Beginner spriter: Trying to learn a skill.

[SanguineCalamus]

So getting tired of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to teach my self how to make SNES RPG-style sprites. Nothing too fancy. As you can see, the head looks like a Cabbage Patch kid and the inverted colors are supposed to be how tall I want the final sprite to be. Just started on the head but I want to know what your thoughts are so far.

Questions:
-Am I head in the right direction?
-With a female, should I reduce the head width by two pixels?
-What do you recommend when it comes to shading?
-How could I make the head look less like a Cabbage Patch Kid?

[Brine]

Id say your heading in the right direction. They do look like head sprites. My only concern is that the males head is so wide above the jawline. Instead of reducing the width on the female, Id say reduce the width of the males head by a pixel. That might help make it look less bulbous and less like a Cabbage Patch Kid. The female head looks fine. The width is justified by the hair. And for shading, Id suggest a simple two tone. With sprites this small there isn't much room to fit shading.

Also, I think your Imgur link might be broken. I cant see the image.
Here's the link to it in case anybody else cant see it. http://imgur.com/pztAmY9

[SanguineCalamus]

@Brine: Thanks for the suggestions.

-That's the same head for male and female.
-I kind of want the shading to resemble later SNES Squaresoft RPGS, namely Treasure of Rudra. Something not as bright and cheerful.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/rudra/rudranohihou-24.jpg