hmmm.... i think you've been using default colours from Paint. thats a big no-no! lol and NEVER EVER save as a jpg! either PNG or even a GIF is so much better!
also... keep lines to ONE PIXEL. i.e. in the scratch round the 'feet' its chunky.
pixel art is painstaking and takes a long time, packing a TON of detail, crated pixel by pixel.
for things like scratches, avoid using anything other than the pancil tool for the lineart... possibly the bezier, if you think its really necissary.
i dont think these sprites/pixel arts are p'ticuly bad. especialy for a first shot. a lot better than some of the things ive seen!
try looking in the spriters resource thread thingy for tutorials, its sticked at the top of the PA area!
remember to add lots and lots of loverly shading next time! 8D
and i hope to see atleat two more sprites from you, so your thread wont be closed! >: (!!!!!!!!