Soldier Yearly Remake | A "no outline" try at things..

[Sokota]

Ok so, I have been making a game with my team called World in War. I think I have some of the old sprites in my profile, which is kinda..sad. Well, after a year of development, we've decided to just start over from scratch and try to make everything better. My job is the pixelart. Here is what I have so far. It's also a small test of what I can do after a year's worth of tries, though I think I haven't improved as much as I'd like too...Anyways, here it is. I need help with making it seem less muted, a better pose, need help on what to do with the feet, and possible any other things you can think of. Sorry, I'm just really unsure of myself. I have not really sprited anything without outlines before, so this is a first as well.
I am going for a cartoony feel and look, with exaggerated features, though without outlines. Should I do this?


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All crits are welcome and needed! Thanks. Oh yes, he has no arms, because this is a mouse aimer..

Sokota

[Quake]

I think adding an outline will make the character far more visible from the background.

Looks better than before

Good job.

[c_raethke]

I also tried to make this new soldier. I usually just program, but I gave this guy a try. I think mine more resembles the old one, and the cartoony style we are going for. But I can't figure out how to shade the legs. I don't mean to take away all of Sokota's critiques by posting here, but I thought I would post it in the same topic just so people can see how they compare. (We need to decide on one or the other for the game, then probably work on that style with everything else.)