Getting back into sprites

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

And what I mean about styles is I prefer not to sacrifice style aspects to make the sprite prettier because some styles are simply prettier than others but I don't want that to get in the way of choosing certain style aspects. That's why I'm so attached to the bold lines that also act as a shade tones.

the reason i had an issue with the way you used black was because i felt like it wasn't balanced. if it were music, i'd say there'd be a lot of dissonance.
anyway i gave a stab at using more black, rather like the marvel vs capcom 3 artwork i was looking at (and like you mentioned beforehand):

basically i'm reproaching you that you should've blocked out the black parts before shading, plus doing so should make it easier to shade as you've already set the lightsource.
also mine/yours:

i couldn't feel balanced if i stood like that.

keep practicing!