I wish I could devote the time and attention you've clearly given this piece.  Beautiful.  That's the most apt description for it.

 Not to nitpick (I'm just being a jackass, here) but aren't NES sprites limited to three colours, plus one background/transparency colour?  The sprite is lovely, though, great motion in the legs :)

 Spider Jerusalem FTW!  I just shat myself.  Very well composed!  Regarding the smoke, the light would be very diffuse, and what's emitted from the tip would likely only illuminate a small thread closest to it.  Some fractionally lighter shades of the black there might suffice if you wanted to add it...

This wins many internets just for that one shot of Bucky in the corner.  I can't imagine keeping track of this many layers...

You deserve a special award for the first dragon cloaca to grace the halls of PixelJoint.

They're from a free location-based mobile RPG, called VirtualPunk.  Google it and if you've got a supported hanset you can play for free.

Try swapping out the darkest colour outline along the top of the head, and perhaps on the cheekbone, with a lighter tone from your shadows.  It will give better depth/sense of lighting and negate the need for more AA along those areas (which is where aliasing is most noticeable).

Feels felshy and solid...very good work.  Might benefit from some minor selective outlining along the top edge.

I don't really think the program used should be, or ever really is, an issue.  You can tell the level of someone's skill by the quality of their composition, colour usage, anatomy, and so on.  Short-cut tools used by a person who lacks fundamental skills is always apparent.  I use Photoshop CS2 for everything, simply because I do more than just pixel art, and it's more efficient.  Using DeluxePaint is basically the same thing...

Gorgeous work, excellent lighting and palette choices.  I know this is an old piece, so critiques are likely redundant now, but I would like to those irises a little bit larger.  They are the only thing keeping the piece from having a more ominous, dramitic tone.

Best of luck, guys!  This is a neat-looking app...

Proportions are good, but watch out for banding in the shadows.  A couple of highlight colours could add a lot of depth, here.

Some shadows would really help to break up the tiling and will add depth to the scene.  The visual plane is flattening out a little.

Excellent sense of weight in the motion here.  I'm rooting for the cube!  As mentioned, a little anti-aliasing would make this really shine.

A little bit of bobbing on the part of the rider would add some nice weight to these.  I'd love to ride on an animal that smoothly ;p  Nice work on the flag motion

Hmmm...Setzer, I had an idea when checking out your blizzard mockup.  I've done the dithered area of vision thing before, but I sometimes find it a little flickery with the pattern movement over the background.  Since you're dealing with snowfall obscuring vision, what about intensifying the level of "flakes" in each area, instead?  It might look a little more organic and reduce flicker.

Is it cool to plug our own projects in here?  If so, my latest iPhone/iPod/iPad project is out, and only $0.99!  I did all of the in-game artwork (except the title screen, which was done for free by a friend of the designer).  You can check it out here, and ratings and reviews are always much appreciated!

itunes.apple.com/us/app/creatures-castles/id399654057

Merry Christmas, PJ folk!

Thanks :) 

Now, enough of this brooding, angsty talk!  Now is the time for festivities!  I'm ordering pizza and tossing on some Christmas flicks for the kids, while I get some gaming in!

Meh.  Most of it is consequence of him refusing any type or treatment, or even considering there's something wrong.  He's 30, so our options are limited, so we're dealing the best we can.

My imaginary friend stopped believing in me...I'm not quite sure about the ramifications of this.

My brother has schizophrenia and it's more like the opposite of lucid dreaming.  The delusions/halucinations control the sufferer and warp their perceptions.  It sucks when you can't convince someone that their loved ones aren't dead, or impostors, and there's no grand conspiracy to kill them...

Are you using FF6 sprites as a base?  The proportions are good and motion runs pretty smoothly.  Good stuff.

I don't think lucid dreaming is really control, so much as it is the ability to make conscious decisions that effect the flow of events in a dream.  Like anything, it comes with practice.  The next time you "think" you're dreaming, try reading something, or check out your hands.  If something seems off, and you can recognize it, you can start practicing directing events.

dumbo, my daughter is TERRIFIED of Santa.  She likes the concept, but once she's in a few metres of any incarnation of the jolly fat man she pulls away like he's evil incarnate!  Must be nice to get a decent picture!

Gah.  December, for me, either means having WAY too much work (like this year), or none at all (like last year).  I know freelancing is like that, I've been doing it long enough, but it always seems to swing in December.  Not enitrely sure why.

I can empathize with you, Justincrdibl.  I don't really want/need anything, but my wife and my parents both insist on it.  I have no qualms about giving them, I just don't really want any gifts.  I think it's because they want the pleasure of giving and hoping to make us smile...  We celebrate both at our house, too, but Chanukah is generally a no gift occassion (maybe some gelt or little things for the kids).  My daughter is quite excited for Xmas this year, my son's still too small to get it, but I can't really get into the spirit, myself.  Maybe some spiked egg nog will help?

Weird...I copy/pasted the palette from the frontpage, so I'm not sure where the shift occured.  At least it's only four colours to revise!