How to improve this rendering so it looks more like the target image? (Disaster) I'm trying to replicate the following image using Blender:

the image http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62862049/Screenshots/03k.png

For this, I've used MakeHuman to generate a similar-looking human, an ortographic camera and a Lattice to deform the mesh (to give that specific distorted projection). I've set the render size to 64x64 (the original image is 32x32) and used FreeStyle for outlines. I'm also using a Sun Lamp and I've deactivated anti-aliasing. This is what I got:

blender http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62862049/Screenshots/03o.png

But rendering results are terrible:

results http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62862049/Screenshots/03l.png

I have that feeling that I've done everything I could to get close to it but somehow it still fails miserably. The color is pale, the image is blurry, the outline is wrong in hands and face. I don't know what else to do. 

Link to the .blend

Original 32x32 target image
When I look at his ankles in the target image, they do not seem to be proportioned like normal human ankles -- they look MUCH too thick. I suspect the creators of that figure ran into the same problems you did with trying to generate a realistic looking figure on such a small scale and compensated by not using anatomically accurate proportions. 

So, if you want to try to use Blender's environment to make your figure, I would recommend finding proportions that might not look correct in the 3D Viewport or in MakeHuman, but that do look correct when rendered at 32x32.

It is also possible that the original creators did not use a 3D model rendered at 32x32, but rather just painted the image by hand, pixel by pixel, or perhaps used some process other than rendering from a 3D environment.

Another possibility is to render your figure at a much higher resolution so you get all the details you want, and then shrink it down &amp; selectively edit it in Photoshop.