hey i was starting to make sprites and I followed some guides

That's way too large.

You could call that pixel art on a good day, but no actual sprites ever look like that, I mean a boss sprite might be around that ballpark in terms of size but it would be a lot more detailed.

Constrain yourself to dimensions that are realistic for old school hardware, like 16x16 or 32x32. 8 colours or less. Approach it more like building from lego bricks than actually drawing. Try to show as much as possible with as few pixels and colours as possible.

>>2479628

File: file.png (3KB, 118x108px) Image search: [Google]

3KB, 118x108px

>>2484198
Think about your apple existing in 3D space, with only 2 main colors to shade it with (much like cel shade) but you don't have to keep it that way. It will make you a bit more picky with where you place your shadows.