[C&C][WIP] Main Hero Sprite Help

[reiser]

I'm looking for some guidance on how to make my main hero sprite better.  I'm going for a flatter style with minimal shading because the game I'm working on will customize some colors for personalization.  But with that said, I'm not too happy with my attempts at a hero sprite.  My main base body is fine but not so much when I start putting clothes and stuff on.  Maybe I just need to do more research on clothing and maybe position his hands a little further from the body?  I don't know, I've been messing for like a week now and nothing's screaming "that's it!" like it normally is.

BASE:


Rework:


Initial pass:


Where I'm at now:

[Chadtech]

Id suggest starting off with a base that isnt outlined at all, and just a mono-color human shaped blob. Hope that helps. At low resolutions the outline confuses the figure more so than it defines it.