I've only gotten back into skinning recently, so I'm probably not the best person to listen to, but here's some general stuff that's helped me:

- Try drawing out how you want the character to look on paper first. That way you're not just sitting in the editor with only vague ideas for what you want things to look like.

- Usually, I like to lay down my base colors and shapes before adding any shading or detail, just to work out where everything is.

- TEST YOUR SKIN IN-GAME AS EARLY AS YOU CAN. I can't tell you how many time's I've had to re-do sleeves because I put what was supposed to be on the outside on the inside. The earlier you try to correct a mistake, the easier it is to fix. The new launcher has a cool thing where you can view your skin without having to run the game, which is great for saving time.

- Make different parts as distinct as possible. You want to be able to tell what's hair, what's a shirt, etc.

- Don't use neons! One super-bright color is ~maybe~ okay for accents, but any more and the skin hurts to look at! Bright colors are still great, just tone it down a little bit. I know it'll look dull in the color picker, but please try to use less-saturated colors.

- Don't shade with a darker version of your base color. Shift it slightly in the direction of a different color. For example, when I'm shading red, I might make the shadows a bit more purple and the highlights a bit more orange.

- Use an editor that lets you use transparent brushes. Not only can you make transparent pixels on the second layer, but it makes shading a million time easier.

- There are many different ways to do eyes, hair, scales, etc. Experiment with different things! Play around and find a style you like!

- Use the second layer to add more shapes to a skin. Alternatively, if you can't figure out any way to add shape to a body part, use it to add a customization feature (I'll use this to add removable wings sometimes! Keep in mind that this will make your skin look a bit flat and blocky, but hey, it's minecraft).

- Finally, have fun and take breaks often! Also, don't take anything I'm saying as a hard rule. It's all just suggestions.

That's about all I've got. Good luck :D

I'd say I'm pretty rough on the edges when it comes to skin-making, it's been a while since I've completed any. Detail-wise and design-wise, I usually try to think up of a humanoid version of what I'm creating beforehand! I have a very active imagination, so I find this fairly easy, but if you need a visualiser you can look at free online generators and even dress-up games. Browse other skins you like, notice little details and different ways to create them on a skin; e.g, different shoe styles, bows, techniques on flower crowns, bandaids, socks, etc.



Technique wise, I'd recommend checking out ElvenJedi's youtube channel! She has some amazing tutorials on there that have helped me a lot.

Try and organise a palette before you start making your skin, and again, look at other skins for reference! (Just remember not to copy them c:)



Not sure if this helped but oh well!! Good luck and keep practicing! <3

It's a little hard to give some good direction if you don't have any samples of your current work to show, but what's helped me the most was just practicing pixel art in general. It doesn't necessarily have to be minecraft related, but just getting to know the workflow a little better when dealing with small resolutions and a limited number of colors.

Lospec has a number of good tutorials that cover a variety of topics, as well as some beginners guides to get you started
https://lospec.com/pixel-art-tutorials/tags/beginner

It also helps to just download and study skins that other people have made, just to get an idea of what their techniques are. Not saying you should post re-creations of other people's work, but it can be a good way to practice.

I'd need to see some examples of what you're currently making.

Here's some general advice, using my Red skin as an example

• Adding more detail is almost always a positive. Notice the lighter pinkish red at the bottom of the sleeves.
• Shading your skin properly makes it look nicer too. No using noise. That doesn't look good. I've used gradients, as this is one of the easiest and quickest that looks good. You can go into extreme detail as some skin creators do, but this takes a lot of time and takes a lot of experience.
• Put more detail than simple gradient colours, especially for hair. See how I've segmented the hair? It looks nice than just a solid gradient. I used to do this and it looked bad.
• Don't use overly bright and saturated or fluorescent colours. If you're going to use them, use them in extreme moderation. Notice how all the colours on the skin are rather faded and not overly saturated.
• Use layers. Skins have two layers. Use them, they make a big difference and add a lot of detail you wouldn't be able to without them. In my skin, I've used different layers on the clothing to show more shape as well as the hair for her fringe and hair decoration. The shoes are also a good example.
• Use 2-4 main colours. You can use five, but that's pushing it. I've used 3 in this. Red, dark grey/black and gold. Additional details in blue and pink are there too, but they're minor. Skin colour is obviously not included in this. Although gold is similar to the beige for the skin in this example.
• Get a skin viewer. Especially one that updates live. I use Minecraft Skin Viewer. Google it.

I can give you a few more tips if you show examples of your current work. That's just general advice.

I think this tutorial is one of the best for you; simple and explicit...I wish you good luck with skin making! https://www.planetminecraft.com/blog/dinow-s-tutorials-part-1-basics-how-to-make-a-minecraft-skin/