Oh, and I agree that the AA on the outline is too dark.  This was made a while ago though, so I'm not going to fix it.

It's mirrored because I'm lazy.

And what I aim for with the rough dithering is that you squint at it, and it looks real.  I feel that I've accomplished that goal.

The reason it has so many colors is because yes, I could have done it with less, but not the way I wanted.  More colors adds to the realism.  It's not like colors are precious resource that can't be wasted after all.  If it makes the picture look worse, there's no point in reducing.  That being said, if there's no penalty in doing so, reducing is a good idea.

ummm i like it - mirrored or not i rememeber that thats what an mario icon once looked like... the rough dithering somehow doesnt fit the style of the picture... that is all... there arent many better marios... zAk

Yeah, it's drawn nicely, but the mirroring is too obvious. Also, the antialiasing on the outline is too dark.

Mirrored.  I'd work on that.  Too many colors, I think it could be accomplished with less.  Good likeness.