[C + C] Archer Sprite

[silver-silvera]

First, thank you to MysteryMeat for commenting on the one post I made back in May. I did adjust some things based off of what you said.

Second, I've been working on a character. She is an archer class character type person.



There are several things I am concerned about:
1. I would like to add more shading to the hair, but can't do it without it blending into the clothing outline and becoming indistinguishable. What would be the best way to deal with this issue?
2. I cannot figure out how to get a mouth that doesn't look open. Even 1 pixel looks like an open mouth to me. Does anyone have any suggestions that don't involve making the head disproportionately large compared to the body?
3. The should-pads look like they're sticking out a bit too much, but removing the outline makes it blend together with the collar. What would be the best remedy?
4. The pants are meant to look something like the pants in this picture: https://cdnb.lystit.com/photos/0904-2014/10/16/forever-21-brown-accordion-pleated-palazzo-pants-product-1-24727204-1-245473442-normal.jpeg. As such, its intentionally very straight. However, I feel like it doesn't look quite right in the hip/groin area but can't seem to figure out why. Does anyone else feel that way?
5. I was thinking of changing the color of the belt/gloves/boots to try and break up the green. Does anyone have an suggestions on a color to use?

Also, please comment on any other thing you notice. I'm probably not seeing things that others will.

[TEETH]

Tried my hand at it to answer questions 1,2 and 5. I thought by adding a pink it would work well with the green, plus it allows you to put a mouth on the character with shading so it looks more natural. I changed the shading of the face to make it look bigger without actually making it bigger so the mouth doesn't look open. I used your black and brown to put shading on the hair and also shaded the hairband to give it depth as well. The shape of the hair is different because when you put on a hairband, the hair tends to get smooshed to the side of your head, but also poofs out on the top.
I don't know. not entirely happy with my edit but it can give you ideas from a different perspective. Your main difficulty is going to be making a sprite this detailed at this size so good luck to you!

[MysteryMeat]

Things of note: It doesn't really scream "archer" to me, and the pose is so stiff as to be unnatural.
That second version is actually a step down in my opinion too, with the additional color the sprite has lost a lot of the clarity the flats afforded it! I'd go back to the previous version and try to work in some minor tweaks instead like some minor shine on the hair, try to focus on keeping that clarity intact!

I also recommend doing some research on what archers usually wear, for example many of them have special wrist-protector gloves on their bow-holding arm to prevent their wrists getting skinned by the bowstring. Other things to consider: where does she keep her arrows? There are various kinds of quivers: the classic back-mounted one, the one mounted at the hip, I've even seen a few people with quivers that strap on to the thighs!
Finally, what kind of archer is she? Crossbow, longbow, shortbow..? each one requires different bolts or arrow sizes, as well as different gear.
Keep cracking at it, try for a more cell-shaded look too!