Thanks for the advice.

I've tried 1 and 3, but not 2 yet.

Used 7 colors on this, which is still a lot, have to work on that.

As for practice...at least the things that have helped me is:

1. Restricted palettes.  The more I pixel, the more I realize how important palette selection is.

2. Working with other peoples work.  Usually in the WIP section of the forum.

3. Teaching myself basic art skills.  It all holds true, even with pixel art.

Thanks :)

Any specific techniques you could recommend for practice?

Thanks, I'll be sure to check that out.

Had one rejected so far without any explanation other than "Revise", so it'd be a help to me.

:)

Nice job on this.

I agree with you completely.  Practice is key.  Starting something too big too soon can be discouraging,,especially if you spend hours and hours on it. 

I'd recommend you visit the forums and post your work in the WIP section there. You're bound to get good critiques on your work, and there are a lot of threads that you could use as reference to improve on your technique. In the gallery some submissions are turned down without any useful feedback, and it gets pretty frustrating.

You're right, though my main purpose in making these first 100 is to get started with pixel art.

Essentially, I'm using it as a way to learn techniques, so that when I try to go for quality,

I'm not dissapointed by the feedback.

Just remember. Pixel art is about quality, not quantity. You could spend a month either making a TON of mediocre art or just one truly beautiful masterpiece.