Your game will greatly improve if you go with pixelart. Since you already have it all laid out and know what you need it shouldn't bee too difficult to transfer art style from what you have into pixelart.
Scour the gallery for a pixelart style you prefer for your game and copy a link here.

The quality and style on these pieces are perhaps too far from your current (zero) pixel skills. We will need to be realistic and keep that list as a goal and personal challenge. There are many PJ members who practice pixelling regularly and still have a way to go before getting to those super-pixellers.*

I actually don't think any of the styles shown in that list is right for your project at all from a design standpoint. You game suggests an entirely different vibe. In order to get your feet wet and begin the process of learning pixelart I suggest a super clean/precise style or even a slightly cell-shaded remake of your platformer. This will not match your vision but will be a vast improvement to the really 'muddy' art you now have and will allow you to focus on the pixels and animation frames using pixelart which have more technicalities that one would assume.

This is sample piece (Delicious) of the style I think would work for your games vibe and while it may appear simple, this is high-quality pixelling and equal in every way to everything you list.**
Here is another example by riestagema  and is what I will venture to guess is the best you can hope for at this time...You need to be self-critical and realistic, as I mentioned before.

This example by nedhugar is highly 'pixelly',an excellent style and what I would personally strive for if I were you. This is, to me, equal in almost every way to your listed art and in some ways even better when highlighting a pixelart project because there is no doubt of its look.
The art you list in actual gameplay when everything is moving and the player is playing a lot of those pieces don't always read as pixels to the average person. PJ is mostly pixel fans and we often have to zoom in and inspect pieces to believe they are true pixel pieces...anyhoo...this is, imo, your best target style.


* While I am flattered that you included my work in your list I can assure you that I am not in the same skill level as the others you list.

** Cept mine
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Edited by jalonso - 27 November 2012 at 7:03am

Here is the latest version of the squirrel at 64 by 64.

Thanks for the feedback. Just wondering what you meant by it being all over the place. I would pick a color and then for the shadows I would go toward cool colors and a darker value , then for the lights I would go toward the warm colors and a lighter value...also my photo shop setting is on pencil with zero things checked in my brush setting.


anyway you could do a painter over to show me what im not seeing...thanks Id appreciate it.

Edited by yourownskills - 07 December 2012 at 10:27am

Hey sorry about that jalonso, I posted the squirrel that I redid , I guess its not showing up? also im redoing all of the art hpefully in this more pixelated style.

Edited by yourownskills - 08 December 2012 at 10:45pm

Here is an update. The editor I am using is game-editor and it gives off some kind of warning when you go to download it...I have not had a issue with it.

you can check out what I have so far here...
www.dwbailey.com/images/squirrelnutsProduction.exe


Edited by yourownskills - 08 April 2013 at 2:40pm

As for an example of tree's made into platforms, I found another less than ideal example.


Edited by Etheric_Shock - 08 April 2013 at 8:00pm

Sure. Maybe tonight or tomorrow night. I don't have much time to do full edits, so some partial edit might help.

Here is the psd file. The canvas is small because I am trying to keep the same pixelated feeling as whats in Delicious) style from above.
www.dwbailey.com/images/level01start.psd  I work in that size and then just resize it in photoshop.


Edited by yourownskills - 10 April 2013 at 8:15am

Thanks and check out the game so far.

www.dwbailey.com/images/squirrelnutsProduction.exe