The Pixels Of Joxon

[Sketchasaurus]

Here's a sprite from CaveStory+ for a better idea of how to go about this:


Notice how the shading is minimal, but the contrast between shades is crisp and clear; there is also a large amount of hue shift implemented here, and the colors are laid out in a way so that you can see the distinct shape of each body part. try using 3 colors: 1 for skin, 1 for hair, shoes, eyes and shirt, and 1 for his pants and once you establish the proper shapes, THEN add small bits of shading.