Thanks for your input and the edit.

For pieces in pixel art, especially when you are new to it, I suggest you to try to use few colors, simplify, and just shade to define the planes of the object. Your goal should be readability. Right now some of the muddy shading of the body does not denote much of anything.

Also, if necessary mold a quick draft of your character out of clay to see how the light hits the object. I have done that in the past.

Anyway, I edited your picture with your same colors, but got rid of some just to focus on readability.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2wd7nuq.gif