the legs and feet are far too tiny to support the character, even if one takes the obvious abstraction into account. it worked in the referenced image because many parts of the body were distorted in different ways and it resulted in a fairly balanced, if cartoony, figure (general rule- if the feet are small, the hands are small. if the feet are large, the hands are large). the legs were also larger in that one. Yours has a torso and arms that are more or less correct together (even if the arms would be a bit short), with a head that a little bit small and legs that are tremendously tiny. he's also leaning forward way too much, and needs his balance readjusted. I'd work on the shape of the head, as simple geometric shapes like a circle or oval only work on really, really simple cartoony stuff (like stick figures). I'd also consider whether or not the opposite side of the mouth would be visible in any way from that angle.
also the nipples are different sizes.

probably a bit confusing, but maybe you understand most of my meaning.

edit with an edit:

other problems I noticed while editing: you had the insides of both ears showing, which of course is impossible from this angle. the eye was too high. the arm was way too stiff, straight arms are boring. the main color you're using is too light- the figure is flooded with light. rather than using a highlight shade on 50% of the figure, darken all the colors then use a light shade as a true highlight, hitting only the brightest areas.


Edited by cure - 12 November 2010 at 8:49pm

sure, they're mostly just lighter or darker versions of the colors you chose.