh sorry can I say it's finished ?

almost reminds me of a boss from the legend of zelda: a link to the past

It's supposed to be some kind of Pokémon, but that's a great compliment for me since I love that game

See how you shaded the guy's clothes on the third image on the concept art, try to convey those shadows and highlights on your sprite.
Also I can't quite see the face of your sprite, it's like he's only got one eye and the rest of his face is covered in fur (?), I would try to make his face simpler.

Crappy edit with light coming from the top-right, shoulders a bit less hunched and an example of a somewhat simpler face (I tried to follow your concept art) :


Hope this helps a little.

This image shows what pillowshading is, and why it doesn't look that good, better than I could explain:


It's not that having a lightsource in the middle is forbidden, it's just that usually it can make the sprite look weird and/or flat and/or unrealistic, whereas a lightsource from one of the top corners will give it more volume and life.
From what I've seen all your sprites are fully symmetrical, if I were you I would try to start also making sprites that aren't as much symmetrical, it's a good way to improve and evolve.

I think your new edit is definitely better than before, it looks like it's more roundish, plus the colors look "dreamy" hehe. If you edit it again please post the evolution here

One last thing, when you've spent hours on a sprite and don't know what to do anymore, don't look at it for a few hours or even a day, and come back to it later with a fresh set of eyes.

Hey all, I just made this little guy here

Thing is his skull is supposed to be made of steel, and currently it looks more like crap than steel. I need some help, I'm clueless as to where to start and how to texture shiny metal ;_; an edit or anything that could help me would be much appreciated !