Found something good for the guys who are still puzzled about the whole sprite idea:
http://www.derekyu.com/extras/pixel01.html
This should clear things up and also give some basic ideas.
I know this kind of doesn't belong right into the competition thread, but I didn't know where else to post it and I didn't want to make an entirely new topic for it
Anyone checking on VGCats lately or regularly should know this link anyway ^^
Edit:
Forgot to add:
Although both sprites seem rather small to me, I really like them. But I have to say that I like GiantMidgit's better.