ID:182084
 
Now, that I have you attention, please direct your attention to a sprite that I wish to use that I made from scratch (except for the hair, bonus points if you can tell me where its from).

This is the detailed version:

He's ready to fuck something up...

This is the base:

Base

I am trying to figure the best way to make him move north, south, east, and west, but what steps do you think I should take to expedite his creation and make it so that he moves somewhat fluently. How many states should be in between start and end? For example, 4 states like most tile-based RPGs or more? To help with the answer, it's more of a action based overhead shooter. Tell me what you think!

Also, any pointer to make it look a little better is always welcome.
Please take this to the pixel art guild, we don't do art here :P
In response to Jeff8500
That sounds kinda cold. =P We do art here, hell, people post on this forum when they look for answers for just about everything, whether we 'do that here' or not. :P It's just that there's a specialized guild for this where more of those pixel-art-inclined hang at.
Generally at least 4 states for each direction is needed to create a half decent looking, but 8 will be smooth. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it's what must be done. If you want to learn more about walking patterns, you can search for them on Google, or watch video of people walking.