Custom Mega Man Boss

[DuoDynamo]

First of all, thanks to all who replied for your patience and assistance! I did not expect a sugarcoated feedback and nor do I wish for it, so bombs away! I want to make my sprites as good as they can be, and the only way I can do that is with honest feedback and constructive criticism. That said, I found Thanatos' lengthy explanation very informative and I think it is just what I need at the moment. As you guys said, I'm a newbie at spriting, so I'll need all the help I can get. It might have sounded repetitive for you guys who are more experienced, but for me this is some new and important info.

Now, I do have some doubts. Thanatos, I didn't quite understand how Ultra Master Zest's layers work with each other. More precisely, I didn't understand what the first layer, that black frame, is for. Also, if I understand correctly, not counting the background color (which I assume will be transparent in-game), each layer is limited to 3 colors, right?

I will remake Turbine Man's sprite and mugshot with those limitations and the feedback in mind. As soon as it looks good enough, I'll redo the animation as well. And btw, as Novally said, I used Tinypic, so that explains the jpeg. The original pic is a png.